Babies and dogs

My partner and I were discussing the fact that maybe in a couple of years or so we may be ready to have kids.:shock: He then told me about a story he heard about a couple that had a baby, and the pet dog licked the babies face, and the baby died. This was all the info he could provide on this story.
We may have kids in the future, maybe in a couple of years (MAYBE!!), by then Bendy will be about 4-5yrs and Leela about 2-3. They are inside dogs generally, and they sleep in our bedroom. They share our living space entirely, and that's the way I like it- I'd hate to lock them outside!
I was just wondering if anyone had any stories or personal experiences about bringing a baby into a household with dogs. What changes did they have to make? How did the dog/s react? We would love to hear your stories or advice!
Thanks.

 

that is probably just that, a story. the only thing i know of, that dogs can pass to humans is worms. that can be pretty dangerous as they can get into lungs, behind eyes etc. the othre thing you have to watch out for is if they have just got into something really nasty and immediately licks someone on the lips. a baby just cant drop dead instantly after being licked lol. if i ever had a baby, which i never will lhaha, the only thing id do is supervise if the baby is in reach of the dog. i dont understand it when people either get rid of their pets, or lock them outside for the rest of their lives just because of a baby. parents and their whole 'animals are unclean' business is a bit stupid. i find people in medicare offices [australian medicare] more of a biological threat than a dog!!! :lol:

 

I didn't mean that the dog licked the babies face then the baby dropped dead instantly! He said the dog used to lick the babies face when the Mum wasn't looking, maybe the baby got sick from bacteria or something? Who knows- it's just gossip anyway.
So many people are scared of bacteria and disenfect their houses top to bottom, I don't own many cleaning products myself- I like to do the bi-carb and vinegar chemical-free thing. Most of the anti bacterial stuff in the supermarkets are a total waste of money. We need to have exposure to bacteria to make our immune systems strong- so using all those products over time can actually be doing more harm than good, and making us sick. So I think I have enough common sense about cleanliness and would not go overboard. So is it you just have to make sure dogs don't lick babies?

 

well, I wouldn't get rid of my dog, because of that story, and you don't even know if it is true or not. I plan on having kids in a few years as well, and that means my dog will be about 3 or 4 yrs old. What I'd do is make sure that the dog doesn't get too close to the baby's face. Also, use those baby fences to keep the dog seperated from the baby at times. All dogs should be watched when around children, no matter what breed it is.

 

Most important is to simply use common sense... monitor the interactions between dog and baby, and don't leave them alone together, even if you do trust both fully, accidents can and do happen, even with the best dogs and gentlest babies/toddlers. Our oldest dog Goo was raised with my two nephews, we got her right after the older nephew was born, and the second was born two years later, so she had plenty of exposure to them and has proved herself trustworthy in every situation she was put in, but is still watched with small children. A friend had a baby last fall, and brings her around frequently, and my aunt also had a baby recently (after losing her firstborn in a dog related incident), so the dogs are getting used to having little ones around (and Goo getting reaquainted with it). The friend trusts the dogs and our abilty to read them (she also knows them well from spending time around them), but my aunt is super nervous about dogs being around hers since their first child died, so she's asked that we keep them away from her (which I personally don't think is such a great idea in general, as isolating a dog from a child will tend to make them jealous or nervous of them, but we can understand her fears, so we don't push the issue).

We had a little incident on easter when I let Goo out of my room to run her outside, told her to stay in the dining room while I snagged a leash from the living room (there was a baby gate up across the doorway to the living room, but she can jump them, though she usually wont if told to stay out), and she ended up jumping in. Because my aunt and her husband were there with her baby, I instantly panicked, worried about their reaction at a dog they don't really like anyway running into the room with the baby, and grabbed Goo, not realizing she didn't have on a collar yet (I worry about her getting hung up in my room alone and strangling, so she rarely has one on when I put her in there). I ended up grabbing her by the scruff at the base of her neck, which made her yelp and hit the deck, turning her head as she dropped with a pathetic little "why did you do that??" look Not only did I feel horrible, but I made her look bad to them, as they (they already dont trust her because she's a pit bull) most likely thought she was tryign to bite me when she did that (though her mouth never opened, nor did she growl, her reaction was bewildered and confused, not aggressive). Afterwards, I realized I had absolutely overreacted (and poor Goo got a hefty serving of easter supper for my being a mean butthole), but my fear of how they'd react took over common sense. I guess the point of all that is that if YOU trust your dogs, don't let what other people say make you doubt yourself or them, and trust your own instincts.

Make it a point to expose the dogs to as many people as possible, especially children, and see how they react. If you notice any "rough spots", you want to iron them out before you have a baby on the way. Get them used to being pulled on, poked, prodded, etc (which you try to prevent children from doing, but better to prepare the dog for "oopses" than to not and end up surprised). There are several good books out there on preparing dogs for life with children, and parents for life with both, if you do a search on amazon or anywhere like that, you'll probably dig up a few... one that I can think of is called "childproofing your dog", don't know who the author is though.

 

My sister has 6 kids ages 13, 10, 8, 5, 3, and 3 months(she is catholic!). she got her dog , snickers a choc lab when she was pregnant with the 5 year old. She hasn'T had any unusual problems with sickness, just the regular stuff colds flus and such. I have other friends with babies who say the older the dog is the harder it is to introduce it to the baby. One friend I think told me the weirdest story: Her dog was pretty old ~14or 15, and her dog had always been her baby, so when the baby came(and this dog was never the friendliest dog) the dog would get into the bassinet ad sleep usually when the baby wasn'T there, but sometimes when the baby was there, if the baby was sleeping, no one was allowed to touch him, according to the dog. this dog also would find the diapers, the clean ones, and use them! But i think this dog died bc it knew it was old and the baby was new, bc it died when the baby was about 6 months old! But I think common sense is the best measure! You will know when you have a baby how clean you want things. and alot of people start to slack up on the cleanliness once the baby reaches a certain age and the dirt becomes overwhelming!

 

goob Most important is to simply use common sense... monitor the interactions
That says it all in my book.

after losing her firstborn in a dog related incident

My God I have to ask what happen ?

If I lost a child to a dog I am not so sure I would ever want a dog in my home,yard any where near us.
I would never feel at ease. I know I would never go in to a home with dogs.

2pyrs

 

I am not a doctor but I would be careful about any animal near the face of my child. My son was bit by my mothers dog when he was 4 and this dog was the most loving animal, never hurt any child before.
As to getting sick well I had the worse case of ring worm that the doctors felt I got from one of my dogs, it took months to clear it up. When we had a dog with parvo the doctor told us to keep our son away from it as he felt there was a chance he could get a virus. I have always felt that a face in a dogs face was wrong. Lets think about that, lets see her Jack runs outside plays eats some poo comes back in wife sits down Jack gets on her lap and licks her face she inturns gives me a kiss. So now we both just got a poo kiss with enough germs to........ hmm. Its is a dog a wild animal, they have not been domesticated that long. Domesticated is a word that can be misconstrued in it's meaning, Just because a dog lives in our home and protects us does not mean it is domesticated in my opinion.Don't get me wrong I love my dogs but at the some time I not stupid enough to think it is not going to turn on me or someone else. They can and have been known to change in the blink of and eye, yet we may have dogs that never hurt any thing any one, but the question is just how much do we trust that.

2pyrs

 

the 'turning on people' thing is ridiculous. if you cant trust your dog to get along with family members with full supervision and under normal circumstances then why have a dog? and if somehow that trust is broken, why apply it to every other dog on the planet? i trust my dog not to 'turn' on me, my partner or my cats. if i didnt i wouldnt have her, there would be no point. besides, you cant keep kids wrapped up in cottom wool. if you got rid or excluded a dog for fear of something bad happening then you may as well go and get rid of the tv [might give cancer] every inch of carpet [oh no might cause asthma] peanuts [they might react to them!]. get what i mean?

 

like was mentioned using common sense will save lots of problems.

My Sadie had never been exposed to small children. My niece had a baby and Dougie started spending weekends at our house at 6 weeks of age (my niece worked weekends). I did worry about Sadie's response to a newborn cries and all - but Sadie was wonderful. When I put Dougie down for a nap Sadie would sit at the bedroom door guarding that baby. Now Dougie is 2 and the tide is turning a bit - but Sadie still treats him like he's her pup!!! It's cute - but I have instilled on Dougie the important of how he treats Sadie. This past weekend Dougie had to apologize to Sadie - he leaned over her and she toppled over. I just told Dougie to be careful around Sadie and he had to say sorry - he did. He knows enough to be careful around her - and I know enough to not let him handle her at all. She's a 10 yr. old dog.

As long as I've had my dog and she's never bit a person - I never ever assume she's going to be 100% trustable around any small child. It's all about using common sense.

 

I don't believe in a good dog "turning on you" but I do believe in accidents. Never leave baby alone with dog. There was a story when I was pregnant with my first baby and had my dogs in obedience school. Apparently, a big dog like a lab or Golden was "playing" with the baby and the parents saw it trot by carrying the baby by the head. I think the baby turned out to be okay - the dog was very gentle - but obviously you don't want this to happen!

As far as licking goes, I don't worry about it. There are so many things in life to worry about that I just can't seem to find the energy to worry about my dog licking me or my children. They say a dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's anyway. And do you have any idea what a child will eat on their own? I'm sure generations of kids ate poo out of their sandboxes without any lasting ill effects, assuming the child is healthy to begin with.

Common sense is the key. Get you dogs used to kids. Take them to schools, parks, playgrounds - wherever there are a lot of kids. Get them used to noises and fast movements and sticky, ungentle hands.

And when the baby comes, don't ignore the dogs. Make time for them and let them know they are still loved.


Jamiya

 

I just feel there are things we need to consider when interacting with our pets. I don't PERSONALLY feel comfortable with a dog in my face. I think it is ashamed that so many cases have been in the news of attacks on children but it is a fact and it may be a good thing as to teaching us to be more careful. SO should we take the chance with our kids, I don't about each person but I do know that I have made my choice and that is know child's life is worth the risk. Germs well let me ask this, out shopping need restroom break --- well hover or just park it...I mean what's the difference your dog just came in from a walk and put it noise in what and where, now how about a nice big wet kiss from it. No thanks MY CHOICE.
See I think we all can make a choice but for some reason some people feel they have the right to make them for us. The perfect dog well it might be out there I don't know. I think I came close once, she was loving and genital but would I turn my back with a small child never. I think my fear was not for the child but for my dog. Once more so there are know misunderstandings here by some people this is how I feel and what you do well that is your decision.


New clause to be enclosed for those that seem to think that my posts are directed at them or all breeds of dogs, cat, birds or what ever.Even is there are a hundred articles on the matter it is my thoughts, my feelings.

2pyrs

 

kyles101
the 'turning on people' thing is ridiculous. if you cant trust your dog to get along with family members with full supervision and under normal circumstances
What is full supervision and what are normal circumstances ?

rid of the tv [might give cancer] Oh my god don't say that my wife without soaps, It would be the end of all there is.

every inch of carpet : All ready did that its all gone.

peanuts [they might react to them!]. get what i mean?
I can take them or leave them but I'll kill the first person who touch's my chocolate.
Get what I mean. :lol:

 

2pyrs, the baby fell asleep in his swing and they left him napping while they went into their room (not 15 ft away from where the swing was) to watch tv with the baby monitor on and door open. They did not put their older two dogs away (and these dogs were rarely allowed around the baby anyway, usually shut in a room, but for whatever reason, they were out, the younger dog was crated), and they ended up falling asleep, the door also drifted shut. When my aunt awoke, the baby was on the floor by the door, the swing tipped over. He had scratches and a few puncture wounds, but it was later concluded that he died from the impact of the swing hitting the floor and him sliding out the top of it (they were living in our basement apartment at the time, concrete floors with linoleum/carpeting over them, not that it would probably have made a difference). What we think happened (though nobody knows for sure) was that the larger of the two dogs went to lay by the swing as she often did when she was out, and at some point the smaller of the two came over to the swing, which caused the larger dog to move further under it, tryignt o keep her away. Then when the large dog got up, the swing caught on her back, tipped, and slid to the floor as she tried to get away from it. What happened afterwards is anybody's guess, maybe the dogs were trying to get the baby to my aunt and her husband, maybe they were just tryign to see what he was, who knows.... but the wounds he had from them were not indicative of a "mauling". The dogs were taken by animal control and the older two PTS, the younger lives with us. It was a horrible accident, and goes to show that they can happen to even the most careful people in a split second of poor judgement. We have no problems with her not wanting the dogs around the baby, and can understand completely why she feels that way.

 

jamiya you hit the nail right on the head. humans mouths are dirtier. you can catch more from a human than you can from a dog. full supervision and normal circumstances means exactly that! full supervision = either the baby or dog isnt out of your sight and normal circumstances = the dog is a normal dog, isnt sick, isnt aggressive etc. i just feel there is no point having a dog if every second you are thinking 'is it going to turn on me or someone else?'. its not what having a dog is about.

p.s i wont touch your chocolate! lol

 

That story is so sad goob. I can't imagine what it would be like to go through something like that. Like a nightmare. I often worry about having kids because of all the bad things that can happen- but I know you have to enjoy what you have and not limit yourself or hold back because you're scared of loss.
Anyway, Bender doesn't like kids much- he is a bit fearful of things that are different, and although I trust his nature, he needs to be watched and "protected" from these things- it's my responsiblity. That's not to say I don't socialise him properly, but I know his limits, and I'm always trying to widen the boundry for him in positive ways. But I let kids pat him if they want to, but I would never let a group of roudy kids surround him, of that he would be quite fearful.
I don't agree that a dog will just 'turn' on you either. There has to be some reason. The sad thing is when you hear of dog attacks on the news, you never hear why the dog attacked. You'll hear "5 YEAR OLD DOG ATTACKS NEIGHBOURS CHILD" not "5 YEAR OLD DOG ATTACKS NEIGHBOURS CHILD BECAUSE THE CHILD HAD BEEN THROWING STONES AT HIM AND POKING HIM WITH A STICK" This just goes on to create a fear in society of dogs- as I'm sure all you medium-large breed owners would know about.

I wonder how you can build a close trusting relationship with your dogs if you always have in you mind that they could turn on you? It'd kind of be like living with a partner and thinking- any time now he could turn around and punch me!

 

That is sad the loss of a child could be the worse thing that can happen to any person.
I am so sorry that this happened but it is not as uncommon as we would like to think it is.
I disagree agree as to a dog turning on someone even its owner. I am not saying it well turn just to do it but I am saying given the right conditions (what ever they may be ) and animal can attack be it in self-defense or just plain scared. Do I live every second in anticipation of my dog/ dogs turning on me or some else know but I am not blind to the fact it could happen and try to be aware of that fact at all times.As I have said once before in a perfect world we wake up and know one hurts another person all dogs never bite a person, we see smiles on everyone's face.One second, a blink of and eye and the world has changed.
A family is sitting in its living room and the baby is playing on the floor with its mother the long time pet runs in and grabs the child and kills it before the mother or father can get it away from the dog who has been around children for 2,3 years. Why this happen know one knows, in those seconds that add up into minutes a life is lost.Your child is playing in the front yard and you keep and eye on them so that they don't go in the street, are you anticipating the dangers yes can you control this some what. I am not saying you should hide your kid in a closet but you have to understand we all anticapate. Distrust know Be AWARE yes. As to hitting my spouse I can not compare human life to the animal kingdom, we are human and should know the differences from right and wrong. A dog knows only what we teach it and even then it has certain traits it follows and know amount of teaching can or well change that.
2pyrs

 

jamiya you hit the nail right on the head. humans mouths are dirtier

I have not read any thing on this or seen any facts to this account but I ask this just how many of you have had shi*, poo in your mouth or licked up after a dog has taken a leak such as my male dog does after our female does her stuff. I think my favorite is when my male runs behind our female with his noise up her butt, sure I just wait for him to finish and have my turn for a big kiss.

2pyrs :lol:

 

A baby is the most defenseless life there is. It knows not danger and fear and can not fend for its self.

The numbers very from state and keep in mind not all bites or injury's are reported. I am not saying to get rid of your pet, I am not saying all dogs well bite. I am saying beware it can and does happen. Keep your pet out of the face of your child and yours.
A dog does not know your intensions every second. Is it worth the chance your child or someone else's could be hurt ?
I love my animals but I am not so detached that I don't realize that they can and have been known to turn on there owners and others in a blink of and eye. Live every second as if it well happen yes I do, and won't turn my back for that second or put my dogs into a position that could be cause and affect.Silly to some maybe but I found that those are the people that at some time in there life get hurt or others because they have not taken the time to learn. They seem to think that there dog is just perfect and would never bite or hurt anyone, they are just to loving and kind to hurt someone. But what scares me even more is the person that gets a dog just to say I have a dog and I don't have time to train and learn about it. I have always felt there should be a law just like getting a gun you need to take a class before you can get a dog and if you don't pass it well NO dog. I spent two years reading and asking about Pyrs before I got one and three more years asking advise from long time owners. Am I Pyr perfect now well maybe in the next life. I feel there is always someone with more smarts then me about dogs and certain breeds, so I ask and I learn and I pass it on. Don't misunderstand me there are those out there that are very responsible with there pets, but to few of them.
2pyrs
http://www.hsus.org/ace/11843

 

How many children do you suppose go to the bathroom and wipe their behinds and do NOT wash their hands? I'd say most of them that don't have a parent standing outside the bathroom door making them wash. I think "germs" aren't as scary as doctors want to make us think they are. Of course, they CAN be - but then again you CAN break your back and be paralyzed falling off your couch, but do you worry about that every time you sit down? I hope not.

Here is some info on the "dog's mouth is cleaner" thing. It was said all the time when I was a kid, because human bites were MUCH more nasty as far as infection goes than dog bites were. Apparently, however, it is not true and a dog's mouth is just as "dirty" as a human's. (http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/weekly/aa090400a.htm)

I have seen farm kids playing outside and I would guess they are no cleaner than most dogs.

I don't enjoy having a dog lick the inside of my mouth, but generally that doesn't happen. I don't mind them licking my face, since I can't reach my face with my tongue so I don't think any possible germs on my skin are going to harm me. I touch my dogs with my hands all the time, and my hands are much more likely to end up in my mouth than my face is. I know people who wash their hands EVERY TIME they pet a dog - I don't have the energy for that. But each to their own.

I wholeheartedly agree about ALWAYS supervising children with the dogs. You never know what can happen. You've heard stories about moms leaving an infant in the tub for "just a minute" to go grab the phone and the infant drowns? Same thing.

Life CAN change in an instant. But we have to choose what we worry about and minimize the risks we can, and then just not obsess over it.


Jamiya