I've been warning DD to NEVER leave the baby alone with her St. Bernard

[marlasmom]

The dog is as gentle as gentle can be and has loved visiting babies and children, but I am afraid she will think the new baby is a toy or even get jealous.

I love the dog and don't for a second want them to get rid of her, but I think the baby should not be left alone with the dog.

What do you all think?

 

[Rippington'sFan]

I agree 100%. You never know what can happen.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Absolutely!!! Any dog can be unpredictable around a child, it's just not worth the risk. And that "toy" thought that you have is very, very possible. It happened to us, my Newfoundland thought that DS6 was a toy, and scratched him while DS was on the ground. I thought they were playing (didn't see them), so I didn't stop it until DS was scratched. I learned a very hard lesson-and our Newf is the sweetest dog there is. He didn't mean to hurt DS, he was trying to play.

It is very painful for me to write about this even now, but I feel that you should really know that what you are concerned with is a very real fear.

 

[pammypooh]

Growing up we had 4 St. Bernards in a row. They are wonderful animals. However I agree with you that no animal should be left alone with an infant or young child.

Enjoy your new grandbaby!

Pam

 

[missy28]

As a St. Bernard owner and lover, I don't think the dog will get jealous of the baby or think of the baby as a toy-- but I also don't think it's good idea to leave a baby alone with any animal until you know how they will react. Especially a huge dog like a St. Bernard, sometimes they don't realize how big and strong they are! (Mine thinks she is a lap dog!) BUT I also think in the long run, the dog will come to accept the baby as a part of the "pack"-- and will become protective of the baby as he grows. When I was a child, my St. Bernard was my pretoector-- followed me allover the neighborhood, and looked out for me. St. Bernard's are big babies at heart, and I'm sure that the baby and the dog will get along famously once they have been prperly acclimated to each other!!

 

[DisMN]

It's an animal and not a human. You can't tell what will set off a normally gentle sweet dog......it could be anything.

Not to mention that the amount a St Bernard drools might drown a baby.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

My Brother was bit in the face by a "gentle" dog. It almost bit all the way through his cheek. The only thing holding it together was a membrane.

So no, I do NOT trust animals around kids of any age. My Brother was in 3rd grade when that happened.

 

[IMISSDISNEY]

We have a boxer and a great dane they are both wonderful dogs. Our son who is 2 1/2 and our great dane are especially close. Our great dane is very protective of my son and lets my son pet him, tug his ears, climb across him . He loves the attention. However I would never leave my son alone with the dogs.

 

[CEDmom]

I agree that no animal regardless of how friendly s/b left alone with a baby. I know a few people that took the door off their baby's room and installed a full length screen door in it's place. This allowed their dog to see, hear and smell the baby but be at a safe distance with a protective barrier.

 

[Pin Wizard]

Never! Especially if the dog was there prior to the baby, there's jealousy going on!!

 

[JerseyJanice]

I took my big lab mix to obedience school last year.

The trainers there told us NEVER to leave our dogs unsupervised around young children (even if the dog were a tiny Yorkie). They said never to trust any dog around little kids.

Better safe than sorry, was what they said. I agree.

 

[workinggal]

Why would a baby be left alone to begin with??????

 

[Disney Doll]

An animal is an animal, and an animal and a baby should always be supervised. Even an animal that would not dream of hurting anyone could be playing with the baby and hurt it, based on sheer size.

Also, a baby poking errantly into the dog's eye or something might povoke the dog to protect itself.

My dog is the gentlest, most happy-go-lucky dog there is, and when we have friends' children over, I watch Ted like a hawk. Thankfully, he seems to see it as his job to follow around and protect the kids, but even still...you can never be too careful.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

Why would a baby be left alone to begin with??????

I think she means in another room. Sometimes you do have to take a shower or use the facilities.

There was a story about a year ago where somebody left a newborn baby on top of the bed with a Pekingnese while they went to fix a bottle and the dog killed the baby.

I always introduced my dogs and babies to each other gradually.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

I have to agree. Even though I have a cat and not a dog, I can understand where you are coming from. I am very cautious around the baby when the cat is in the room. I watch Rumple like a hawk when she's around DS even though I know that she doesn't really want to come near him and avoids him at all costs. I think in her mind, he's kind of like a very small appliance. He makes a LOT of noise and was VERY VERY scary at first, but he's not going to bother her so she ignores him for the most part.

TOV

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Originally posted by TheOtherVillainess
I think in her mind, he's kind of like a very small appliance. He makes a LOT of noise and was VERY VERY scary at first, but he's not going to bother her so she ignores him for the most part.

TOV

LOL, TOV! Kinda like a coffee grinder or the dishwasher!!

I agree, a baby or even small child can be very confusing to a pet. So until the child is old enough to know how to treat an animal with respect(consistently-it's not just the dog you can't trust!) and is also big enough not to be knocked down by the dog, they must be supervised. Even though our pets are like our babies, we have to remember that they are first and foremost-animals, who don't always understand everything...I guess that description also applies to kids!!

 

[issa]

this was just in the news this past friday in central florida


Children removed from home after dog attack

The Associated Press
Posted August 5, 2004, 7:24 AM EDT

SEMINOLE -- Three children were removed from the home where a 2-week-old girl was mauled by a dog who carried the baby through the house in its mouth.

Suzanna Pound remained in critical condition at All Children's Hospital with two skull fractures.

State welfare workers took her three siblings, Joanna, 14 months, Hannah, 3, and Isaiah, 4, from their father on Wednesday, moments after he spoke to reporters outside the hospital.

"The court found the childrens' environment was unsafe," said Mac McMullen, spokesman for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. He declined to elaborate.

The 66-pound dog, named Spirit, was euthanized Wednesday after animal services officials determined that it was a wolf hybrid. There is no rabies vaccine for wolf hybrids. The dog's owner, Suzanna's aunt, initially said it was a German shepherd, chow and Alaskan malamute mix.

Suzanna was lying unattended on a bed Monday when Spirit grabbed her by the head and carried her around the house, said her father, Greg Pound.

The dog was usually kept outside, but was let in because of the rain, and the baby's aunt forgot to close the bedroom door, he said.

"There was a lot of bleeding," Pound said. "They had to give the baby a lot of blood."

 

[Chicago526]

A lot of times, if the dog was a puppy when the child/baby is around, the dog then thinks of the child/baby as a litter-mate, and thus it is "okay" to play with the child/baby in a rough way (cuz that's what puppies/dogs do with eachother). My next door neighbor has a boxer puppy that used to tackle their youngest. It was kind of funny (the child wasn't hurt and thought is was funny too) but they always had to keep an eye on her after that.

If the dog is already there, they can see the new baby as a lower member of the pack, and thus they get to "boss" the baby around, which includes disapline. If the baby is doing something to the dog that the dog doesn't like, the dog will treat the baby exactly like they would a puppy, and nip and snap at them. That of course freaks both the baby and the parents out.

In short, the dog behaves like a dog, and it's not the dogs fault, they don't know any better. They often aren't being visious, but just doing what the dog thinks is "right" for the "puppy". It's best to supervise the dog and the baby, for the health and safety of both.

 

[Poohbear123]

NEVER TRUST A ST. BERNARD WITH CHILDREN, DUCKS, CATS, AND ANYTHING SMALLER THAN IT! My DH's DD had a St. Bernard, the most vicious animal I ever saw! It was forever attacking smaller animals, and I would NEVER trust it around ANY child!

 

[missy28]

I'm sorry, but I just hate broad sweeping generalizations about any breed of dog-- ALL St. Bernards are not vicious animals. I am smaller than my St. bernard, and I don't worry about my safety. My St. Bernard is the gentlest creature I've ever seen... this doesn't mean that some couldn't be vicious, but it doesn't mean that simply because they are a St. Bernard that they are gonna attack and rip to pieces everything it comes in contact with!! A dog's temperament is dependant on many factors, including bloodline, and how a dog is raised. Don't throw all dogs into one vicious pile!!