WWYD Puppy v Baby
10Ok so I am looking for some opinions here. As I think everyone knows I have a 10 month old pup. He is super active and likes to jump, run and play with EVERYONE.
I also have a neighbor with a roughly one year old kid. So the kid is walking pretty good and babbles. Apparently she loves animals (awesome) and is super attracted to the pup (meh). I think because he is fluffy and animated like a Muppet.
The neighbors have stopped by a few times telling me how excited the kiddo is every time she sees the pup and wants to pet him. First few times I politely explained that I am really working on his impulse control. That he gets super excited when people approach and he wants to jump up to greet them. I don’t think he wants to hurt anyone, he is just so excited he cannot stand it. Told them maybe we should hold off until he gets a little older and burns off some of that “puppy energy”. They were dissapointed but finally continued on their walk.
So about two days after the last talk they showed up while I was in the yard and just let her walk up to him. I quickly gave him a down command to make him submissive and just held my breath. He did good. She kind of hit/pet him a few times - so happy he just laid there (thank god).
Now seems like every time I am outside and they are outside they walk her down. Through his training he is doing so much better, but I am telling you it is not perfect. I continue to work with him every day to help him understand what is and is not acceptable.
My concern is for the baby and my pup. I don’t want him to jump on her and she falls down and gets hurt. I don’t want her to pull his hair or hit him and have him paw her (he play slaps back) or nip at her - that has consequences for both.
What do you guys think. Am I being overly paranoid?
- 15 comments, 36 replies
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POKER! JOKER! NOT MEDIOCRE! AWESOME!
You’re being appropriately paranoid. You need to make some rules, maybe hold your dog’s collar when the baby pets him.
@sammydog01 well and I should add that in general they are a very nice couple. I don’t want to offend them in any way. I just want to protect pupper and the baby.
The last few times I have stayed inside my fence and haven’t offered to come out or ask them to come in.
@tinamarie1974 If your dog snaps at their baby they won’t be nice any more.
@sammydog01 execellent point!
My brother was bit by the family dog when he was 2 in the face… nearly took his eye… and that was a pup that was around him all the time… never showed aggression before that moment… just the way my brother grabbed her at that moment hurt her or startled her but caused her to react in full defense mode as a natural defense… and sadly the dog had to be put down… my brother is now in his forties and has big dogs and recovered just fine… but it has taught us that sometimes animals just act like animals and so little ones need to be heavily monitored around them… When I married my wife 10 years ago my son was four and lives with us… and she had a very hyper pit-mix that decided the little 4 to 5 year old needed her protection and for 10 years has rarely left his side when we are at home… loves to wrestle with him and used to drag him around the whole house if he was holding a rope… but we were super careful at first and introduced them slowly to each other and he was a bit older and could understand that he needed to be gentle until they learned each other… So I would say you know your dog best… and if you don’t like it you need to stand up to them and set boundaries… it is not their dog it’s yours… but that is just my overly wordy opinion
@Koolhandjoe
this!
@Koolhandjoe thanks for your well thought out and NOT overly wordy thoughts. Much appreciated
@Koolhandjoe @tinamarie1974 Agree 1000%!
Not paranoid at all. The parents are not setting a good example or boundaries for the child. It places you in the position of being the bad mean person. Really, ask if is ok to play with the pup and ignore the answer they don’t want. I would be furious.
Even if your pup was older and perfectly behaved they would be wrong in my opinion. I know you can’t encase kids or pups in bubble wrap but the child is a bit young to understand how to act around animals.
@speediedelivery that is how I feel!
I have done things like grab his food bowl while eating, gently pull his hair while playing w him, taking toys out of his mouth, etc to ensure he doesn’t react negatively. But that said…puppies are crazy, they are like dogs on crack. All their teeth fall out, they go from running around like a maniac to literally just falling down to take a nap like a narcoleptic. Sometimes they do irrational things, even if they know better. Every day is an adventure
@tinamarie1974
hey… I resemble that remark…!
(OK, not the tooth loss part, yet…)
@chienfou same!
@tinamarie1974
When I was college aged (MCMLXX’s) I used to run a pizza parlor in Boulder,CO while attending CU (shoutout to @kyeh). One night as we were closing up shop one of the employees offered to sell me some speed. When I told her I didn’t do speed she said “Holy shit! You mean you’re like this all the time ?… well, then, you wanna buy some downers…”
@chienfou @tinamarie1974 And from what you manage to get done with work and your acreage and traveling and cooking and home improvements… it sounds like you’re STILL that way!
a few thoughts:
@chienfou omg no. One puppy is enough for now. It is so much better but he has his days and he drives me crazy. And kids, I never wanted to have them. They make me nervous.
I think you should ring their doorbell during naptime for the baby
tell them it is time for the puppy to play!! (Sorry not helpful, but I think your concerns are very valid!)
@mikibell
Ohhh… I like that suggestion.
@mikibell I totally
this. That would be hilarious
Draw up a waiver and tell them if they’re going to continue disregarding your answer then they’re gonna need to sign this form right here stating that you are not responsible for anything that happens as a result of them unleashing their baby on your pup as you advised against it.
If they are willing to do that, bless their hearts. If they’re not, maybe they’ll get the picture.
Ok that was sarcastic, but people that don’t listen wear me out.
@djslack agree, it is why in general I do not like people
@tinamarie1974
well if it helps… captcha thinks I’m a robot…
Greetings, new robot friend. In time you will come to accept your robotic ways.
@chienfou I said in general. I think you pass the test!
You appear to be a rational, pragmatic individual.
/giphy smile
@tinamarie1974
pragmatic always sounded like one of Ron Popeil’s sale items… “but wait, there’s more… for only a penny extra you can get the prag-o-matic…”
@chienfou sorry, I work with Germans who learned the Queens English in school. They say it ALL the time, I guess it has rubbed off on me.
@chienfou @tinamarie1974
I’d venture you’ve rubbed off a bit more than the Queen’s English.
And when did you start caring what other people think of you? lol
@tinamarie1974 That’s fine. I actually enjoy the English language and wish more folks used more of it… besides, I like a girl that talks good!
@chienfou @tinamarie1974 “Some people have a way with words, and other people… uh, not have way.” -Steve Martin
I think your concerns are valid. I also think there is another reason, besides those mentioned (that you need to set and enforce boundaries for safety reasons, not to mention it is your dog and your yard and they have no right to decide their kid gets to interact with your dog). You will be the one they will sue if the baby gets bit by the dog regardless of whose fault it is. You may be forced to put your pup down. And the baby may hurt your pup. And you will be the one who pays. Maybe you can find a short article about the dangers of little kids and puppies to give to them?
I would just say, "As much as I know your kid is interested in my pup, he is not old enough or yet trained well enough to reliably behave around children. It is dangerous for both of them and I am not comfortable having your daughter interact with my puppy until they both are older and it is safer. I am afraid one or both of them could get hurt and I’d feel awful if your child was bit and seriously injured. As a result I’d appreciate it if they don’t interact, she enjoys just looking at him from a safe distance and only while I have him on a leash so that he doesn’t bolt, run to her and possibly injure her in his excitement. Perhaps since she likes dogs so much your family can adopt one? (Let’s hope they don’t as it sounds like they have little sense about this).
Good luck. Situations are hard, especially since you don’t want to alienate your neighbor.
Make sure you train the pupper to make their morning dump over on their front porch. Or when the pupper starts humping the neighbors kid, make a loud comment about how much your dog just loves their kid.
As a Scottie, yekoP is definitely NOT a little kids’ dog. He’s great with us and other adults. But for us, if you’re single digits, best to just let him be. This is a breed issue, not a yekoP issue. We just explain that he can be grumpy so just leave him be. And if there are really little kids coming over (0-4ish), we put him upstairs (he’s too scared of the stairs to come down on his own!).
You have explained that he is all puppy and doesn’t really know his size or strength and thus it is better to leave him be for now. Basically the same thing we do, just different reasons. You know your dog best and you are asking them to respect that. If you need to remind them again, so be it. It’s not overreacting in the slightest. It’s responsible dog ownership.
@ybmuG
Amen to that!
Please stop worrying about being nice and do the right thing. People should never touch a dog without permission. EVER. That child is not too young to learn this right now. (Also never pet through a fence or cage. Even friendly animals may protect their space)
My first thought when I saw the subject line was a puppy vs. baby cage match. Now that I’ve read your post, it sounds like the way to go.;-)
I know a good realtor. Move away from that hell hole.
@medz nah it is a good neighborhood and in general they are good neighbors. I think the wife is just being a little pushy on this topic. Baby wants to pet the puppy so it is gonna happen!
@tinamarie1974 start petting their baby!
@medz hahaha!
tell them the truth… how you feel.
you are afraid that because they are both so young they could unintentionally hurt each other and you don’t want that to happen and you want to wait for interaction between the 2 of them until they are both a little older.
and i will let you know when i am comfortable enough for that to safely happen. thank you for understanding.
you got a pic of this pup? and what is his name ?
@mick good advice, thanks. His name is Charlie
@tinamarie1974
charlie he is fantastic!
but you got to trim that eye hair…
so he can see more better…
and so we can all see his beautiful eyes!
betcha he has real long eyelashes under all that long hair.
i hope you both can bring much trust and love and caring in your new life together.
i wish you much happiness with your new bestest friend!
@mick awwe thanks Mick. He does have some long eyelashes, but he seems to see quite well. Drop a piece of food or let a tiny bird fly into the yard and he is moving!! The other day I watched him follow a bumble bee around the yard. He didn’t try to grab it, he was just following it around like he was trying to figure out what it was or what it was doing lol
You need to get a baby doll arm and coat one side of it with peanut butter and the other side with stage blood.
Make sure the small child sees the dog with it. Problem of child wanting to pet dog solved.
@OnionSoup oh that is great! I bet @koolhandjoe could make such a prop!
Actually I noticed the other day, seems like right after I posted, I got another suprise visit while out in the yard. Dad seemed to get a little upset when pup barked while baby was standing there looking at him. He just quietly walked away with baby and went home while mom stood to talk about whatever. Took her a few minutes to realize they were gone lol
Maybe I need to start letting the pup bark at everything
@OnionSoup @tinamarie1974 Never thought to market to the revenge crowd…
@Koolhandjoe @OnionSoup but it is genius!! Opens entire new markets for you!!
@Koolhandjoe @OnionSoup @tinamarie1974 You need to buy the glitter bomb letter/package customer list. I am guessing may of them will want one of your items to send as a follow up
revenge actpackage.@Koolhandjoe @OnionSoup @tinamarie1974 Sounds like the barking pup may solve this for you without any overt action on your part. Of course confusing to the pup if you try to stop the barking with others and not that family when baby is in tow.
@Kidsandliz @Koolhandjoe @OnionSoup I am ok with a little confusion