Seeking Advice on My 3 Year Old Westie & My 3 Month Old

S.,

I agree with some of the other responses, that your dog doesn't understand that he is below your child. When dogs are in a pack, there is always a hierarchy.
They best way to make sure that the dog understands his place is by you holding the baby, and staring him down. He will probably try to stare you down, but don't look away until he cowers(buy laying down or walking away). You may have to do this a couple of times, and he may try this on you when you aren't thinking about it.
This has worked great for us, and I hope it helps you.
A.

I suggest that you get in home help right away. Dogs do not understand time out....if your dog growls and you put it in a crate or in a room alone, it only associates being alone with the baby and thus more resentment toward that baby. The behavior needs to be addressed the second you see it happen and the dog should be corrected and maybe even kept on a leash while they are in the room together so that you have control of him. If you just remove him from the room, he will never learn how to be in the room and act right with the baby. Dogs are not people and they don't learn the same way we do. My awesome dog trainer recently moved but he gave me the name of Erika Feurbachr ###-###-####. I have not used her, but I trust him and he said she was really good with dog behaviors and I think she does in home visits. While you look for some outside help...I would do whatever it takes to keep your child safe and keep these things from happening. The more it happens the more it becomes part of the dogs behavior.

S.,

You've already gotten some good input, but I'll tell you our experience, too. When my husband and I got married, I had a one year old basset hound and he had a seven year old golden retriever. Both our dogs were spoiled rotten and were our babies. We immediately got pregnant, so NONE of us had much time to adjust to our new lives together before there was a baby on the scene. However, it has worked beautifully.

Our oldest girl is now 5 and we also have a 2 year old. Both our dogs and both our girls had to learn boundaries with each other. The golden was easier, because they are mostly easy-going, but my basset was a little touchier. He especially did not like anyone (including me) touching him on his lower flanks (long story; we've worked with the vet on this!). There were several instances where, right in front of me, my little one would reach out and touch him in a way he didn't like. He would snarl and move away quickly. It scared all of us! But I decided to immediately get on to him, and then get on to my daughter. I came down a little hard (verbally) on both of them, to scare them and make the point - "you" can't touch the dog, and " you" can't bark at the baby. They both got it quickly! We had to train the next child the same way. I still tell the girls that they have to be careful around this dog. He is a sweetheart and is actually very protective of them, and he has never done anything aggressive towards them. But he is skittish in some ways, for some reason, so we have to respect that.

I also tell my girls and any child who visits that you can never trust a dog. I love dogs, but I know even the best ones can suddenly feel threatened and hurt someone, thinking it is in self-defense.

So that's a long story to say, you most likely will not have to get rid of your first baby! LOL (meaning the dog, of course!) But you have to do some strict, quick training of both baby and dog, and of course, never leave a baby alone in the room with a dog.

I'll just add that we had a very odd repairman come to our house when my first child was about 18 months old. The basset took an immediate dislike to him (always a bad sign), and when the man tried to hand his bill to me, as I was sitting on the floor playing with the baby, my dog went crazy! He barked wildly and inserted his body in between the man and my baby. He was NOT going to let that "bad" man get anywhere near the baby!! He has shown a lot of protectiveness with both our children. He's actually a huge coward, but he has a big bark and a big heart!

Duncan is just trying to find his place in the line-up now, so just give him as much attention as you can spare (hard with a baby!) but make sure he knows he can't bark or growl at the baby. Good luck and God bless!

It sounds like your westie feels like the baby is hers too. I would definitely read the Ceasar Milan book (the dog whisperer.) I am not sure the name of the book, but I only think he has one out. It tells you how to deal with situations like yours.

Hope this helps a little!

Good Luck.
A.

I have a male westie who was 10 when my daughter was born. Everything was fine until she started to crawl. Then he growled at her, naturally, to warn her not to annoy him. That is your opportunity to inform him that your daughter gets dominance over him. He will assume otherwise until you make this clear. Part of the punishment, in my opinion, should include being separated from the family like being put out or in a room by himself. My dog was older so after 3 times of growling and not learning, he went to my parents for awhile. When he came back he understood.

However, even a dog that comes to understand that his place in the hierarchy is below the child cannot be trusted alone with a baby since he might forget himself and bite if he is suprised/frightened. Remember an animal in pain is unpredictable.

There's no need to get rid of your dog. Simply monitor them when they are together. My daughter is 3 now and understands the dog is getting grumpy at 13 and she must be gentle with him. You would think she wouldn't be as fond of him since she can't just grab him whenever/however she wants. But she adores him and is careful with him. Take care!

Me again, LOL! Try calling Aaron Stewart with The Educated Dog (www.TheEducatedDog.com) - he's a trainer and will actually come to your HOME and work with you. I own an operate my own pet sitting company and he's helped SEVERAL of my clients!