Dogs and babies

kleigh926 · November 2013

We have a yellow lab. She's hyper and full of energy and always wants to be in the same room where we are. I don't feel comfortable letting DD crawl around on the floor when the dog is there, especially when she has her bone. The dog has never really been aggressive towards DD, but a few months ago she did growl at her a couple times when DD went for her bone, and she startles easily.

Currently, our dog is closed up in another room because I am just so annoyed with trying to keep DD away from her or not allowing DD to crawl around in the living room. If you have a dog, how do you handle this?

tamarar5 · November 2013

I let the baby crawl on the dogs. We have 2, a puppy Scottie and an antique husky. The way I figure, if they don't want to be mailed by the baby, they can get up and move. I watch of course, and if the dots stay getting annoyed, I'll put them outside our in one of the bedrooms for a break. But once the novelty of the dog wears off e leaves them alone.

colinsfebmommy · November 2013

I have 3 border collies, the have to be next to us in every room! We have the livingroom Gated off only cuz of the massive hair, we gate them out after vacuuming but let them in when baby goes to bed. But otherwise the rest of the house is fair game, they get up and run when the baby starts coming towards them lol so no worries here

jbatch · November 2013

My baby is with the dog all the time.. I wouldn't have a dog if it couldn't be with my family..

PhieryBFly · November 2013

We have a gate to the kitchen, partially so the huskies (2) won't beg and they know to not go in the master bedroom ever. I let Skylar play near the dogs but not really on them simply because I know their personalities. My male (named Jayne for Firefly) doesn't like weight on him so that wouldn't go over well. Jayne also has a kennel that he loves (it's his 'man' cave!) and if he gets to rowdy, I can send him there. My female, Shawn, is very maternal and just had knee surgery so other than when she forgets that she's 90 pounds, she's pretty safe (although, still supervised).

Jayne and Skylar:

Shawn after Surgery (cast is off now):

kleigh926 · November 2013

jbatch said:
My baby is with the dog all the time.. I wouldn't have a dog if it couldn't be with my family..

Dogs are instinctual animals, and my fear is that if DD crawls over her or tries to take her bone, the dog would snap or bite out of instinct. Like I said, she startles easily and doesn't like her feet being touched, which DD always tries to do. I have heard stories of perfectly nice dogs with no aggressive history biting children when the child scares them or touches them while they're sleeping. My dog already seems a little apprehensive around DD now that she can get around so well. It's not that the dog can't be with our family, just that I'm trying to prevent something bad happening.

Puck1182 · November 2013

I have no problem letting DD crawl around on the floor with our pointer as long as he isn't being too rambunctious. As long as he's had enough exercise he's very mindful of her and is good about not stepping on her. He's whacked her in the back of the head with his tail a couple of times by accident, but no major incidents

Our biggest issue is that DD pinches. He has growled at her a few times when she's done that, so I'm working on teaching her to be more gentle. I praise both her and our dog when they ate gentle with one another. I scold the dog of he growls at DD. and if DD gets too rough with our dog I just tell her "no" and take her away from the dog for awhile. But usually he's really good with her, he snuggles up next to her and lets her pet him and even put her fingers in his mouth and stuff. If he comes to her (as opposed to her approaching him) he puts up with basically anything.

stacrb98 · November 2013

My dog and baby are always together! I do try to keep the dog's bone up when DD is playing. The dog tends to get her bone at naptimes mealtimes or after DD is down for the night. I trust the dog but DD is very interest in anything that the dog has.

tamarar5 · December 2013

@PhieryBFly I love your Huskies! Shawn looks like my Misha's mother.

. I've got a light gray one.

Not sure how clear this will look on a PC because it's from Facebook, but here's my old girl!

SammieJ1113 · December 2013

DD and "her" dog are together all the time. The dog is very sweet and does like to cuddle the baby but now that DD has gotten older and much more mobile, the dog steers clear. For the most part DD leaves the dog alone but does sometimes try to climb on her which we discourage, even though the dog doesn't seem to mind. Although the dog has shown no aggression to DD whatsoever, and has been trained intensively not to be possessive over toys and or food, we do not leave her toys or food anywhere that DD can reach. Since the kitchen is off limits to DD, we keep doggy's toys and food in there. She also has a bit of space in the dining room (which is also off limits to DD) so that she can hide when baby gets too handsy.

stephbethpeth · December 2013

We have a terrier named Mona. She is very protective over our DD. They play together, and DD thinks that Mona is hysterical. While they cuddle and play...I am still very cautious about their interactions. Any dog, when startled or harassed ( and she does really harass her at times!) could nip at baby. I'm just very vigilant.

TarheelMama202 · December 2013

I think it depends on the temperament of your dog. We have an English Setter who is surprisingly calm and, let's face it, lazy. We haven't had any problems with her and DS.

draeray · December 2013

I have 2 dogs and both are always with the baby. I have a little 5 pound dog that is scared of the baby when he gets near but when the baby is relaxing she will come up and lay with him (as long as he isn't trying to sit on her or pull her long hair!) She is a licker too so when she feels risky, she will lick him to DEATH in the face and DS HATES it. He steers clear of her most of the time because he doesn't want to get licked. My other dog ignores him most of the time and if he is taking an interest, she leaves before he gets close enough. Neither dog seems to mind too much.

We thought we would have the most probably with our cat. He is big (20 pounds) and has been known to kick our two dogs asses on a few occasions. Wouldn't you know it, that cat loves that little baby. He lets him lay on him, pull his hair/ears/tail, etc!! He never once has thought about biting or raising his paw to him but he doesn't second guess that opportunity when it comes to his dog sibilings. When he has enough of the baby, he gets up and leaves. My DS always squeals with delight when the kitty comes around. He loves him!

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