Help!! Dog snapped at my son

@samin2345 The parents are irresponsible. The dog and baby need to be separated and managed more appropriately. BE because a dog was being a dog and the owners aren't educated as dog owners is absurd.
 
@cristian1980 From your more detailed description, it sounds like the dog is resource guarding your wife. I have had 2 dogs that developed that habit with me. The difference was that my kid was not a baby, and I had enough experience to deal with it. In your family's situation, I would first look for pit resources in your area. I live outside of a mid sized city, and there are a ton of resources to assist pit owners. The big animal rescue has discounted pit specific training, as well as discounted to free basic health care (shots/spay/neutering) There are also several pit specific rescues and support networks. That doesn't mean they aren't all overwhelmed, but it is worth looking into local resources. If you can't get help, then rehoming the dog is in your child's best interest. It only takes one minute of distraction for tragedy to take place. A new baby, especially once they start moving is hard enough to keep safe. Until the decision has been made, you need to keep the 2 of them separate. Do not assume that if you are in the same room, it is safe. Crate, muzzle train, and give the pup as much one on one love and attention as you can spare. Set him up to be as adoptable as possible, while he is still in your care. But never give him physical access to your child. Best of luck.

*please note that the breed of your dog is only relevant because in many areas, there are breed specific resources. Any breed of dog is a threat to a child if not properly trained, socialized, and supervised.
 
@cristian1980 What was he reaching for? I never usually say rehome without trying training but in this case I wonder why an 8 month old was in a position to aggravate the dog into snapping. And its the second time, I'd go with option 1 before anything else happens.
 
@sarahtoo It was my wife’s purse. She was on the couch, son was standing while holding on to couch next to one of her legs, dog was against her other leg, and I think the purse was by her ankles. We’ve seen them be super close to each other without any incident before. The dog has always been super sweet to the boy, and we have always made sure the boy didn’t do anything that would cause the dog to lash out while he was crawling around, grabbing things, and finding things to mess with.
 
@cristian1980 But this was the second time this happened so he actually hasn’t always been good with the baby and shouldn’t have had that much access. Regardless, I’d look at re-homing as you likely don’t have the know-how to manage this in the time you’d need to do so.
 
@obadimu It may be how *I’m reading your comment, but it came off as very rude. Feel free to correct me if it wasn’t meant to be. But I came to this subreddit to see if there was hope in training. He’s been a great dog and we don’t want to rehome him, but we realize it’s probably the best option
 
@cristian1980 Ok maybe I was a bit judgemental without having the facts there sorry for being a dick. I was imagining the child being allowed to crawl over the dog grabbing its toys or something stupid.

First thought is some sort of resource gaurding with either your wife or the sofa but I wouldnt like to speculate too much on what the dog was thinking with a child involved incase I gave any bad advice that got your son bitten.

I think either a professional trainer in person or rehome the dog and be very carefull with managment in the meantime.
 
@cristian1980 I’m sad to see that #4 is even on your radar.
Shelters are overflowing and euthanasia rates are at an all time high. If you choose to let the dog go, please do your best to rehome the dog yourself if you can’t find a rescue to take him on. Make sure to get personal references, vet name and do a home check. Be aware that especially pitbulls are at risk of being taken for dog fighting, dog baiting, or living outside only in a chain. Not saying this to scare you but to make sure you’re aware. I work in rescue and rehabilitation for dogs and this is just the sad reality. Wishing you and your dog the best.
 
@samin2345 It actually does sound like a good idea, obviously the OP doesn’t know to not leave a baby around a dog, so yeah the dog would be better off with someone with some common sense.
 
@samin2345 I see, so you believe that a dog that snaps at children shouldn’t be allowed to live a full life in a responsible, adults-only household. Why are you even in this sub, heartless troll.
 
@cristian1980 the dog was reacting to the baby in its space which is completely normal and its not bad behavior. However, babies and dogs should be separated. If you cannot make sure they will be separated you'll have to rehome him :(
 
@patrickmiller I’m not sure why you’re being downvoted. I agree, a dog is just protecting its space. A lot of dogs don’t like having little babies or people in their personal space, it doesn’t mean the dog is bad.
 
@summerxox A dog that doesn't like babies in it's personal space cannot safely live with a baby or toddler.
And many dog actually love babies, toddlers, and kids.
 
@cristian1980 A lot of people are saying the dog is bad, when lots of dogs don’t like babies or kids in their space. A bite or nip is the last step of a stress response for a dog- it’s likely the dog is giving lots of other stress responses- lip licking, turning face away, etc that might be going missed- because an 8 month old baby cannot speak let notice these stress signals in a dog! Have you the parents been looking out for these or just letting the kid be unsupervised with a dog? Which I point out is why a baby should never be left alone with any dog, period. I’ve adopted a dog who was a biter in a previous home, and trained him and learned to recognize his stress responses. Do I let kids unsupervised around him? Never. I let older kids pet his back briefly, as he loves kids, he just doesn’t love them hugging or getting in his space unexpectedly. At the end of the day, I doubt you have the time to do the proper training for this dog with a baby and I wouldn’t take the chance. The dog would need to be separated from the child at most times and basically not let the kid get in its space until the kid was old enough to learn boundaries with the dog. But this isn’t a bad dog. I would get it a really good owner who sees his reactivity as a normal part of dog behavior when stressed and is willing to work with the dog. Good luck.
 
@cristian1980 Lots of pit haters in this group telling you to BE your dog. The breed is irrelevant. You need to learn about dog behavior, warning signs of discomfort, and management of dogs and babies living in the same household. The dog isn't at fault here. Being uneducated with ANY dog breed is dangerous.

The pit haters are ignorant and uneducated and generally don't know much about dogs.
 
@cristian1980 This sucks. You love the dog, and obviously want to keep him. However, even with training and management, is it worth the risk? One snap where he gets your child, and it will be an awful outcome.

Additionally, your dog is getting stressed out by the situation. It’s not his fault. Sounds like he’s otherwise a great dog. It is ok to want to keep him but still rehome him for the safety of your son as well as reducing the dog’s anxiety. Better to rehome him now when he has otherwise not shown aggression than having to put him down later/ try to rehome a dog with a bite history.
 

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