Dogs And Newborn Babies

Something rather sinister in this issue I'm afraid.....

An ex-patriot British woman now domiciled in France is facing manslaughter charges after her dog jumped into the cot of an eight week old baby and mauled it to death while she slept. She had been looking after the baby while the mother was working abroad.

The dog was a five year old German Shepherd.

Please, please, please don't let yourself become a victim of a similar tragedy. A newborn baby coming into a household with an adult dog is a potential disaster waiting to happen.

Even the most good natured dogs can feel jealous if they suddenly find they're no longer the centre of attention. And a jealous dog is capable of inflicting appalling damage on a defenceless baby.

I've heard numerous stories over the years of babies causing canine jealousy.

And I also have first hand experience of something similar.

When I got married my wife gave me a deerhound puppy as a wedding present. I'd wanted one for ages and was absolutely delighted with her.

Five years on and our first child was starting to crawl. One day she crawled over to Teasel who was asleep. Teasel heard her coming and snarled at her. I was out at the time, but my wife told me what had happened when I got back.

A couple of days later, again when I was out, the same thing happened.

At that point I insisted we keep a very close eye on Teasel to make sure it didn't happen again. Not long afterwards our daughter crawled past where our dogs slept. All three of them were on their beds. Our daughter was on her way past them to come and see me and my wife. Teasel erupted into a ball of rage.

Fortunately I was right there and was able to intervene immediately, and, mercifully, our daughter was unhurt.

But Teasel had to go. We felt we were left with no choice. How could we ever be certain something similar wouldn't happen again, and with potentially far worse consequences?

We managed to rehome her somewhere without children. I adored that dog more than words can say, and parting with her was like having my heart wrenched out. I cried buckets for weeks afterwards, and even now, years later, it still brings a lump to my throat to think about it.

I have to say that I don't actually think jealousy was the root of the problem in Teasel's case. I'd done a *very* thorough job of introducing our daughter Megan to all 3 of the dogs we had at that time, and we were very careful to continue giving them loads of fuss and not to make them feel left out because of the baby.

Teasel was a real softie with people but with other dogs she could be very moody. And her moods were always far worse when she was coming into season - she could be like a bear with a sore head then.

The incident with Megan took place just as she was coming into season. With hindsight I think Teasel mistook the crawling Megan for some sort of dog-like creature and just vented her fury on her in exactly the same way she did with the other 2 dogs at that stage of her hormonal cycle. The other 2 had both learnt that when she was like that it was best simply to keep a low profile and stay out of her way.

I should have made sure Megan couldn't come into contact with her until her season was all over. I think that would have avoided any problems. But it's so easy to be wise after the event, isn't it?

I'm beginning to wander off subject here, but my real point is just to be very very careful if you're suddenly introducing a baby into a household where there's already an adult dog who's used to being 'cock of the roost'.

You have to make absolutely certain the dog doesn't think it's position has been usurped. Give it plenty of fuss and don't ever fuss the baby but ignore the dog.

And whatever you do, don't even *think* of leaving the dog and baby unattended together unless you're absolutely totally and utterly 110% convinced that it's safe to do so.

If there's even the tiniest shred of doubt in the back of your mind don't take the chance. It simply isn't worth it.

Even the smallest terrier is capable of inflicting massive damage on a helpless baby in less than the blink of an eye.

Recommended reading "Dog Training Blueprint To Success".

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