so sad...Dobe attacks baby

That's terrible.  Only 8 months old.  I wonder what made the dog attack.  I have never owned Dobes before.  I feel sorry for the family, the baby, and the dog. 

How sad.  I wonder what prompted the attack. 

I bet there were signs that went unheeded. 

Andrew was on a blanket on the floor when the dog attacked

This is always a prescription for disaster.  No matter how nice the dog is, I tell all my students never to leave a child on the floor with a dog, or a dog on the couch with a child.  We see this again and again.  Whether it's predatory drift, or the dog being accidentally grabbed by the child, or the child appearing to be a possession, or a "toy" (after all, some dogs play with large squeak toys on the floor), dog doesn't see child as a human leader, or whatever the cause, the preventive strategy is supervision and keeping the child's face away from the dog's teeth.  Often, when we see face bites, or shaking by the neck, it's a scenario where the child and dog were on the same level.   Most of these incidents are so preventable with a bit of proper (even if paranoid) management, and supervision.  I would never leave any of my drivey or protective dogs with a child unless I was right there to supervise.  If you need to go away and a relative is babysitting the child, take the dog to a kennel.  These incidents are rare, but only take a second to happen, and parents should never assume their dog is incapable, even if the dog is a paragon of canine virtue.  I've said it a gazillion times, but the way to protect your child is to protect and supervise your dog - yourself, and in all situations.  As a former Dobe owner, this makes me very sad - but these are dogs that, once they grab "prey" or "threat", the m.o. is that they shake it - hard.  Eight months, if I'm not mistaken, is the period in human development (help me moms out there) where babies get mobile and start grabbing and pushing and eventually trying to stand.  So, to the dog, what was once an innocuous little being that left him alone, now the "alien being" is coming at him, and some dogs find that very threatening - others find it stimulating.  Neither is good for baby - each stage of a child's development, especially in a home with adult or adolescent dogs, should be accompanied by training for the dog that reduces the possibility of the dog misinterpreting the child's activity, or dealing with it inappropriately.