A 2-day old infant was killed in Pennsylvania after being bitten by the family's 80-pound husky. Doesn't that just absolutely make your heart sink? And if being attacked by the dog wasn't bad enough -- it happened after the baby's mother left him alone so that she could go to the bathroom.
She heard the poor little boy crying while she was in there, and then came out to see blood on her dog's muzzle. Can you imagine a more horrific sight than that? It makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it.
And although this was a tragic accident and the mother did not intentionally put the baby in harm's way, it should still serve as an important reminder that babies should not be left alone with dogs -- even if the pet normally seems good natured.
A few months after I had my son, family friends of ours asked if I would mind dog-sitting for them while they went on vacation. I had watched their adorable little Shih-Tzu a number of times before, so I happily agreed. But then I started thinking about the fact that I had a new baby in the house -- and I suddenly became nervous about having the dog around. Don't get me wrong, he was a totally sweet, tiny 8-pound ball of fur that I'd always loved taking care of -- but he'd never been around babies before. And I decided I wasn't willing to take the risk of something going wrong, so I called our friends back and told them I'd changed my mind about watching him.
I consider myself to be an animal lover, but dogs being left alone with babies just makes me incredibly nervous. Regardless of how gentle they might seem, it's important to remember that dogs are in fact, animals, and they can sometimes react to new things in a manner that is totally out of character for them.
I'm not saying that people should get rid of their pets when their babies arrive, but it's very important to gradually introduce a pet to a new member of the family instead of assuming that it will automatically accept the baby into the house without flinching. On top of that, a dog is not a babysitter, and it should never be left alone with an infant, period. Erring on the side of caution with animals is the only way to prevent tragedies like what happened to that poor baby boy from occurring again and breaking the hearts of another family.
What steps did you take to introduce your pet to your new baby?
Image via ertdredge/Flickr
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Comments 132
Any time you are making a drastic change in a pet's life, it is a good idea to consult a professional. We bought two Dane/Mastiff mix pups while I was pregnant with DS. From day one, we put them in puppy classes. The trainer gave us special attention, came to our home, etc to help us make sure the dogs would adapt to the baby well. DS and the dogs never "met" until the trainer OK'd it. And now that we are expecting a second child, that same trainer is back in our home, b/c even if an animal is perfect the first time around, they CAN forget or act different the second time! So I'm doing all this, even though I already have schooling on kenneling and training dogs on my own, b/c I don't know if I could be impartial to my personal pets.
My heart goes out to this woman, but it sounds like a series of poor choices all around. Let's just hope others can learn from the wake up call.
Wow, that is horrible for that family, I have two pitbulls , I have had since they were seven weeks old . I too was nervous about bringing my baby home, I brought blankets from the hospital for my dogs to smell. and then when I brought the baby home, I let my dogs sniff babies butt and told them "baby" . I have always included them (the dogs) with everything and never once have either one of my dogs ever ever, tried to bite or get one of my kids ( 2 kids ages 2 and 4) my dogs are now eleven and six . They are still great and protective of my kids. I had the dogs first and I made sure to not let them feel like the baby was taking their place but instead the baby was for everyone to love and enjoy . My dogs are a part of my family and always will be I have inturn taught my children how to treat dogs and cats, I also have four cats, thou I did not have them when kids were babies . I am happy at the way things turned out . feel like I did it the right way, now a strange dog in my house, I would not be comfortable with but like I said I had had these dogs for quite a while before having kids.
As far as introducing the babies to the dogs, we never made it a huge deal. We just brought the baby in and let the dog see them while one of us held the baby and the other held the dog's collar. We talked to the dog and petted them, and if they wagged their tails we let them sniff the baby while still holding their collar and told them "easy" which they all knew meant to be gentle. Never had an issue. DH did have a Pomeranian that started attacking HIM when one of the kid's started walking and chasing the dog. But never had a dog go after a kid or a baby. My Rottweiler did drag my oldest across the yard by the leg of his pants when he was about 5. She then ran back over to where he was playing and killed a snake. She didn't get in trouble for that. I think it's just important to know your dog, know what stresses them, and make sure they are well socialized before you introduce them to a kid or baby. If you know kids stress your dog, you need to find a new home for the dog before you bring a baby home. But you still never leave a dog alone with a baby. The dog may just be trying to mother the baby, but things that are fine for a puppy like picking it up by the head or neck, can seriously injure a human baby. Dogs don't know that.
Lauren, wow, judgemental much? I had no intention of letting them get to know each other while my daughter was a baby. We found our routine and it worked for us. I agree it's probably more extreme than most people would do, but my sister was attacked in front of me when we were kids and she was only six and you would not believe how bad she looked. You can call me idiotic all you want, but my dog was happy, my daughter was safe, and that is all that matters to me. Plus, even with the baby blanket sniffing, a dog can turn on you in a split second, even if he has never been aggressive. That is just a fact.
MamaYankee- I am with you on the animals going outside, etc then walking/laying on the furniture. That is so disgusting to me. I know plenty of people are okay with it, I'm just not one of them. I have been attacked twice by two different dogs, both when I was younger. The first I lived just 3 houses down from and played with the owner's daughter almost daily. I don't understand the people that have their ANIMALS at the same level as their children. How could you possibly think that the animal is as important as the child you birthed??? Animals are just that...animals. This may offend some people, but it's my opinion.