Dog pinned 1 year old

[welshchild]

We have a 5 year old doodle - something. My husband got him at a shelter after he spent the first year in his life there due to a court case causing him to be unadoptable.

This dog is very very sweet, sensitive, anxious and reactive. When I got pregnant I started to lose trust in him after seeing him stress about kids during Halloween, and growl at our friends baby being near him. When our daughter was born we kept them seperate and he was generally uninterested in her. He growled at her when she started crawling and we continued to keep them seperate. She is now 1 year old and walking all over the place. We have relaxed about the dog being near because he has shown no signs of aggression for 4+ months.

Last night the baby tripped over the dog and he pinned her down and had her head pine and made a god awful growl I can’t even explain. I screamed and he ran away. He did not puncture the skin.

Where do we go from here? We plan to have more kids. I can’t trust that keeping them seperate will work 1000% of the time when new kids are introduced into the mix and the house gets more chaotic.

My husband wants to consider sending him somewhere to be trained. I think he needs to be rehomed and unless a trainer can 100% guarantee this won’t happen again, I can’t be comfortable with that. I also know no trainer can guarantee that. We are divided as parents on what the best solution here is for our growing family and the dog.

 

[eyes4grandpa]

@welshchild Sending him “somewhere” to be trained doesn’t fix behavior issues. They aren’t going to have random babies trip over this dog to see if it’s better. You could potentially get a behavioral trainer to see if there is anything you can do, maybe he’s showing signs? But then again, you can’t expect kids to see the signs. It sounds like the dog just doesn’t like kids. Lots of dog’s don’t unfortunately. I am very sorry this is happening.

 

[jaredbrown85]

@eyes4grandpa A behavior based trainer is needed in this case. This is not a ‘casual’ behavior. It’s dangerous behavior that requires much more than a Petsmart dog training class. The trainer has to get in the dog’s head. It’s not easy and it’s not quick. But we make a commitment to these animals that we’re responsible for till death do you part

 

[zhangyue]

@jaredbrown85 I agree we make a commitment, but I don’t think it should be at the potential cost of the OPs child. If she decides he can’t live there anymore, I think that’s understandable. She also has to protect her human family.

 

[jaredbrown85]

@zhangyue Absolutely agree Heather. Didn’t mean to imply…..

 

[eyes4grandpa]

@jaredbrown85 I am very big in giving everything to make a dog work. I have 4 currently, three I adopted knowing they were reactive and one with bite history. A lot of it is correctable and you can change the situation. But it’s near impossible to tell a baby to not run around and do things (not to the dog) that would set the dog off. If a home has a baby and is planning for more I would be very cautious with any dog that’s pinned a baby. It will only get more chaotic with more kids and it’s stressful for the dog as well.

I would see if a trainer could make it work, but even if corrected I would still be wary. A lot of dogs just don’t like kids because they are too unpredictable. He didn’t bite and that’s a good sign. But you don’t want to chance it with kids.

 

[felicitys]

@eyes4grandpa I'm on your side with this. I have a daughter, and I was always very careful with her and our dogs, even though they never tried to pin or bite. Babies and toddlers are small, squeal, and unpredictable. Some dogs can deal just fine, but some just...can't.

I'd personally be open to adopting a dog who isn't good with small children, and I know there are rescues out there who would work to place dogs like this with the right family.

My kid is 11 now and very, very good around dogs.

 

[shawnieyang]

@eyes4grandpa I think it depends. I am personally about to start a board and train program with a trainer I found in my area who works with behavioural issues and his dog experienced daughter helps him in cases like this. Mine doesn’t like kids either, so she will be helping to give him some good experiences with kids. Of course there are no guarantees it will work but I’m in a similar situation to OP so we’re giving it a shot in hopes it will help along with further training after he gets back in two weeks. That being said, the trainer came to observe and said the issue with my boy is not aggression but dominance so it could be different depending on the circumstances with OP’s dog.

 

[foreverhis84]

@welshchild You need to rehome the dog. Don't take a chance with your child or future children- this is a situation in which it's one strike and they're out.

 

[kkarr]

@welshchild The dog needs a new home without kids. Your child’s safety comes first.

 

[kalebsanders007]

@welshchild This does not sound like a situation where you can take a chance.

Even with training, there are no guarantees. One mistake could mean everything. The only way to guarantee your child’s safety is to rehome this dog.

 

[sarahrachel]

@welshchild It reads to me like this goes so far beyond a dog reacting to a rambunctious baby. A light growl, a nip in their direction, sure, that's workable, it's trainable, and it's manageable.

Your dog pinned your 1 year old. Your husband needs to get that you don't come back from that.

I have a one year old too, and a severely reactive blue heeler, and there's no way in hell he'd be staying with me if he pulled a stunt like that, no matter how much I love him.

I'd be putting up baby gates, crate training, and muzzle training NOW while you find that dog a new home. No kill rescues, breed specific rescues, and you can try doodle rehoming pages on Facebook. But be very upfront about his issues.

 

[oceanskk]

@welshchild Rehoming is likely the best option here. While you can certainly hire a behavior consultant, there is never going to be a 100% guarantee that the dog’s feelings about children are going to change to the point where he will be absolutely, solidly reliable around children. Even if a dog with this history can be helped to feel better about this one child, in a moment of stress, the dog could revert to previous (aggressive) behavior.

A training plan will include lots and lots of management, but as we say, management always fails because we are human and we cannot even rely on ourselves to be vigilant and careful 100% of the time. Throw a child into the mix, and what are the chances of 100% perfect management? Add even more children and then what are your chances?

Not to mention, how much time and energy do you have to commit to following a behavior modification plan? Taking care of just one child is exhausting. Add more kids? I just don’t think this sounds like a viable situation. Rehoming is likely the best, kindest thing you can do for the dog and yourself.

 

[thegandyman]

@welshchild I am going to give some advice. If you don’t trust the dog now, you are never going to trust this dog. No training is going to undo that. This pup barely tolerates children and the older a dog gets - well they get cranky too. I had a rescue who came home after I had 3 kids. She was lovable and sweet until she wasn’t. All 3 of my kids were bitten while doing nothing. She was not meant to be around kids. I know one bite - should have known but I cried, the kids cried we wanted to give her another chance. Finally - i woke up. My husband found a lovely senior gentleman who was looking for a companion and had lots of time and love. It worked out. The next pup that came home was truly one of the pack. My kids could dress him up in build a bear clothes - push him in a stroller - play all day and night with him. He was from a kill shelter. Perfect boy ever. Loved the kids. He was so loved. I realized what a difference it makes to have a trustworthy pet with kids. He grew up, they grew up. We still talk about him. We still miss him. Please - don’t beat yourself up. Don’t send him away for training. You deserve peace. Your baby deserves safety and the pup deserves a shot at life.

 

[zhangyue]

@welshchild Board and trains have the issue of 1) not working with the dog in the environment with their triggers and 2) not working with the owners in the same environment to teach them how to manage the dogs. Plus, I think and /ethical/ trainer would advise rehoming. Some dogs just do NOT like children, and it sounds like your dog is one of those. You can train him, but you can’t guarantee he’ll never have a bad day.

 

[rguy0955]

@welshchild No need for the extra stress someone w/o kids will give your dog a good home and you can find a better fit for your family.

 

[meganisgrowing]

@welshchild As some one who has a reactive dog and two young kids (nearly 4yo F and a 16mo m), it's not worth the risk. Your dog can and will strike again. Mine has done misdirected nips before and I NEVER leave them alone with my dog because too many bad things can happen before you blink. Please don't risk your child's safety, your sanity, or the dog's happiness. Your dog will always feel on edge and it will not change with the baby. Please don't risk it..

 

[ljbrooks123]

@welshchild This dog needs to be rehomed. He has clearly shown signs of being uncomfortable around children and that's an emotional response, not a behavioral issue. You can maybe train him to tolerate children, but why keep him in an environment that's going to be stressful?

 

[thisshallpass]

@welshchild What are you going to tell CPS or the cops when that dog bites your kid? That you knew it was a possibility and this incident happened before? That you got him training and thought it would work? Think of your life as a headline/newspaper article… child mauled by family dog, mom said he had been aggressive towards child before…. Better think clearly on this one, the stakes are way too high

 

[cheung]

@welshchild Head needs to trump heart. You can either re-home him to a place he'll be comfortable and happy now, or be prepared that you might have to kill him with your bare hands to save your child later. In such an extreme scenario your child will likely suffer mental and/or physical trauma.

You might be lucky and it might just be a bite on an extremity, but you have to be prepared for the extreme ends of this spectrum.

Please be sensible.