Hi everyone,

As some of you may know Im expecting my first child very soon.
I am just worried slightly as the family dog Lassie, a Patterdale Terrier is very funny around babies and small children, I dont live with her as she is with my mum and dad but from her being a pup I was at home so there is a bond with her.

When my cousin brought her son who was 2 at the time to the house, Lassie took an instant dislike to him and even snapped at him, altough to be fair to the dog he slipped and fell into her so she could have thought that he was attacking her. He is now 3 1/2years old and Lassie seems to be ok around him now he does chase her around but she moves out of his way.

When my baby finally arrives obviously, I will be visiting and am sure that there is going to be jealousy from Lassie and wonder if anyone has suggestions?

Stacey

Hi Stacey, congratulations on the forthcoming arrival of your baby, life will never be the same, the good news is it will be better. Firstly your babies safety is paramount. Make any introductions short and sweet, associate the baby arriving with good things, such as special treats the dog doesn't normally have, have your mum take her out of the room wanting more. The small child of your cousins IMO should not be allowed to chase the dog, and it is actually a testament to her temperament that she moves out of the way. Obviously babies and small children should never be left on their own with a dog.

I think as a rule you should never trust any dog with a child. Dogs that have been babied tend get jealousy issues with children.

Totally agree, our youngest (Abbie) has just turned 1year old, she loves our two Akita's & they love her.

Abbie knows not to pester the dogs & the dogs know Abbie is to be respected.

They all know I'm the pack leader too

Yeah I definately agree about not leaving children alone and not letting them chase dogs....they are watched very closely and Nathan is told that it is wrong for him to chase her. Thanks for the advice hopefully everything will be ok

Hi Stacey, firstly congratulations. I am a great believer in bringing up children with dogs. I was privileged to spent my entire life sharing with various breeds, and strongly believe that education is the key to a dog and child living in harmony.

Firstly I would NEVER recommend that you leave a baby alone with any dog, regardless of breed. If your dog is unused to having a child in the house a crying baby, could cause upset.

There is a particularly useful website which is awash with information regarding socialising your dog with children Home It offers sensible advise and I feel sure you will find it extremely interesting.

Good luck.

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[quote=Nina Cole;2164]Firstly I would NEVER recommend that you leave a baby alone with any dog, regardless of breed. If your dog is unused to having a child in the house a crying baby, could cause upset.[quote]

Completely agree!

I had a real debate on another forum once over this same subject...

some guy was trying to say if you cannot leave a dog alone with a child the dog should not be kept at all.

At the end of the day its common sense, any one with half a brain knows that
"he clearly had no brain"

Totally off subject but what a great name Nina Cole is! Hi I'm Nina Cole..

Hiya,

We got our first dog when our baby was 4 months old so they have grown up together. Don't know how they will react to the new one. They should be fine i think as they're used to getting their tails and ears pulled.
My Mum and Dad have a yorkie, a chihuahua and a lurcher/springer cross. When i had my son they used to bark at him when i took him round but after a week or two they where fine.

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Anna xx