Biggest fear has been realized. ACD nipped the baby (help)

[motherapple]

Not sure how to keep it short and simple but I'm seeking help on how to proceed.

8 year old ACD mix. We got him as a 1 year old rescue. Immediately had issues with socializing and was your typical 100 mph non stop ACD. After a year or so, we started training. 2 failed trainers later and we finally sent him to a board and train around around age 5. He did great and was a whole new dog aside from still not being good around other animals. Than about 1 year after training (age 6), a family member needed to move into our apartment and she brought her 1 year old lab. Small apartment and 2 dogs that can't be together was a bad idea but we made it work with baby gates to separate them. Did the apartment thing for about 6 months before buying a home where we all still live and do the baby gate thing (age 7).

Present day (age 8), we added a baby who is about to turn 1. Our ACD has been showing signs of regression. He's listening less and less. He's more vocal anytime the other dog gets let out to the larger area of the home. It feels like things are getting territorial and we're losing control of the situation. Our ACD has always been strange around the baby. Generally doesn't care too much about him, but will oftentimes run up on him quickly just to lick his face than walk away and come back to do it again a few seconds later. We have always let the ACD sleep in bed with us and some nights the baby joins us and it's fine. No issues.

Fast forward to 10 minutes ago. Wife making a cake in kitchen so it was a little loud with the blender thing going. Baby on floor crawling around. ACD sitting between my legs in kitchen and watching baby carefully. Baby got out of sight of the ACD and ACD tried to go find him. I held him back and told him it was OK that baby was gone. Baby comes back into view. ACD really anxious to run up on baby. ACD slips my grip and runs up on him with teeth. Very slightly nips baby. No blood or cuts. But looks like teeth grazed forehead and skin is red and a little puffed up. Baby cried for a minute and is fine. I lost it a bit and got a little physical with ACD (only 2nd time I've ever done that... not making excuses for it but I think dad instinct kicked in).

So now what?! This is my first dog and my first kid. I'm on the verge of a breakdown bc I just have this gut feeling that I can never trust ACD around baby ever again. But the thought of rehomimg him is killing me.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. I'll try anything to keep this family intact.

Edit: before anyone asks, he is already on medicine for his temperament (k9 Prozac... Can't remember the name at the moment)

 

[cookie3482]

@motherapple ACDs are known as Heelers because it’s a deeply rooted instinct to nip at heels as part of their herding drive. It sounds like your dog was anxious that the baby had left its sight, your dog understands that the baby is part of your pack (or herd) and possibly your dog knows on some level that it’s a baby or otherwise a not very mobile or independent creature. So when the baby came back into view the dog was anxious to ensure it didn’t leave the herd, instincts kicked in and it ran over and nipped the baby.
It didn’t aggressively attack the baby with intent to injure. While you certainly don’t want the dog nipping the baby I don’t think you need to be worried about the dog mauling your child.

When my children were young we had an old border collie who had been with us long before the kids were born. He never really liked the change in the pack dynamics that occurred when the kids arrived. When they were in the crawling phase one of the kids crawled over to the dog and got right in his face. He defensively nipped at my baby and drew a little blood, but retreated after the one nip. We were upset but understood why it happened and didn’t feel it was necessary to get rid of the dog. It never happened again but we also didn’t let the children crawl near the old dog anymore.

Now we have a young ACD and training him not to nip heels and hands is an ongoing process. He’s pretty good but when he gets excited he sometimes forgets and acts on instinct, and we’ve had to teach the kids how to interact with the ACD in a way that minimizes his excitement and therefore nipping.

I think this sort of thing is inevitable when you introduce a baby to a household that already has a dog, and it’s very troubling when it happens but you can probably mitigate the potential for it to occur again and as I said, it wasn’t an aggressive attack which would be a very different thing. Both my wife and I have scars from being legitimately attacked by our parents dogs when we were young. Her parents put the dog down due to the savage nature of the attack. My parents didn’t witness it and decided it was my fault I guess and kept the dog for many more years.

 

[motherapple]

@cookie3482 Thank you so much for explaining your similar story. It really means a lot and hits home. I have to ask... After your old collie nipped the baby, what measures did you put into place to keep the baby away? And was your situation a bit different than ours where in our case, our dog seeks out the baby more than the baby seeking out the dog?

Edit: I also should mention that after the nip, I put ACD in crate. The baby was crawling around and started getting near the crate and the ACD started growling. So I'm a bit nervous that it is aggression.

 

[cookie3482]

@motherapple The collie was an “old man” and all he really wanted was to be left alone, he had a couple favorite places to nap in the living room so we just kept watch to ensure that the babies didn’t crawl to wherever he was sleeping. Once they were old enough to walk and talk and understand things a bit we taught the kids to leave the dog alone unless he approached them on his own. They would sometimes play for short periods but once the dog would retire to one of his special nap places they’d know not to bother him and it never happened again.

As for your ACD growing at the baby from inside his crate: the crate tends to become a special place for a dog. It’s “their area” and given all the negative events of the day your ACD probably feeling unsure of it’s place in the pack is now in its safe space and doesn’t appreciate the baby coming near since you physically punished him and he may have formed a connection that being near baby = get punished. I have read, and observed in my own ACD that they can be very sensitive to punishment and become insecure or unsure of what they did wrong or how to avoid further punishment if it’s not handled properly.

I may seem like I’m over anthropomorphising dogs here but I believe they do have emotions a limited capacity for understanding actions and consequences. Their psychology is relatively simple but can be complicated to properly manage.

 

[duanea]

@motherapple Needs a house where he will get daily exercise.

 

[kadynsmommy]

@motherapple What your dog did sounds horribly scary but also sounds like instinctual rather than aggression behavior to me. I had an older ACD mix I had adopted from the pound many years before my son was born. It’s difficult for dogs to make sense of babies/ toddlers, speaking from experience there’s a good chance things may get better once your kiddo becomes a bit bigger and more mobile on 2 feet. It was my experience that once my son became less of a baby/ toddler my older ACD became my son’s best friend and was inseparable from him. It sounds like your family members lab might be another factor. Even if that dog is an angel, you’ve introduced a lot of what your dog sees as competition into the home. If you could get the other dog out of the house perhaps that will have a big positive impact on your ACDs behavior.

Only you know what is best for your family. If you have the ability to heavily supervise and keep your ACD separate from your kiddo whenever not directly supervised, hopefully things may mellow out once your baby grows a bit. It’s hard to see through it when you’re parenting a baby, but it won’t be so long until you’re baby isn’t a baby and becomes a more independent child who doesn’t occupy every waking second of your time.

Of course if in your heart you feel your ACD will be a danger to your child, rehoming the pup would be the best thing. But don’t kid yourself, ACDs are ride or die, rehoming will be really hard for your dog

 

[joyfulpraises761]

@motherapple Re-home him, honestly. If you’re not ready to start putting the time in to really invest in his training and his well-being, then it’s not the right home for him. My dog can’t go more than 2 days without his stimulation requirements met. I can’t imagine how frustrated this dog must be after months of not having his needs met.

 

[motherapple]

@joyfulpraises761 We're going to be making it a priority to get him back to his daily walks and play in the yard. I do admit he's a mix ACD and a bit weird when it comes to stimulation. To put it simply... He's kind of lazy. The treat puzzles... He doesn't even bother. He brings his toy out and I throw it and after 2 fetches, he takes his toy into his crate to lay down and I will need to go grab the toy from him to get him to fetch a 3rd time. But he loves walks. And I always let him sniff as much as he wants.

 

[david46]

@motherapple If you're getting physical with the dog and it's the 2nd time, maybe it's time to re-home him before you really hurt the dog.

 

[motherapple]

@david46 I understand where your coming from. I recognize it's not OK. And I know it doesn't teach the dog right from wrong. I need to make sure I correct him properly going forward. But this post is about seeking advice in how to coexist with an ACD who might be showing signs of aggression towards a baby.

 

[iwannaknow]

@motherapple He's not being aggressive. He's bored, frustrated, unsure of his role in the family now that a baby is present, and acting on his instincts. He was likely "correcting" the baby because baby left the group and your dog is bred to keep everyone together. If he was being aggressive he would have caused real harm to your baby.

The only real solution to you all living happily together is to give the dog an outlet for his physical and mental energy. At the minimum 30 min of exercise plus 15 min training/brain games twice a day, ideally with another 15 min of mental stimulation thrown in sometime during the middle of the day. Fetch, walks, obedience/trick training, puzzles etc. I know this may be a lot to manage with a young child. If you can't give him what he needs, please consider rehoming.

Also keep in mind heelers are known as the "fun police" because their nature is to keep everything organized. They don't typically do well with chaos and unpredictable behavior, which is kind of the definition of young children. If you can give the dog what he needs, keeping him separated from your child would be ok. But if the dog is just separated all the time, that's not fair to him.

I have a 3 yo ACD and a 14 mo granddaughter. My granddaughter spends 2 or 3 afternoons a week at my house, and they are NEVER alone together. My dog is gentle with her, but it only takes a second for her to do something that would cause him to nip. I can't imagine how difficult that would be to manage if we all lived together. Best of luck to you all.

 

[motherapple]

@iwannaknow Thank you for your advice. I know I need to find more time for my ACD and also find a way to balance the separation within the home. But in the end I don't know if that's really much better for my ACD. If I knew he would rehome somewhere ideal for him and wouldn't end up back in a shelter and he would forget about me and adapt to his new owner... I think the decision would be much easier for me. But I tear up thinking about him being depressed without me or it not working out and him ending up in a shelter.

 

[iwannaknow]

@motherapple I absolutely understand. It's a huge, difficult decision. I feel for you for sure.

We rescued a dog through a heeler rescue, and actually had to foster first to make sure we were a good fit. If we weren't, the rescue was committed to taking the dog back. If you do go down the rehoming route, check into reputable rescue organizations in your area. It can be done properly, but it can also be a bit of work.

Whatever you decide, I wish you all the best of luck.