am i a terrible mother

Amanda - posted on 02/19/2011

Kari,
I just posted about my horrible experience, but NO you are not a bad mom! Things happen. It doesn't matter how much or how closely you are watching your child things happen! My son is 16 months old, and he won't leave the dogs alone. One of his favorite "games" with them is chase. He does it ALL of the time. Luckily, neither of our dogs have bitten him, and I do try to catch him before he corners them or anything, but NO YOU ARE NOT A BAD MOM!

Brenda - posted on 02/19/2011

I don't think you a bad Mom we can't watch them every second. My six year always picks on our dog! I really kind of feed up, I got the dog to teach him love for an animal and compassion! The dog finally nipped him a few weeks ago. We just made sure to put antibiotic on it and bandage. We warned him for the longest he was gonna get it! Plus, your little guy is so young he might have just scared the dog. If you husband is really mad he should get over it accidents happen we are all human! You sounds like a great Mom and a animal lover!

Karla - posted on 02/16/2010

Your not a bad mom, accidents do happen. But in my point of view i think the dog did it because the baby gets all the attention now and before the dog had ur attention u know. I have a small dog and she knows not to bite my daughter but i still have her locked in the laundry room and the dog doesnt really pay to much attention to my daughter she wants my attention but i get mad when she starts climbing all over me and i dont want the dog hair on me so i feel like a bad person for really not paying attention to the dog i give all my attention to my daughter. But back to u I think the dog should be left outside and not inside and if the dog bites him again then really u need to get rid of her. And ur husband shouldnt have locked her away because then the dog is going to be resentful towards you and or take it out ur baby. But trust me ur not a bad mother for not knowing what really happened u know and maybe ur baby did do something to her to make her mad because a dog wont bite u unless u do something wrong to them but then again maybe she was hating him because now he gets the attention now and not so much her

Megan - posted on 02/16/2010

NO! dont ever let sopme one tell you that it is impossible to watch every single thing kids do every second of the day. even the best mom in the world cant do it everyone makes mistakes thats how we learn and thats how he learned not to mess with the dog now. dont be so hard on yourself everyone makes mistakes I remeber there was one time my daughter was about 12 months old and I went to grab the mail and our screen dorr takes a long time to close well I had talked to a neighbor at my driveway for about 2 mins and whe n i went back in the house I was in there for a bout 4 mins b4 I noticed my daughter was no where to be found I ran outside instantly and found her 4 yards down!!!!!! kids are sneaky and its hard to be a mom and keep up with everything else we have to do so dont be so hard on yourself everyone makes mistakes!!!!!

Kandice - posted on 02/16/2010

I dont think it makes you a bad mom, accidents happen, but you should prolly move the dog outside. We had a dog that loved my daughter to death they were babies together, well he was never aggresive either but one day he attacked another child and me and my husband decided that for the safety of our children it would be best to get rid of the dog, we had him put to sleep the next day.

Ashley - posted on 02/15/2010

No you are not a bad mom. Accidents happen. There were times when an accident could have been prevented with my son had I paid more attention. I think he feels guilty as well because the sounds of it, the dog is his. Instead of having her locked up I think that you should get rid of the dog. I would just tell him tomorrow, hey I'm tired of your little guilt trip, accidents happen we are getting rid of the dog. You can either find someone to take the dog or I can. Its your decision. It sounds harsh but nobody deserves to be treated like a bad mom just because of one accident. Had she done it again and you were in the same room, then yes that would make you a bad mom. Next time your son gets hurt when hes around call him on it.

Shannon - posted on 02/15/2010

No, you are not a bad Mum! We have a golden retriever and he can get a little bit rough with our two year old because he gets excited. She plays with him every day outside and he has knocked her over and she has hit her head etc but these things are accidents and they do happen. She still goes out to play every day. I wouldn't lock your dog up though, they need to be able to run around. If you have the back yard for it, let the dogs live outside. Then your son has his own 'territory' to play and your dogs do too.

Lisa - posted on 02/15/2010

2 yrs. ago my 5yr. old 3 yr. old then son was bit by my brother's dog and it was the most horrific, traumatizing event that had occured in my life. My brother had to let his dog go. We were told that once an animal gets a taste of human blood chances are they will do it again...(I don't know how true that is, but we weren't willing to take any chances) Since then, I have had a small fear of dogs, my son seems to be fine with small dogs, but if they are any bigger than a lap dog, he freaks. My husband has been begging for a dog ever since we moved into a house a yr. and a half ago...I am reluctant since we now have another infant in the home. I do not think you are a bad mom, Protecting our children is only one of our many jobs. I feel sad for your dog though!

Ellie - posted on 02/15/2010

wud neva trust a dog wiv my baby at all!! u neva no wot they can do n wen they turn, wen i was little i used to stroke my nabours dog ever day n she was fine then 1 day she attacked me n ripped half my ear clean away frm my head! lukaly wiv stitches it was ok, n its cruel to leave that poor door looked up all day

Melissa - posted on 02/15/2010

No you are not a bad Mum at all! Just the other day my dog stepped back onto my 5 month old son but it was an accident. (not that its like a bite or anything) This is not meant to sound bad but maybe your son pinched the dog or something, my son pinched out runty chiwawah the other night too and she yelped. Personally I do not think that is a reason to get rid of the dog just yet. Your husband should not make you feel that way at all.

Andolina - posted on 02/15/2010

the dog that bit my sister was female too. Her uncle put the dog to sleep. I guess the dog had done it twice before.

Andolina - posted on 02/15/2010

this happened to my sister with her uncles dog. I watched it happen. Dogs can retaliate if they get jealous. My sister had always gone over and played with the dog. She was lucky the dog didnt puncture her skull. And the dog had to reason, just ran up out of nowhere and bit her. I was terrified. But it doesn't make you a bad mother. You couldn't have known that was going to happen.

Shona - posted on 02/15/2010

To be fair to everyone in this situation, this wasn't your fault, maybe the little one pulled the dogs fir. But however it is not fair on the dog to have her locked away. its classed as animal crulty. how about you slowly start intoducing them into each others lives. My dog used to snap at my baby when we brought her home. but we started taking the baby in the pram with the dog and sitting her on the floor while the dog is lying in the room, with someone watching of course. our dog got used to her. no one is to blame in this situation. accidents happen. your husband should have been more supportive.

Tiffany - posted on 02/15/2010

You are not a bad mom, just from exsperence, lose the dog it will happen again

Sam - posted on 02/15/2010

You are not a bad mom at all. Your husband should realise that is was not your fault at all. However when something goes wrong and one parent is absent at the time it is so easy to feel helpless and the need to blame someone else will always be there, even if it isn't right.

Unfortunately ALL animals are unpredictable no matter how much we love, train them, trust them etc. Does that mean we should get rid of them when we have kids, no. Should you get rid of the dogs now an accident has occurred, in my opinion no. I would say you shouldn't leave the dogs (or any animal) alone with your son. But then we are only human, animals are just animals and things happen. You must do what you think is best and what you can live with. Hope it turns out OK.

Alaina - posted on 02/15/2010

in my experience, some dogs can become aggressive in regards to "their" space. My mom's dog will "nip" at my 2 year old niece - not biting just a little warning that she is getting too close to their space or bone. You just have to watch the dog....not all dogs are naturally sensitive to babies...they don't understand why a baby would just pull their tail. As long as your dog isn't aggressive to the baby in general this is a great opportunity to train your dog and your child! Take it day by day and don't beat yourself up!

Sarah - posted on 02/15/2010

Your Not A Bad Mother Dear. Things Like That Can Happen, Especially With Animals. I Have Three Cats And I Know It's Rough Watching Them To Make Sure They Don't Hurt The Baby And As Someone Pointed Out Below, The Baby Could Have Pulled The Doggie's Tail Or Something Of That Nature & The Dog Reacted. Keeping The Dog Locked Up Isn't A Good Idea. I Would Find The Dog A New Home If Your Afraid Of The Dog Hurting Your Son Again. Hang In There, Things Will Get Better!!! (:

Jacki - posted on 02/14/2010

No you are not a bad mum accidents will and do happen it is a part of life you can stop them only learn by them...... Good luck with your husband.....

Tania - posted on 02/14/2010

I don't think that one incident makes you a bad mother. I was always taught not to leave an animal in the same room as a child unsupervised. That way it eliminates the exact scenario which happened to you. Maybe your husband thinks the same? If you really think he's acting different, sit down and ask if what he feels about the situation, how he would have handled it. As parents we cannot keep an eye on our children 24/7 and because the situation could arise again, maybe the dog should be kept outside. Make sure it's included every time you're outside. And make sure bubs is around when you take puppy for walks but they shouldn't be around each other by themselves. Unless you have a house that will work with baby gates - ours wouldn't, the dog will have to stay outside. Just my opinion

Tanya - posted on 02/14/2010

Absoutly not! Things like this happen. Dogs are very loyal anamials and when they feel their space is being invaded they will react. It's animal instinct to protect their territory. They don't understand that a baby is a human. Baby's don't look the same or act the same. Don't feel bad, just remember tanner will not remember his pet doing this to him, but make sure the dog does. Every child get's hurt some way or another, and that's another way we get to me " mommies" to take the hurt away and make them feel better. So don't worry you didn't do anything wrong and it's not your fault.

Charlotte - posted on 02/14/2010

i dont think u r tbh i find it hard keepin my eye on my lil 1 u cnt keep an eye on thm all the time so its not ur falt and jst explain to hubby tht u feel really bad about it and maybe the bby grabd the doggy and doggy thought bby was playin dnt blame ya self xxx

Rebecca - posted on 02/14/2010

No. You are not a bad mother, and your husband is not a bad father. You both need to look at the dog and its behavior from a different perspective. The dog has no idea why it is locked up, only that it is being punished for something unknown to her. Dogs are pack animals. They view you, the baby, your husband and any other person/dog in that house as a pack. You and your husband are most likely pack leaders. Your dog, I'm sure, is not aggressive towards your son by hatred or dislike (they do not think this way). Most likely your dog snapped at your son in order to either dominate or correct a behavior. Stepping on paws, pulling ears, tails and whiskers, poking nose and eyes are common in baby and dog contact. However, from a dogs perspective this may be viewed as play (in which a lot of dogs use their mouths to nip back) or as the baby trying to establish dominance. More passive dogs will usually allow this, some however, will not. Its similar to letting a baby sit there and pull your hair. Some people allow this, some people don't. You can easily work with a behavior specialist for your dog (not a trainer...a trainer won't do anything for you) for a couple of sessions to get your 'pack' in order, with you, your husband and the baby as pack leaders. Right now, your dog did only what she would do to a puppy. If you are constantly keeping the baby away from the dogs, you can't expect them to view the baby as apart of the pack...this will only cause even more aggression issues. They'll view your son as an 'outsider'. Just something to think about.

Natalee - posted on 02/14/2010

i dont think ur a bad mum hun, but if that was me i would get the dog away from my kids asap. If any dog bit my son, i would get them put down is he was marked in anyway, im sorry and this will most probably get peoples back up but children are more important than any animal, and if someone was to hurt my son whether, a human or a pet then i would do something about it, and make sure that situation would NEVER happen again!

Jerricka - posted on 02/13/2010

OF COURSE YOURE NOT!!!!! things like that can happen. he prolly pulled the dogs hair or something of the nature turn hurt your dog (he of course doent know better) and your dog felt like it needed to defend itself it in their nature to do so. You just have to learn from it and not let your lil boy alone with the dog so you can keep an eye on them. The same thing just happend to my niece while at my mother-in-laws. same situation as well. Keep baby gates up to seperate them... And your husband shouldn't be mad at you, thing like this happen to the best of us. Its just one of those learning experiences that you wish you did have to go through. I hope things gett better for you. GOOG LUCK!!

Dana - posted on 02/13/2010

I don't think you're a bad mum, but I do think what your husband is doing to you is unfair. One in making you feel guilty about what happened and two in making you keep the dog. It's cruel for the dog as well.

I can totally sympathise with your sitation. We used to have two dogs, but one of them started getting quite agressive towards me (thankfully never the baby), so I told my husband that we can't keep him anymore. Initially, my husband was against it, but when the dog started attacking him as well he started coming around. But he just told me, I was to make the decision and the arrangements, so I did. As the dog was a pedigreed dog from a good breeder, we contacted the breeder and asked for advice, they told us that it would be best for him to be put to sleep. I also contacted an animal behaviourist, who told us that the decision is always up to us, but we must think of both our baby's safety and the dog's quality of life. Basically, what he said is that, once a dog has shown aggression and you decide to keep the dog, then your life will keep revolving around how you manage the dog, which isn't quality of life for any of you. In the end we decided it was best for the dog to be put to sleep. However, I suggest contacting either the breeder (if applicable), your vet, an animal behaviourist, or all of the above for professional advice. Also, your local dog shelter might be able to advise you as to whether the dog is suitable for rehoming, which would obviously be preferable than putting her to sleep.

If your husband loves both the dog and the baby, then he will do what is right for both of them, either rehoming or putting her to sleep. Being locked up 24/7 isn't quality of life for your dog, and will likely only make her behaviour worse.

Good luck, it's such a difficult decision no matter what you end up doing.

Heather - posted on 02/13/2010

Not a bad mom at all. You are human and contrary to popular belief we do not have eyes in the a back of our heads. We turn our heads and step away to do things. It is very sad that this happened and sounds like you are kicking yourself enough. Time for it to stop. Keep baby and dog separated as much as possible. Put in some one on one time with your dog and baby, mama and dog time so they can become friends. As for your husband, he is simply going to have to accept that accidents happen and he is going to have to adjust his thinking. Or you could just supervise the baby all the time and not do anything else. No laundry, no house cleaning, no cooking, etc. You get the picture. This accident is what I call growing pains and you will go on from here. Keep your chin up mama!

Rebecca - posted on 02/13/2010

The thing about Children and Dogs is that they should never be alone unsupervised, it doesn't make you a bad Mom that an accident happened. If she really wanted to hurt the baby she would have. Children do not know how to interpret dogs warning signals. maybe your son did something and the dog groweled saying hey back off, and the baby kept it up so the dog gave a warning nip. That said, you may want to look in to a dog behavioralist to help figure out if your dog has an issue with kids and if so, what can be done to work it out. I am sure your husband's feelings may be less about your dog getting nipped but more about how you may be treating the dog now.
You should definitely have a conversation with your husband about his feelings, it isn't going to do either of you any good to stay mum about it.
It is also going to make the dog's behavior worse by keeping it isolated, and be more likely to bite. do not ban you dog out side and if you can't bring your self to making the dog part of the family you probably shouldn't have dogs anymore.
But to me the best idea may be to keep up some gates that way the dogs can still be in the general area that you are in, but you can have peice of mind that you don't have to worry about your baby having contact with the dog with out your supervision. You don't want your child to fear dogs, but you need to teach the baby to respect dogs and thier boundaries (once he is at the age to understand how to do so)

Gina - posted on 02/13/2010

I have two dogs and they can be crazy and hectic! Plus my baby is a handful (9 months old, too). I believe in supervising the baby when he's around the dogs, but lets face it, that is not always possible! First of all, just as everyone else is saying, you're not a bad mom! It can happen! Second of all, if your husband loves the dog and the baby, I don't see why you should have to get rid of the dog. I understand how scary it was and my reaction would be to want to give up the dog, too, but dogs are a part of the family, too, in my books anyway. I think your dog probably was trying to teach your son a lesson because he probably accidently hurt your dog. That's how dogs teach. If your dog wanted to hurt your son he would have been in a far worse situation. Currently, my son constantly tries to pull the dogs tails, pinch them, bite them, etc... I do not lock up the dogs all day, but I hold Alexander while the dogs are out, or sit right next to him. If Alexander is playing on the floor and I'm unable to be right there, I either put him in his play pen or put the dogs outside or possibly in another room. Accidents happen. No one could have predicted it. Just take extra care to seperate them from now on. And maybe, if Dad loves Dog so much, have him spend a little extra time with the dog so that the dog doesn't feel jealous.

Shalaina - posted on 02/13/2010

You are not a bad Mom, I think it is 'funny' that he makes you feel that way but he is the one who wants to keep the dog. It isn't fair to keep the dog locked up, it may be best to find it a new home because like someone else said that will make the dog resent your child. Plus being locked up day and night isn't how anyone or anything would want to live. Good luck!

Vixi - posted on 02/13/2010

You cannot blame yourself for this incident hun, being a mum is hard enough and you cant keep them in eyesight 24/7.

I dont trust any dog with my daughter, they all have the instinct to kill, its nature and babies dont understand that pulling doggies ears/tail will make him mad therefore I keep my daughter away from dogs.

Maybe your son stepped on the dogs tail or paw and as a friendly warning, she nipped. If she meant him any real harm she would have done far worse, thank god iy didn't come to that

If your hubby wont get rid of the dog even after what it did 2 your son then dont feel guilty about it living locked up, although to me this isn't fair on the dog.

Chin up hun, accidents happen and as long as your little one is now OK, my advice would be to make sure the dog is kept away from the baby although still fussed over as not to make her feel resentful and left out x

Cristal - posted on 02/13/2010

you are not a bad mother things like this happens sometimes like everyone els is saying the baby doesnt really know what hes doing so he might have hurt the dog in a way and the dog might have react act without thinking and might be rally sorry and hurt over it. i have a 6month old son and a 2month old husky my son pulls on his ears tail everything and i am scared every single day that the dog might react to being hurt and bite my baby thank god it hasnt happen for some reason as young as he is its like he has an old soul but everytime his sister comes over (the dogs sister) he protects my son because she is really hyper he wont let her get near my son. dogs know a lot and if you keep your dog locked away she might resent your baby so just let the dog out and see how she is around your baby it might have been a mistake dont blame yourself for it you wasnt going to stop her from biting him right when she opened her mouth on him i know if you could of you would of and you must have been in shock your husband will get over it it wasnt your fault. take care dont beat yourself up about it or the dog mistakes happen as long as your baby is fine you should feel good about that.

Tracey Ann - posted on 02/13/2010

your not a bad mommie, Did you give the dog crap make her stay in the basement for an hour with lights off n no talking to her?? your husband can be very protective of his daughter n may think the dog should be put down. Animals should never hurt humans at anytime, what was his reaction when this happened or did you have to tell him??
i find girls are daddie's suckies - n boy's are mommie's suckies

Kara - posted on 02/12/2010

No u r not a bad mum at all... i do agree with sum of the others about the dog having to go but at the same time u didnt c wat happened so it could hav been ur boy hurt it but then again keeping it locked up 24/7 is going to make the dog think it is ur boys fault n next time it could end alot worse... supervised play time where the dog and ur boy r out side playin together in short lengths of time to see how they go would b a good idea then slowly making the time longer and longer. dont just shove them together otherwise it could end very badly and thats the last thing you want especially as u felt the dog had 2 go b4... hope this helps!

Katt - posted on 02/12/2010

No your not a bad mom!! We have a cat and he's very mellow and takes A LOT from my daughter, she'll hit him, pull his ears, pull his tail, smother him with kisses, follow him around the house pulling on his legs...it's just endless what she does to him. He has scratched her a many times and she's learned when to stop now...of course I don't like the fact that Milo(my cat) scratched Hailee but she had it coming, I ALWAYS tell her "No be nice to the kitty" and I always tell her to kiss him better if she hurts him. Your son may have done something to make the dog defend himself. Talk to your husband and tell him if he wants to get rid of the dog you'll respect the decision..but explain to him it was a complete mistake, the dog would have not bit him if he didn't have a reason and your son didn't know any better. I hope things get better :)

Leah - posted on 02/12/2010

There is no way that you are a bad mother. I had a very recent thing happen to me, my daughter was mauled by my grandmas dog and ended up having to have 9 stitches and 6 staples in her face. I felt AWEFUL, because i just had my back turned for not ever 3 seconds and it happened. I still dont know why he attacked her but we did end up putting down the dog because its typical for a dog to bite again after they do it once. Im glad he's okay but there is no way it was your fault.

Lequita - posted on 02/12/2010

my does the same thing to me whenever our son falls over on the bed or when he is just not in the mood to get his diaper changed. i think they believe they can do better. i think that you should sit your husband down and talk about that day. talk about how you both feel and address his concerns.

Kelli - posted on 02/12/2010

I didn't read all the posts here, I only caught the one where u said the dog is locked up. First thing, u are not a bad mom, so don't worry about that. I have a 9 mos old as well, and his favorite toy is the dog. I have a beagle/min-pin mix. I have to really watch him b/c he pulls ears, and fur and tail, its not a pretty sight. I do believe that if I left the two of them alone and he got to picking at her, if I wasn't there to intervene and say "no be nice to the dog" Suzi (my dog) would probably snap at him. We have to remember that dogs don't have any other way of protecting themselves and biting is a defense mechanism, especially if ur guy is anything like mine and gets a kick out of the growl, it is possible that your son provoked the bite unintentionally. That being said, you either need to get rid of the dog or not, but keeping her (or him) locked up is not fair... at all. No animal deserves to live its life in a cage for any reason. Tell your husband, you either get rid of the dog or let it out of the cage, and don't leave the baby in the room alone with the dogs.

Kellie - posted on 02/12/2010

Hey, no of course that doesnt make u a bad mother!!! wat is wrong with your husband!?!? accidents are gonna happen, expecually when he starts crawling n walking. why wouldnt he wanna get rid of the dog if it is dangering his child?!! like other people said (that i strongly agree with) is y would u keep a dog locked up all the time, when there could b people that would b more then happy to give your dog a nice life. my son is also 9 months n I have gotten a kitten for christmas, n even tho that kitten is great with the baby, i wouldnt ever get comfortable enough with leaving them together UNSUPERVISED. I c my son all the time b rough with the kitten, theres only soo many times an animal will let babies pull n pinch them. My point is that it might not have been your dogs fault, mayb he was hurt by the baby or maybe he got nervous around the baby, for what ever reason. but i strongly disagree with the fact that your poor dog is locked up all day that is very unfair.... n sum thing needs to b done for that dog,

Nina - posted on 02/12/2010

You're not a bad mom, dogs and kids don't "speak the same language" so things can always happen when they're alone... I could never get rid of my dog (she's my baby, too) so I understand your husband. No need to keep the dog locked up either, that only makes her resent the baby more, but their time together should off course be closely supervised. And children should always be taught do's and don'ts with animals from the start, whitch I'm sure your baby has. Good luck, hope everything turns out ok for you!!! ♥

Chantelle - posted on 02/11/2010

honestly dude that dog would be in africa by now. i dont even let dogs look at my baby. my girlfriend has had her dogs for yearsssss. and one of them took a chunk outta poor babes face. NO THANKS, id like to spare my child his face, and actually like dogs when hes older. NOT fear them. but, i would consider the other ladies posts very much too if i were u. its just my opinion:)

Laurie - posted on 02/11/2010

You are not a bad mom - accidents will happen. We have a dog and a cat with our little one and I am waiting for a time when the dog (70 lbs) will knock over the baby or get too close. I try to watch closely, but I can't be everywhere.

Many dogs have issues with babies, for a number of reasons and - despite many other stories to the contrary, just because the dog bit doesn't mean it will again. Babies love to pull, poke and hit - the dog may have had an off day (in pain, didn't feel well or the baby may have hurt her). They only know a few ways to express themselves. I understand why you would want to get rid of the animal, and why your husband wants to keep her, but you both have to make that decision - KEEPING HER CRATED IS NOT THE ANSWER - that can make her more anxious and aggravated.

Between you and hubby, you need to talk to one another! One of the risks of animals is that they are not easily predictable. (just like children)! So accidents will happen. Dad may not be mad at you, but guilty in his own right. If this is his dog, he may feel responsible!

I hope everything works out!

Alison - posted on 02/11/2010

That is so harsh of your husband!!! Does he believe it would have been any different if he were in your shoes?!?!
You are not a bad mother at all, don't ever think that. These things can unfortunately happen. It could have been simply yur son pulled her hair and she was giving a warning mouthing bite, like dogs do to one another when playing. If she were aggressive she would have really bit him hard.

I really hpe this matter get resolved for you

Sarah - posted on 02/11/2010

I HAVE A NEW BORN BABY AND A DOG.MY LITTLE GIRL HAS BEEN SCRATCHED AND NIPPED.BUT IM NOT LOCKIN THE DOG UPOR EVEN THINKING TO FIND A NEW HOME THIS IS JUST AS NEW FOR HIM AS FOR ME AND HE GETS EXCITED AND ACCIDENTS HAPPEN.HE HAS NEVER EVER HURT OUT OF BEING MAD.U HAVE TO THINK UR CHILD IS NEW FOR THE DOG AND A LOT SMALLER HAVE YOUR SON HELP TAKE OF HIM,LIKE FEED HIM,BRUSH HIM JUST SO THE DOG LEARNS TOO.JUST BE IN THE SAME ROOM WITH THE BOTH OF THEM.WE ALSO HAD OUR DOG ON A LEASH FOR TWO WEEKS AROUND THE BABY

Kari - posted on 02/11/2010

Thank you all for all the wonderful support and advice. I am working with the dog. She is not locked up in a kennel or anything when i get nervous i put her in the basement, she has the whole area to herself. And she is allowed upstairs when he goes to bed a night. so i do not leave her confined to a small area like a kennel all day long, i am one who is against animal cruelty that is why i am trying to figure something out that makes everyone feel better. Because i don't know if i can find her another family, since this incident. And no she does not have a background for being violent she has always been a very affectionate animal, and it really breaks my heart that this had to happen.

Jessica - posted on 02/11/2010

I don't see how this could be your fault! Dogs react funny to kids sometimes and there's no way of knowing when that will happen. I would say don't leave him alone with the dogs at all now that you know there may be some trouble. Sometimes a dog will bite if they are bothered while they are asleep. Also, kids and babies aren't really people to dogs. Dogs can view kids as if they are also dogs and react with some dominance issues. I would have your son be the one to give the dogs treats instead of you or you hubby so the dogs can associate your son with something positve. But remember - any dog can bite, even the nice ones!

Sara - posted on 02/11/2010

I don't think you're a bad mom. Accidents happen - that's why they're called accidents. You had no way of knowing the dog would get irritated and bite your son. I know you are, but stay grateful that it wasn't worse. When I was 3 my mom left me with a sitter whose Golden had an attitude problem. Tried sharing my crackers with him while he was eating his breakfast and I guess he didn't like crackers because he bit me. He bit my nose, and I had to go the hospital and have correctional surgery done.

I would just talk to your husband about it, if it's worrying you. And I agree with the other moms - once an animal has harmed you or your family, it's time to go. They need a different kind of environment. Although if he doesn't want to get rid of her, he shouldn't be mad at you... [if that's the case]

Marissa - posted on 02/11/2010

:( That's really sad. I'm so sorry. It's soo not your fault though!! You have to know that. We had to find our dog a new home a few months after our son was born because we were afraid of that happening. Our dog was very unpredictable and we just didn't want to ever have to worry about that. What kind of dog is she? I would recommend keep trying to talk to your husband about finding her a new home. It's not fair for you to always have this in the back of your head and always worrying about it happening again and it's not fair for the poor dog to be locked up all the time because you're paranoid now. Good luck & I hope everything works out for the best for your family!

Karalyn - posted on 02/11/2010

Not a bad mom at all. Your baby could have hurt the dog first, or scared it, causing the dog to react. Dogs protect themselves when threatened, they dont understand that babies dont always know what they are doing. I would just keep better eye on them both when playing together. But you are definatley not a bad mom at all. Things happen, and we cannot protect our children from everything!

Jess - posted on 02/11/2010

My parents have dogs, infact one of them is mine. I call him my little man.... as soon as I fell pregnant he came very defensive of me and wouldn't let anyone near me, especially if I was asleep or unwell. He would even fall asleep with his little head on my baby bump listening to my bub's heart beat. When he finally got to meet her, he was very defensive of her. He would follow her around the house, sleep next to her porta cot and he would cry if she cried. He didn't even like us burping her ! One day he got too excited and just touched her face with his paw and accidently scratched her face. My daughter cried and ever since my dog has been too scared to go anywhere near my daughter ! Accidents happen, and if your son ran at the dog it may have scared her and she felt the need to defend herself.



Its not fair to blame yourself, nor is it fair to lock the dog up. If you can't trust the dog then find a home for it, that doesn't have small children. Its no life for her and she won't remember why she is being punished.

Jennifer - posted on 02/11/2010

You're not a bad mam, accidents do happen but it's a very risky situation having a cat or dog around a baby. As for your husband locking the dog up that's animal cruelty and he could be prosecuted for that.