Babies and Staffies

nibs

It seems to me pollyanna24 that you are being very sensible in your thinking, that although you feel your dog would never attack, you recognise could be a problem and you want to address this issue before it developes. I have only given my opinion as i keep stating but obviously you will do what you feel is right.
There are a couple of posters that really should learn to debate things rather than dictate things,

mrcol1000

pollyanna24 wrote: »

Cor blimey, what have I started?!

I have 99.99% trust that my dog will not bite me, my child or anyone else, but there is always that risk that one day will just be too much for her.

She growls and snaps the air when other dogs consistently annoy her (I'm talking when they literally won't leave her alone and the owners won't intervene).

But with children, she seems to be fine. We have a two year old that comes around a lot and he always seems to have her in a headlock and climbing into her bed with her. As much as we tell the boy's mother to stop him doing this, he won't. So when the dog goes to her bed now, we shut the living room door so the boy won't go in to her.

But any dog can bite your child or you. There are 100's of reasons why a dog may bite a person. This is why you shouldn't leave a child alone with a dog. You can't trust either of them not to harm the other.

pollyanna24

mrcol1000 wrote: »

But any dog can bite your child or you. There are 100's of reasons why a dog may bite a person. This is why you shouldn't leave a child alone with a dog. You can't trust either of them not to harm the other.

I know all that. I thought from all my other posts this was quite clear. I would never leave my dog with a child or my baby alone. That's just plain silly.

tiamai_d

mrcol1000 wrote: »

But any dog can bite your child or you. There are 100's of reasons why a dog may bite a person. This is why you shouldn't leave a child alone with a dog. You can't trust either of them not to harm the other.

I didn't read it as she left the dog alone with the child...

That's like saying never cross a road because if you don't look you may get knocked over by a car.

Raksha

from what you say your dog has excellent bite inhibition. This is great news and a good indicator that even if she does snap it's highly unlikely she will do any damage.

I really wonder if the people who advise rehoming the dog actually understand dogs at all.

Xaviera

pollyanna24 wrote: »

Cor blimey, what have I started?!

I have 99.99% trust that my dog will not bite me, my child or anyone else, but there is always that risk that one day will just be too much for her.

She growls and snaps the air when other dogs consistently annoy her (I'm talking when they literally won't leave her alone and the owners won't intervene).

But with children, she seems to be fine. We have a two year old that comes around a lot and he always seems to have her in a headlock and climbing into her bed with her. As much as we tell the boy's mother to stop him doing this, he won't. So when the dog goes to her bed now, we shut the living room door so the boy won't go in to her.

One thing to remember, at any point, your dog or any dog, could bite you, but they don't. They could kill you and tear your throat out, but they don't. Because they love us.

The kids that play with my staff do similar things, and she takes it all in her stride, she'll retreat to her bed if she has enough!

Raksha wrote: »

I really wonder if the people who advise rehoming the dog actually understand dogs at all.

Well said. :T

pollyanna24

Thanks everyone. I didn't post on here expecting people to tell me to get rid of my doggie, but thanks for everyone's comments.

Last night we just ignored the dog and yep, she was round our feet again, but seems to be getting more confident about the walker. Just jumps around it. Just seems to get a bit panicky when daughter and walker are blocking a doorway that she wants to get through .

This morning, as daughter is almost on her way to crawling, she was on the sofa making her way towards doggie and touching her paws which was quite cute. Dog just looked at her, sniffed her head, and jumped off the sofa. I think it will work out in the end.

Winky,_The_House_Elf

Just saw this thread, its great that you seem to making some progress.

As Tiamaid said the safe-area is an excellent idea. There are a number of options for this. Have you thought about a dog crate? If the dog has someplace where they are 100% confident that it is safe for them to be, it gives them a bolt-hole so to speak. I am not talking about locking your "furbaby" up, leave the gate open so he/she can come and go, and as they please and still see whats going on and be part of the family.

You sound like you ae doing a wonderful job, and being a fully responsible parent and dog owner. Good luck!


Winky