Teaching Manners, Behaviors, and Relationships
Excerpts from “Please Don’t Bite the Baby, and Please Don’t Chase the Dogs,” by Lisa J Edwards on how to keep kids and dogs safe and together.
For excerpts from Please Don’t Bite the Baby, click here.
Or email lisa@threedogstraining.com
A family adopted a six-month-old puppy who was anxious and afraid. When she was introduced to the family’s young cousins (four-years and eleven-months — TODDLERS) she seemed curious. But then barked and lunged at them when they made sudden movements. They had expected their toddlers and dogs to be safe together.
The family tried to ‘firmly correct’ their dog’s behavior, but it didn’t work.
Correcting the dog will NOT teach the dog the right thing to do. Nor will it teach the dog to love the child, it will probably do the opposite.
Regardless of new-rescue-dog or dog you’ve had for years, all toddlers and dogs need to be supervised and taught how to be safe around each other. For some dogs this is a quick lesson but for others with fears and anxiety, this can move at a slower pace.
This process will include desensitization and counterconditioning when a dog already has some anxiety around children. Or good socialization when a dog is simply unfamiliar with small children.
Please Don’t Bite the Baby and Please Don’t Chase the Dog, excerpt pages 187 – 188
What is it about toddlers that gets to so many dogs? This question should be asked more often. But because many people feel their good dog can or should withstand anything their child has to throw at her (literally and figuratively), the question is not asked, and without questions there can be no help in the form of answers.
I knew even before having a toddler that they are bundles of energy with quick, unsteady bursts of movement. The literature about toddlers is filled with buzzwords that should scare the dick- ens out of anyone approaching this milestone: defiance, pitching fits, tantrums, and getting into everything. From the dog’s perspective many, if not all, of those can be difficult to process.
Quick, unsteady movements are triggers for your dog’s predatory or flight instincts.
Dogs have been honed by nature to react to quick movements for survival. Such movements signal that their dinner awaits. Your dog may not be looking at your toddler as a prey animal, but they are still programmed to chase anything that moves quickly and erratically. Think squirrels, bunnies, and even darting deer, and then ask if your toddler’s play movements resemble any of these animals. In this stage your toddler is triggering a very primal instinct in your dog. Some dogs learn not to chase the child, but they are in the minority. Most homes with toddlers and dogs report multiple nippings of ankles, pants legs, and hands as children move through the house.
So, what can you do?
While you are training, keep them separated by baby gates to prevent mistakes. Give your dog Super High Value Treats when they are watching your child. You can set your dog up with great toys, or durable chews they like. All of these will help your dog make the association that when the child appears, they will have great fun!
Don’t let you child grab at or run towards the dog. This can scare your dog and they will then have to choose how to respond to that fear. Fight is one of the first choices a dog can make when afraid.
Train your dog to know an escape route so you can quickly and easily send them out of the way of the toddler.
Teach your dog how to settle near your child and PAY your dog WELL for all the little zany things your child might do.
If you take your time and do this right, your dog and baby can grow old together safely.
Please Don’t Bite the Baby, and Please Don’t Chase the Dog has more suggestions than I can fit a blog.
For more helpful tips, on keeping baby safe around dogs, pick up a copy here or…
Visit your local library.
She kept me updated over the years and has given me permission to share her story of love, safety, and success.
“When we brought Baby-L home I felt like I was drowning in fear and anxiety because of our dog, and I honestly thought I would never come out of it. Obviously, I still manage and watch them carefully, but I do feel confident and I am much more emotionally relaxed while I help them build their relationship.”
Jessica’s note from September 2020
Jessica worked on teaching Brody skills to be comfortable around Baby-L while separated by a gate or play yard, or very focused oversight.
When a dog is on the other side of a baby gate or play yard he can watch baby’s development and learn to be okay with a crawling, toddling child. It also allows us to be able to give our dog commands and rewards for being quiet and calm around the baby.
More details on this can be found in Please Don’t Bite the Baby and Please Don’t Chase the Dogs, Gates and Crates! pg 52
Teaching our dogs how to be happy on the other side of a gate or in their crate is pretty easy but will take a bit of attention and training.
In a crate or behind a baby gate is a lovely and secure place for dogs to spend time when you’re not at home or you can’t be watching them because you’re in the shower, taking care of a baby, or busy making dinner, just to name a few.
The techniques in the excerpt below will apply to crate and gate training equally. Whether you are crating for puppy potty and house manners, or gating so you dog can see your baby having floor time, the process will be the same.
Behind the gate or in the crate should be a safe place where your dog is not disturbed and where they can have fun with wonderful safe things like – toys, food, treats, a kong, a bone, and more. Remember if crating for puppy potty training, the size of the crate should be large enough for your pup to turn around, lie down, and stand up without crouching. More on puppy potty and manners in the Puppy 101 series.
Pinball getting sleepy in his crate.
If your dog hurts himself in the crate you will want to try to build happy crate time following the steps above but at a much slower pace and only for occasional use. While you may not envision putting your dog in a crate regularly, there are situations in addition to management that will call for your dog to have crate time, such as: the dog is lost and taken in by Animal Control, or the dog is injured or must undergo surgery that requires them to be crate-rested for a period of time. If your dog finds himself in either of these situations and is unhappy in the crate, he will be extremely stressed and may hurt himself while crated and his crate fears will only increase. If your dog simply cannot adjust to a crate, do not force the issue.
Odin’s family took time before their new baby came home to learn how to and what to train Odin to do to keep their family happy and safe together.
Odin the dog prepares for his family’s new baby by doing a settle command while the baby swing goes back and forth.
This allowed Odin to learn how to be calm around baby gizmos like this. He also prepares by learning that these items are not scary things.
For more details on desensitizing your dog to baby gizmos see the Excerpt chapter one – ‘The Ruff Wait for Baby’ from Please Don’t Bite the Baby here.
Odin’s family took time before their new baby came home to learn how to and what to train Odin to do to keep their family happy and safe together.
For more details on how to keep your baby and dog(s) safe and happy together, see more exerpts here.
Or you can buy Please Don’t Bite the Baby, and Please Don’t Chase the Dogs.
Congratulations to Odin and his family – it is all well worth it!
