Reactive Dog w/ New Baby

[deb500]

Hi - I am looking for some advice. We adopted our 3y/o daschund-mix (unsure what he is mixed with) at 4 months old and we have battled with his aggression every day. He has a bite history - has bitten 3 times - once to a solicitor, once to a family member and once to my partner. He is so afraid of new people - the first occasion he managed to slip by me and the solicitor reached down to pet him and he bit. With the family member, my parents were watching him and the family member came in the door and reached down to hand him a treat and he bit. He also bit my partner, who was holding him down while trying to remove something sharp from his paw.

He is leash aggressive and reactive to pretty much any sounds outside. He is generally not aggressive towards people, just fearful, (except for the cases where he bit), but he is very aggressive towards other dogs (except our younger dog who is smaller than him). We have him on fluoxetine for his anxiety.

Outside of what he would consider "high stress" situations, he is an amazing dog. He really just wants to cuddle. He is gentle with toys and food, and mostly just wants to lounge around all day. We have a nice big fenced in backyard where he can run around and play, which he loves.

We recently had a baby (I was pregnant/baby was born when the bites happened, otherwise we would've waited) and our dog is not at all aggressive towards the baby, but I am so nervous that it is only a matter of time before he bites the baby. We never put either of them in a position where that would happen, but once the baby is walking and stuff - I just fear we would miss a queue. He shows little to no interest in our baby. Usually just tries to get our attention if we are busy doing baby stuff, and he's content with a few pets.

Our families are adamant about us rehoming because they fear for our baby's safety. Like unconvinced that we could do anything else. For context, we have rearranged a lot of parts of our lives for this dog - we moved to a home with a fenced in backyard, we spent thousands in training, which did nothing, we don't have people over, we don't leave the house without crating both dogs, etc.

We just don't know what to do. My partner feels horrible and like it's his fault for provoking our dog's most recent bite. I don't know how to support my partner because I'm also feeling so sad about the entire situation.

I'm not sure what exactly I am looking for advice for, but if anyone has any, I would really appreciate it.

 

[vikimahauty]

@deb500 You are rightfully concerned that your dog might become fearful/stressed about a toddler. From the dog’s perspective a toddler is like a drunk unpredictable little person (scary). It is very possible to help your dog to change their association of strangers bending down and toddlers - but it would probably require you & your partner working with a trainer and you both being committed to working on the training plan. If you decide to be work on the issue then you should find a CPDT or IAABC certified trainer.

 

[deb500]

@vikimahauty Thank you, I know it will take a lot of commitment. We would like to find a good trainer to work with. I appreciate you listing the certifications and will definitely find a certified trainer. Thank you

 

[fhs1680]

@deb500 Hello there, I can understand this can be scary for you and your partner. Have you asked your veterinarian to check for pain?

Rehoming holds it's own issues as this becomes a liability, so if you can find a rescue that has a behaviourist on staff for rehabilitation that would be ideal.

Set up a safe place for him to stay that is his own. A dog playpen/exercise pen or large crate, a crate in your bedroom, a closet with a baby gate.

With baby safety have two barriers between the baby and the dog, as once baby is mobile/crawling/walking, little fingers can go through baby gates, and sometimes accidents happen and one of the gates fails (or the humans fail to close it behind them).

You can also ask on the r/AskaVetBehaviorist forum.

 

[deb500]

@fhs1680 Thank you. He is crate trained and feels safe in his crate, although I’m not sure he would choose to go in it over being around us. A separate area may be beneficial.

We have a behavioral consult appointment with our vet next week. Hope they can point us in the right direction.

 

[fhs1680]

@deb500 Excellent. Don't want to take any risks.

With the crate, just make sure all the other needs are met (bathroom breaks, play/attention), then he can eat and sleep in the crate)

 

[deb500]

@fhs1680 Yes, absolutely. Thank you!