So frustrated w/ my dog

mrsmoose5 · September 2015

Is anyone else struggling with adapting their dog to the new baby? My dog is an almost 3 year old lab, and he is still very hyper/energetic. He has always loved to be the center of attention and gets very jealous when attention is being given elsewhere, this was the case even before our son was born. Since DS was born, our dog has obviously been very jealous. However, he is actually usually very well behaved around the baby, and has alway been good around other children, taking care to move slowly around them, not run into them, play gently, etc. This is normally the case with DS too, however this good behavior tends to go out the window when our dog gets excited, which happens very easily. Anytime you even pet him, he gets excited, runs and grabs a toy, and just wants to get hyper and play. If my husband or I start flying DS in the air, our dog will get hyped up and start running back and forth at full speed and try to jump up on us, he will run into us, trip us, etc. In addition to this, he is always following us around, wanting to be in the center of what we are doing, and often gets underfoot. There have been 2 incidents this week that have me totally freaked out. He has gotten too excited and wasn't paying attention and stepped on the baby's arm (causing crying). Then, this morning, he was underfoot, and tried to move out of the way, but didn't see DS and backed up into him, kicking him in the head. DS now has a bruise on his forehead and I am furious. I know both of these incidents were accidental and happened because he got too excited and wasn't paying attention, but that is no excuse. I love my dog, but he is almost 100 lbs and I am not willing to take any risks with my son's safety. Now that DS is crawling everywhere, I don't know how to have them in the same house and ensure there will be no incidents with my dog getting too excited and accidentally injuring my son. As long as he is calm, everything seems to be fine, but his excitement level can sky rocket so easily and then he just completely loses it and stops thinking. For today, I have just been keeping them separated. If DS is playing upstairs, I close the gate on the stairs and keep our dog downstairs. If DS is downstairs, I've been putting the dog outside. However, I'm afraid this isn't a good long-term solution, especially for a jealous, attention-seeking dog. Any advice?

Scijav · September 2015

I totally understand your worry. My issue is the opposite, my dog is scared of my baby and growls at kids, so far she has been not bad, just keeps away but you don't want to take any chances. I would keep them separated as much as possible for now. There are some large mesh baby gates that maybe you can keep them on the same floor but just in different rooms. A 3 year old lab is pretty much a teenager, so he is still quite puppyish, he will calm down over time. A couple of things you could try, something called pet corrector. Its an aerosol type can that makes a very high pitch noise dogs don't like, so every time he is getting really excited in the house you could use that. But then I would make sure that he can get excited and run around outside, them he gets used to being crazy outside, and not in the house. I would also try to kill some of that energy, I know, who has the time! I jog with my dog and baby every morning, not saying you have to do that, but anything to get rid of some energy will calm him down. My LO loves to watch my dog play fetch. She sits there and giggles like crazy, its so cute! So you could do that, take baby outside and throw sticks/balls/etc and then you are entertaining baby and getting rid of some of the dogs energy. Also, make sure to reward the dog when its being calm and good in the house. One thing with labs is they love treats, so they are usually pretty good with training. Its hard for dogs to know when they are being bad what they need to do that's good if they aren't rewarded for being good. Good luck!

M&J0405 · October 2015

We are going through the same thing with our 9 year old lab. While he has never gotten aggressive with LO we are starting to worry a little more since she is starting to crawl. He gets very excited when you get on The floor because he thinks you are going to play just like yours he runs around grabs a toy and brings it back and we are very afraid that he is going to step on the baby. We've started to do small things like praise him when he comes over to her and praise him when he lets her pet him (under our careful observation of course). We also moved her play mat from her bedroom to the downstairs living area to get him more used to her being on the floor. We let him come over and spend more time around her while giving him praise. I also try to give him more one on one time when she goes to bed or before she wakes up to let him know that he is still a part of this family. Hope things get better!

Scijav · October 2015

Was at the vet the other day and was asking about this situation, he recommended rewarding the dog regularly with treats. Start by having the baby on your lap and when the dog is behaving around you (being calm, sitting/laying, etc.) give treats. Eventually when the baby is older (if your dog is gentle) the baby can give the treats. Good luck ladies!

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