Nipped @ Baby....what to do?

 Supervision! Lots of it! And attach a leash to the silky terrier for quick redirection. With the baby crawling, she's going to get into his space ALOT. And also make sure he has a safe place that is his alone that he can hide too.

Otherwise that's all I know of. I know there'll be other people coming along with better advice. Good luck! You might not have to rehome him, if you are willing to put the effort in.

well, your dog is timid and has health problems (possibly pain?) and you let your baby approach too fast! it means it is your fault, not the dogs and not the baby's!

dont get me wrong, i am not trying to beat you up here, and besides that stuff happens. what i am saying is, you need to realize that you cannot just put them all together in a room and expect everything to go well! constant 100% supervision when a dog is together with any baby, is crutial (sp??)!! it is up to you that both your dog and your baby are safe. the dog may not actually be in any danger, but he may perceive it as such, and that is the point!

are your dogs crate trained? if not, i'd suggest starting crate training. this will have the benefit that you can put your dogs in the crate when you cannot supervise (although ALSO putting your baby in a x-pen (not sure if you also call it that for kids?) is probably necessary!). but mostly it will be great for your dog, because even when it's just too much he can go in his crate on his own to "escape" from the baby. of course you need to make sure your baby doesnt follow!

you also need to make sure your dog is getting sufficient excercise when not crated.

i would also start teaching your baby to be gentle with the dogs and not approach them, but rather let them approach her! of course she wont understand right away, but you have to start somewhere, and it is very important that kids learn from small how to correctly interact with animals, esp with pets in the home!

that's just what i would do! i am by no means an expert. i still hope this helped a bit! good luck!

Drex

Has anyone gone through anything like this?

Raises hand!  Me!  My older dog is not keen on my baby, ever since he started crawling about.  There have been no nips, but only because I have been very considerate of my dog.  My younger dog, who is extraordinarily tolerant, is the "abnormal" one who would happily let Will do absolutely ANYTHING to her without turning a hair!  It is healthy, IMO, to have a dog in the house with a "normal" threshold, so that kids grow up with a realistic idea of what is OK to do around dogs.

My first suggestion is that, at this point there is no need to re-home your dog.  Your dog clearly does not WANT to bite your baby - he is not seeking her out and chewing her arm off.  He is actively trying to avoid confrontation and to me, that's a GOOD sign.

My second suggestiions is: Management.  Segregate dog and child.  Safely contain one or both to keep both safe.

Thirdly, give your dog a bolt hole (like a crate).  Ensure he ALWAYS has the option of Flight and DO NOT let your baby "corner" him.   Actively step in when the child gets too close to the dog and move her away to play with something else.  Let the dog see that if she SHOULD get too close, he can confidently wait for you to step in - he doesn't have to take matters into his own paws.

Fourth, give your child some boundaries - example, not allowed to go near the dog when he is on his bed/in his crate.  Your child is not too young to learn a few boundaries and not too young to learn "be gentle!" etc.  This is not "all about the dog".  It's about the child too!

Last but not least, start feeding the dog incredibly tiny but TASTY treats when the baby is around so that he starts to make a positive association with her and starts to change his emotional response.  If someone gave you £5 each timea policeman appeared, you would soon start to look forward to the appearance of policemen   On the same note, while being vigilan, RELAX around the dog and kid.  If you are tense it will make matters far worse as he will pick up on it.  #

If you can't relax - or if you cant give them both "eyes on" supervision - go back to management and confinement until there is a better time to let the 2 be around each other.

Hi Drex, welcome to the board.

You've already been given good advice here...management; containment and ensurance to the Yorkie that you are in control is key.  I also agree that lots of good treats when baby is around to show your silky that baby = goodies.

I sure would hate to see you rehome your dog of 7 years.  You and DW can do this.  And, I believe your silky will appreciate having a safe place to call his own (comfy crate).

I can't believe the behaviroist said the dog is trying to kill the baby.  Wow.  Find a new trainer that can help you guys.

Good luck!

Chuffy gave excellent adviceI would also add that steroids can make a dog crabby too.It may not be "much of a life" for your terrier to be crated alot but remember the situation is temporary.Your child will grow soon enough and develop self restraint. I would bet after seven years with you your dog would prefer a year or so of restrictions to the sad and scary prospect of fitting into a new home.Remember too that parents of multiple human children must be watchfull that little ones don't get hurt by their siblings.It is no different than those of us with dogs and kids.I don't know all your details,but your behaviorist sounds extreme.I would also like to add that if a dog were truely agressive [not defensive as yours sounds] it has no buisness in a home with kids in my opinion.

Tena

Ooo, thank you Tena

I just want to add that if your dog was TRULY being aggressive, rather than just timid, then I would say that the liability is too high for him to be rehomed and he should be euthanased. Even if he went to a home with kids, there are still A LOT of kids in this world that he could come in contact with and potentially seriously injure.

The fact that he moves away whenever possible and restrained himself to only a nip where you can't even see a mark is SUCH a good sign.  Think - any dog could scar a child for life if they wanted to!  Your dog has shown immense restraint, despite the fact that he missed out on the most important bite inhibition training (mum and littermates up to age 8weeks).... and despite the fact that he has had you almost to himself for 7years and is now having to adjust to some MAJOR life changes....  Rather than thinking "OMG!!! MY dog nipped my baby!"  I think you need to see the glaring positives in this situation.  *I* think that the dog has GREAT potential to be safe around this baby and actually grow to love her, although of course you should still never leave them unattended... but you knew that  

 Nor do I think it will mean years of putting up with long periods of confinement - your dog is an individual so it MAY take that long, but if you teach him that you can recognise his discomfort, you respect his need for space and you are fully in control of thhe situation, by stepping in and dealing with the child BEFORE he feels he has to, then I think he will come around pretty quickly.  I'm talking about months, not years. 

My eldest dog is THIRTEEN.  When my baby started crawling Max obviously was not keen.  That was about six months ago.  There has been gradual improvement, with his threshold rising all the time - and we have NOT been doling out treats whenever he and the baby are in the same room.... we have JUST been doing active supervision, management and quiet praise when he is relaxed around the child.  This is him a few weeks ago:

THE most important thing is showing the dog YOU will move the baby, so he doesn't have to.  I HIGHLY recommend Turid Rugaas' "Calming Signals".  This book will show you the small, subtle signals dogs give, LOOOOONG before we see the obvious ones like a growl or lip-curl... or running away, or nipping.  This gives you precious TIME to move the baby before the dog becomes too stressed. Good luck!

The behaviorist is wrong... can't believe they would ignore the obvious.  He has health issues, your daughter tried to crawl to and possible over him... mystery solved.   He either was hurt or feared being hurt.  He does not hate your child, there are no latent sibling resentment issues.... He hurts. Pretty simple.

You can try a few things. Number one check out a small x pen they have great plastic ones that can make into a large or small space. At my house with 5 grandkids I have alternated WHO was xpenned. Some times it was puppies some times grandkids, but it totally allowed me to set up a play area with great toys and not be freaking out when the baby was learning to crawl and I had a litter of puppies.  I have 5 , count them 5 grand kids who have grown up in my home.  They know the rules about how to treat the dogs and yes I started with each whe they were teeny tiny. No pulling , crawling or laying on any of them.... My pack of 8 would die for the babies.  My breed is big enough a nip would be a disaster! So the dogs are taught from tiny up as well, it does no one any good if the dog is gorgeous and wins a million ribbons if I can not trust them with the kids.  So I train, train , train.

Try simple things like the x pen , add glucosamine-chondroitin with msm and check into testing his hips for the extent of the possible pain or injury. Small dogs worry all the time about being stepped on or smushed .

I really would check into the Drs Foster and Smith catalog for that x pen , you can size it to fit your lifestlye allowing you to keep the old dude and still protect the baby.

Best of Luck

Bonita of Bwana