How do i teach my dog to play nicely with the baby?

Amy - posted on 08/31/2009

I have a female Doberman that is 3.5 years old. She is great with my daughter! I have made it very clear with my dog that she oi to be nice to the baby. When the dog is on the floor while Lauren is pounding on her, I pet my dog and tell her she is a good girl and to be nice to the baby. If it gets to be too much for her, she gets up and leaves. I also let my daughter give my dog a treat, it seems to help the dog understand, hey this little thing gives me yummy food!

I did have to give away my male Dalmatian, he was deaf and my daughter would startle him and he would get really snappy and growl at my daughter. It just became unsafe for my daughter and I felt bad that he had to be locked in another room and wasn't getting the attention he deserved, so he is living with my step kids at their other house! Good luck with the training, that is all it really is.

Lisa - posted on 08/28/2009

Thanks, my dog is a pit bull mix and he's only a year old, so he has a lot of energy. I'm just afraid that he doesn't understand how strong he is. I think i will just keep giving them well supervised time together so he can get used to having the baby there on the floor.

Nicole - posted on 08/27/2009

I went through the same thing. I gave away my dog only to become so depressed it was just like I lost my baby, it was awful. My dog was not even a year old and he was a black lab and liked to jump on everyone so after the baby came into the house we gave him away. I was so depressed my boyfriend finally let me get another dog, this one is part lab part husky and she is a very big dog (I only prefer big dogs myself). Having her around the baby as a puppy really helped. But now she is so big and I know where you are coming from it is hard sometimes. Some people come here and think I am awful for having my child crawling on the floor and my dog running around too but my dog seems really good around the baby. If your dog knows how to sit then sit on the floor with your baby and let the dog come over to you and your baby, if he comes too fast make him sit and not come any farther, slowly let him work his way over and let your baby pet his head and touch his paws while you are holding your dog. Your dog will eventually get used to having the baby around and with constant attention to them while they are playing they will both learn how to treat and respect each other. if your dog starts to play rough interrupt his behaviour, with constant interruption he will learn. I hope this was a little bit helpful I am not a dog expert but my dog is doing pretty well. There are lots of different sites where you can also find help. There is a forum on the brad pattison site as well where you can post questions about dogs and there are a lot of resourceful people on there who will help you out I am sure. Good luck and I hope you are able to keep your pet!

Amber - posted on 08/27/2009

Well I think it depends on what kind of dog you have and how they act all the time. My dogs are bigger and not real hyper. My dogs like to lay close enough so that the baby can get to them it is funny. Then my son tortures them poking and pinching them or pulling their ears or whatever he can get. In the begining I would let the dogs come up to the baby and tell them be nice and let the baby touch them and them get used to him. I tell the dogs no when the dogs try to lick him too although my son loves it when he gets licked yuck. I would say you definately need to let your dog get familiar with the baby and make sure you set some boundaries as to how close they get and things it has gone well with us. I don't let the dogs go up to the baby when he is on the floor, but the baby can find his way to the dogs then they sort of realize that baby is in charge just like we are and not them. My dogs do great with the baby and one of them is a pit bull I know scary lol.