Yorkie getting along with my new grandchild I have a yorkie who will be two in November. She is somewhat aggressive and I'm concerned how she will act around my new grandchild. I have a few months to prepare (baby is due in November) and would welcome any advice from those of you who have to deal with this issue. |
My yorkies are wonderful with babies but they are not aggressive in any way. I would be very careful when introducing them and see how it goes. I also would never leave the baby where the yorkie can get to it without supervision until the child is older. Good luck and congratulations on the new baby. |
You always need to watch little dogs around babies. Babies tend to want to grab that hair and twist! Once your grandchild is old enough to teach how to treat a dog properly I would think things will go fine as long as you are busy teaching your dog proper manners also. Little dogs need to be taught to respect others and to sit, stay and down when told. Gracie loves kids but my grand kids were 8 and 9 when Gracie came around and they already had been taught how to be gentle around animals. |
Yorkies have memories like elephants ! Small children can be rather careless about how they treat one, pulling their legs, hair, usually nothing real serious, but IF a Yorkie objects to that conduct, he just may never forgive the person/child that has done that to him. And, I've seen where a Yorkie (My Male Sneakers) has witnessed activity like that being done to another dog, and will not let that Child he saw do it, anywhere near him. (that's been two years now) Advisors for training a Yorkie, ALWAYS warn against placing a Yorkie with small children. They are not wrong. |
I keep my Piccolo leashed around my young nieces. Not that she would bite, just that she can't stand all the racket and wants to boss them around and get them to stop. |
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I NEVER put ANY dog around ANY baby!!! Too risky for both baby and dog!!! There is no reason in the world for a baby to be around a dog! |
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So then, what? The only option when a family has a baby is to rehome the dog? Then they'd get chewed out for rehoming a dog because of a baby... Sorry but if you are living in a home with baby, seperating the dogs 100% of the time is just not going to be feasible for most people. Not to mention the fact that the dog will probably end up resenting the baby because it suddenly is being locked away from this new crying thing in it's house. Babies and dogs have lived happily ever after for many years, and yes, some have issues but it's actually very rare. I think these articles were kinda interesting: Babies with dogs less likely to develop colds, ear infections as infants - HealthPop - CBS News Babies in dog-owning families may be healthier - Yahoo! News I think it's a wonderful experience for a baby to learn very early on how to be around a dog and for a dog to accept a baby. I will say that most dogs I've known that do not like kids, do not mind the family kids. Even Jackson tolerates a LOT more from my little sister (who is now 4 1/2) and my brother (8 1/2) than he ever would a random kid. However I have always spent a lot of time socializing and training him. Go to a park and watch the kids walk by? He got a treat. Let the kids pet him? He got a treat. It's usually a matter of training, and patience, and socializing (both the kids and the dogs!) I think people don't give Yorkies enough credit. They are highly capable of loving kids and being taught to enjoy them even (or at the least tolerate). And then WAY too many people assume Labs and big dogs have to take and tolerate kids jumping on them, pulling on them, etc, and that's when things get messy. It's just all about supervision and training really! Obviously, precautions must be made. Never leave them in a room alone together etc. But you can start early with getting her associated with children in a positive light. It sounds dumb, but you could even get a crying baby doll, and let the dog investigate and sniff. Treat them, etc, let them know that it's normal and have to be gentle around. Also, when you come home from the hospital, bring some of the babies clothes or blanket etc so the dog can smell them before even meeting them. Initially, every time the baby comes over, give your dog a very high value reward when behaving. Let the dog know that every time that baby comes... Wow, I get this awesome treat!! Use a treat that ONLY come out when the baby is over. Check out this Cool blog for babies & dogs: Dogs and Babies…Learning to Live Happily Ever After |
Well, I have 7 yorkies and 8 grandchildren and for the most part it has not been a problem. My dogs are very good with children, not nippy or snappy at all. Mostly they just get very excited when the kids first come over and jump on them which is my biggest problem. Of course, with an infant it's pretty easy to keep them apart,, I have a newborn granddaughter now and when she recently came over with her mom, the dogs were curious, but not really too interested. My grandkids are very good with the dogs too, so it can work just fine, but if you think your dog might be aggressive with a baby you might just have to keep the dog in a different room or kennel when baby comes to visit. |
I have 2 grandsons and another arriving soon :) I have never had a problem however i do suppervise at all times, They have there own play room and the dogs are not allowed in there, I believe its all in the way we watch and protect , since day 1 my GB have been protected and as they grew we have been teaching them about dogs and aniamls , so yes there is a way to enjoy both together. |
I too was a little worried when my grand babies were born. When they first came home and came to visit I let Phoebe do all the sniffing she wanted to. That seemed to take away some of the curiosity. The main reason I chose to do this was because I was gonna be keeping them while their mommy's worked and wanted them to get use to each other and help her with JEALOUSY cause she is a mama's baby , all dogs are different , but Phoebe is really good with them and takes naps with them too lol! My grandson is now 2 and grand daughter 1 1/2 and they all love each other. This is just my experience. Congrats on the new grand baby :) |
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The way I see it, you're either going to have to create harmony between the Yorkie and the grandchild, or separate them until the child is at least old enough to understand the dangers that can befall a little dog and that all dogs bite. If I were to choose to separate, I would still want the dog and baby to have 'near-ness' to each other so they can get used to scents, sounds, etc., associated with each other. A baby crying in pain due to a gas bubble or constipation could set your Yorkie quite on edge, since likely no one will be paying attention to the dog during those times because they're concentrating on baby's needs instead. If I were to choose to create harmony...which sounds like me...lol, I would proceed cautiously. If my Yorkie had never been around babies, I would use whatever "prep time" I have available to take my Yorkie places it could hear and see babies of all ages in the presence of others who rather ignore their sounds as 'normal' so the dog gets the idea...picks up the 'vibes'...that the noise is no big deal. Otherwise, a wailing infant could be stressful to the Yorkie. I'd definitely allow the baby and the Yorkie to 'meet' on the first visit, although I'd not let them get close enough for the dog to do more than 'niff at the baby. I'd keep them close but separated so they could get used to each other's presence, and hold the Yorkie as much and as often as the child. Depending on how often they were together, I believe it's possible to get a 'feel' for how they are going to 'take' to each other. The big thing for me would be to make certain the dog and baby weren't scared of each other...indifference would be a good start until baby is old enough to learn about dogs enough to hopefully not trigger some primal instinct of the dog. Little children make sudden movements, sudden and loud vocalizations, and some dogs are off-put by these things. Dogs bark suddenly and may run toward the child, which may frighten the child and start an uncomfortable situation, too. I had my Yorkie-Poo 9-10 years before I had my first baby, and had no difficulty getting him used to the baby. He 'adopted' the child and protected his 'ownership' of him in the same way that he 'protected' his 'ownership' of me. lol But, I also made certain baby did nothing harmful to Stormy either, and by the time my older child was a year old, the two were great buddies. :D Good luck...and congratulations! |
Years ago when I first got married I had a little 2 year old Maltese. When the first baby came home the Maltese was allowed to sniff the baby and get to know him. She would sit right beside me as I fed the baby and she followed me around as I did things around the house. I was blessed enough to be able to stay home with my kids when they were young so I was always there to make sure things were peaceful and I have always been a big peace keeper in the family. No mean words or actions towards people or animals allowed. The kids were taught to always be gentle around the dog and they pretty much ignored her as they got older. Sasha was my little girl and stayed as such all her life. She was always at my side and adjusted well to all the changes she faced over the years.....even the addition of a large breed dog. She maintained her position as first dog. No dog should be left alone to fend for it's self with young kids. Of course a small dog is in bigger danger of injury. If a dog nips in order to defend it's self or because it is afraid it is the fault of the caretaker. The dog should never be put in that position to begin with. Dogs and kids can and should get along together peacefully but it is the responsibility of the caretaker to make sure both are trained and protected properly. |
Joel loves his (daycare)babies. There ALWAYS supervised and he is soo gentle and already learned to make babies laugh and do what they want to make them happy, but he's been around them since he was a puppy. And what helps is the babies feed treats and I help the babies tell him tricks so he respects them, but really I say it and baby holds the treat,lol |
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