Dogs who show aggression toward a new baby in the home often do so because they have not been well socialized to children and find them foreign and frightening. Some dogs don't fear babies, but they become aggressive when guarding their food, toys or chew bones.
Reasons Why Your Dog Might Not Like Kids
There's a chance it's because of: A lack of socialization: If your dog didn't experience enjoyable interactions with children during the puppy socialization period, they might seem scary or overwhelming to him.
There are multiple reasons that a dog may exhibit aggression toward family members. The most common causes include conflict aggression, fear-based, defensive aggression, status related aggression, possessive aggression, food guarding aggression and redirected aggression.
Children and dogs often form wonderful relationships. But some dogs are uncomfortable around kids and may react with fear. They may walk away, hide, or bark and lunge at children.
Simply reward your dog with wonderful things like treats, toys, and games when children are around. For example, if a child comes up to your dog on a walk, feed your dog treats while the child pets them. In no time, your dog will look forward to encountering kids while you're out on the town.
Most dog aggression towards children is fear based, though many dogs will also show aspects of food, possessive and territorial aggression as well.
The Root of the Behavior
Recent studies by animal psychologists have confirmed that dogs do in fact experience jealousy when their owners display affection toward other animals, new partners, kids, or even inanimate objects.
Spitz breeds like huskies and Akitas are known for their stubborn streak when it comes to training. Other poor choices around little kids are lumbering giant breeds like bullmastiffs or Saint Bernards, which tend to bowl over toddling children or most anything in their path.
For minor scrapes and abrasions, parents should thoroughly clean their child's wound with warm water and soap and keep it covered with an antibiotic ointment and bandage. Immediate medical care should be sought for more serious wounds and injuries, such as bites that: Have broken through the skin.
Dogs can hear, smell, and see babies, but they don't really know what a baby is, so it is shocking when dogs treat babies differently than adults. While your dog may not care much about adults, you might notice that your dog seems especially interested in babies.
Nipping the kids can mean a few different things. Some dogs might nip at kids who are running by because they're overly excited in the situation. There's also fear-based nipping. And dogs might also nip or bite when they're guarding resources or territory.
Almost all children mean well when they're with your dog, but that's not enough. Your dog can still be unhappy when children do things that are uncomfortable for your dog – like hugging, kissing, patting the dog's head, going into his crate, or lying down on him.
Dogs bark at people for a variety of different reasons, whether because they are excited, frustrated that they can't greet the person, or even worried or uncomfortable about another's presence. If your dog is barking while in your front yard, they may feel protective of their home or be warning others to stay away.
Smelling faint scents and forming associations is one way dogs might not like a person. Research also shows that dogs can smell different human emotions through changes to chemosignals, such as adrenaline, sweat and body odor. And when it comes to their humans, they can determine if fear produced sweat.
Dogs and children can be a great combination if your dog has learned how to behave around kids. Some dogs love children and seem to naturally know how to act around them. These dogs still need training and socialization. It's important that they know their boundaries.
Most scientific studies indicate that it is very possible to rehabilitate a dog after they bite another dog or person.
Once your dog has bitten someone for the first time, the likelihood of your dog biting again increases. Dogs normally bite out of fear. When they bite someone for the first time and see how effective it is in getting the person to retreat, they are going to repeat this behavior because it works so well.
Family dogs such as Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, Beagles, and Irish Setters are playful and protective. Pugs, Brussels Griffons and French Bulldogs love their families – particularly their laps.
According to multiple studies as well as anecdotal evidence male dogs tend to be more dangerous and cause a much higher percentage of dog bite incidents than female dogs. Male dogs exhibit more of an aggressive behavior particularly against children.
Dogs who show aggression toward a new baby in the home often do so because they have not been well socialized to children and find them foreign and frightening. Some dogs don't fear babies, but they become aggressive when guarding their food, toys or chew bones.
A dog's mouth carries a lot of germs, which can easily be passed to people. This is especially problematic for babies and immune suppressed adults. Both are at an increased risk of contracting infections and parasites from dogs. So, even though it may look cute, a dog licking a baby's face should not be allowed.