Greyhounds And Babies/children

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

The one I have who is not overly fond of the baby is my two year old brindle male. Even he kisses him sometimes, though. He just doesn't want him climbing on him when he's sleeping.

 

The best one came right out of JCKC and loved my son the minute he got here. You just never know This is also the same dog who came right off the track and played with stuffies

[Guest FrostyBottoms]

First off let me say I think it is good that your group requires adults/parents to take a class. I am sure the class has great info about the interaction with a Greyhound - useful not only for children...

 

 

 

It's actually a kids class...my kids went through it. The kids learn how to act around dogs. It's a great class for kids that are old enough to understand.

 

 

ETA...I did not put that lil emoticom up there....but I will leave him cause he is kinda cute up there.

Edited January 9, 2010 by FrostyBottoms

[Guest PhillyPups]

I am not going to call anyone out here, but there is someone that has posted in this thread that I believe had a problem with a greyhound and their children (returned the hound I think?)

 

This is quite true. The person was a brand new adopter, getting no support from her adoption group with a dog that was not good with children. She came to GT for help. The main consensus was to return the dog before something tragic happened. I have had quite a few greyhounds that would never be good with children. The person of whom you speak did not give up on the breed, stuck around and learned about greyhounds, is becoming greyhound savvy, learned as much as she can about the breed, and comes to people with more experience with questions. I am honored to call her a friend.

 

My son and DIL had Freya before Cameron was born. Freya growled at Cameron once, and my son told me they were concerned but working with both Freya and Cameron. I told them if it did not work I would take Freya. They were vigilant, Freya has her crate to retreat to which is off-limits to Cameron, it is her "safe" place. I was there when Cameron was just over 2, went to walk past Freya's crate and Cameron shook his finger at me and said "Don't touch Freya house Grandma Pat". Vigilance is the key. And as has been suggested, when Cameron was born, Dustin brought home receiving blankets with Cameron's scent on them for Freya.

 

It can work with some dogs, not all, my TigerPower was a fear biter with a fear of children, not a good candidate at all.

 

The key is constant vigilance and with the newness of a baby, not leaving your hound out.

 

Good luck and please keep us posted.

[RobinM]

The one I have who is not overly fond of the baby is my two year old brindle male. Even he kisses him sometimes, though. He just doesn't want him climbing on him when he's sleeping.

 

I hope that was said sarcastically.

[Guest SueG201]

Kristin ( 3greys in PA) 4 out of your 5 hounds are good with kids??? HMMM does that mean your fosters are staying?

[BootsyCollins]

OK, here ya go...the big guns...this is how greys are with kids...

 

 

no no no! this is how YOUR grey is with your baby!!

 

When you do have your baby, make sure you bring something of the babies home from the hospital on day one so that their scent is there before the actual arrival of the baby in the house. It's common sense and just due diligence, but many people have greys first and then a baby.

 

Well, duh. It was a joke and an excuse to post the world's cutest picture.

 

I didn't bring anything home from the hospital. I also didn't read any books or kid test anyone. I used common sense, and it all works. Just being on here asking for advice tells me that the OP knows exactly what she needs to do, she just needs some reassurances.

 

If Bootsy had his way, Lucas would not be a part of our family. But he doesn't get his way, and Lucas is part of our family. He doesn't LOVE Lucas, he tolerates him. That is all that I ask.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

Um, no it wasn't said with sarcasm. But I'd NEVER let the baby do that

 

My baby does climb all over my working lines German Shepherd. That dog is the ultimate child's dog. He's amazing. He's just such a slob compared to the hounds

[Guest DarkHorse]

We have our two and although we don't have our own child, DBF's niece visits on a somewhat regular basis. Neither of my two are what I would call "ideal" child dogs, but they are both OK with Lily. Dexter's problem is that he is blind in one eye and truly unknowing of his own size (and the length of his nose). He is actually better with Lily than Araley is, but he does have a tendency to stick his schnozz right up into the baby's face (which is fine with me, but freaks out the mom). He's also bumped into her with his face a couple times (more of a problem) and tried to lick her (again, fine with me but not the mom).

 

Araley will investigate whenever Lily visits but she doesn't want to spend too much time with her. She comes over, says hi for a minute or two and then wanders off to her bed. She will put up with letting Lily pet her and even tug on her ears a bit if we call her over, but she generally just prefers to let the baby have her space and stays on her bed.

 

Granted, because the baby is a guest, there is less chance for unsupervised on the floor interactions and the dogs are able to have "their" space (aka our bedroom) totally uninvaded. I don't know if we'll have children before the two of them pass, but if we do, we'd either give their dogs their own room or the child and not have the child in the dogs' space. I certainly wouldn't trust either of my two in bed with me and my child, just because one is a clutz and the other likes to paw for attention (she almost pawed Lily once, in the hopes of getting pets) and doesn't yet understand that a baby isn't a full-sized human. However, both DO understand that the baby is a human and their 'master', so to speak, so we've never had jealousy issues, just ones with them not understanding how powerful they are in comparison to the baby.

 

So, on the whole, my two are quite good with Lily if she is kept out of their way until they're calm enough to lie down and they are able to have 'their' space kept apart from her. I think that, although there are definitely some dogs on either end of the spectrum, most greyhounds fall somewhere around where my two do and do a bit better with training and accustomization.

[RobinM]

Um, no it wasn't said with sarcasm. But I'd NEVER let the baby do that

 

My baby does climb all over my working lines German Shepherd. That dog is the ultimate child's dog. He's amazing. He's just such a slob compared to the hounds

 

That's good, you'd be surprised at what people allow the kids to do and then the dog snaps or bites and the dog is returned.

 

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

The two dogs I co-slept with were a non grey sighthound and a German Shepherd

 

It's so weird to me that people are freaked out by dogs licking the baby. It's called an immune system. My nine month old has NEVER ONCE EVER been sick. We do selective vaccinating, and he lives in a houseful of pets. He didn't even catch a cold when my husband was sick. (neither did I).

 

I'm a little more dog savvy than that. I would return a dog that actually went after my child (that's a no-brainer to me) but the key is to not let such situations even come up. Greyhounds are prone to being a little more space and touch sensitive than other breeds, and I am aware of that. I've sighthounds since I was a child.

[Guest 3greysinPA]

Kristin ( 3greys in PA) 4 out of your 5 hounds are good with kids??? HMMM does that mean your fosters are staying?

[Guest LineDancerDana]

How Adorable!! That is what i was hoping to see. Was getting a bit nervous!!

 

OK, here ya go...the big guns...this is how greys are with kids...

 

[Guest LineDancerDana]

That is a wonderful idea. In fact, we have a bus stop at the end of our street for the local Elementary School. She does absolutely fine with the 22 fifth gradde girls that meet us there every morning on our morning walk along the road. She is fine with them. I just don't know about Toddlers or Babies. But I have a lot of friends with Toddlers and Babies, so I will ask if they can bring them over and gauge Amelias behavior. I may just be working myself up over nothing, but I am ver protective over my babies....Amelia and the others which have not arrived, and I just want everything to work out.

 

My Caily is also very shy but she is AMAZING with kids, she has to get to know adults first but with kids they can run at her and she will just stand there and take it. But outside she likes to nip at they're ankles unless she is on a leash. All the kids in my neighborhood love to come pet her? Could you ask a neighbor with kids to bring them over one day to gauge Amelia's reaction to them and then start from there?

[Guest redreed]

Jocko and his kid

 

 

[BootsyCollins]

It will work out.

 

Have fun making babies.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

It took me all of one day (mine was a surprise!)

[Mystella]

We had our Stella for 4 years when we suddenly brought home a squealing, crawling one year old. I was in fact a nervous wreck, as is my nature The previous toddlers Stella had met made her growl and run to her bed.

 

All my worrying was for naught, Faith learned to walk within a couple of weeks and a bond the likes of which I never could have predicted was formed between the two:

 

 

 

 

Stella went to the bridge a year and a half ago and just last weekend we brought home our newest family member. It is early yet but seems like we struck gold twice and Faith again has a new friend.

 

[krissn333]

I don't have kids myself, but, I have a friend whose sister has an 18 month old little boy and they have a greyhound who is shy. She does spend a lot of time sequestering herself from the little boy...especially now that he moves. She's just not comfortable with him. They do just fine, but the key is to not force her to interact with the kid. She does it on her own terms. In a way I kind of feel bad for the dog because it sounds like she's always hiding out in the bedroom or something instead of being with the rest of the family...but I guess maybe that's where she's most comfortable, and that works for them. Personally, had I known they had a little one (actually, can't remember who came first, the dog or the kid), or were planning to have a little one, I would not have even made this particular dog an option for them as she has always been shy and skittery. But, I guess it's working okay.

 

Not trying to scare you off...basically my point is, if your pup is a little bit shy, just don't FORCE her to interact with the baby, and she'll gradually figure things out. I have a feeling she'll be interested at first though - new smells and new noises. My boss and his wife just welcomed a little boy into the world a couple of weeks ago and their boxer Mara is delighted by every little noise that baby makes He sits in his little swingy thing and coos and she comes running over to inspect him and make sure he's okay Boss said she really wants to lick him all the time though...like, obsessively. Little kissies here and there are okay, but boxer kisses tend to be messy

 

Like Christie said, just be smart and be vigilant...and teach your child to respect the dog

[inugrey]

Since you have a shy dog, and I hate to be the negative person BUT, shy dogs tend to be much more reactive to perceived threats like a baby crying or crawling by while they sleep. I really doubt that a shy dog will be a comfortable with a baby as the pictures we have seen. (Argos was the world's most chill loving dog). Please do be prepared to provide a safe place for your grey, particularly as your baby becomes a toddler.

 

But what the heck do I know about babies? Zilch. So really use Cmoon75 as a voice of experience reason.

[Guest rachelee]

We brought our son Holden home only 3 months after bringing Bistro home. I haven't had any problems so far (Holden is 5 months now.) The three of us go for walks most days. I did send a blanket home with Holden's scent, and when I first introduced Holden to Bistro I gave Bistro lots of bits of hot dog.

 

Bistro mostly ignores Holden so far. When we come home he sniffs Holden in the car seat. He often walks by and sniffs at Holden or licks Holdens face, briefly. When I'm on the floor with Holden and Bistro is too, Holden has rolled over and landed on Bistro or lightly kicked Bistro without incident. Holden has been on my lap and Bistro has come over to say hi and Holden pulled at Bistro's fur and 'pet' him a bit without incident.

 

I do not leave them alone unsupervised and I have not let Bistro into Holden's room so far.

 

As Holden gets more mobile, we'll have to make sure he stays away from Bistro's beds and doesn't bother Bistro while he's eating. I have always been able to interrupt Bistro's eating and get into his bed space without a problem.

 

I'm hoping things remain this way as Holden grows.

 

As others have mentioned, my biggest concern is once Holden is walking that Bistro will knock him down. Bistro often doesn't understand how big he is or what jumping or playing can do to people. He is a bit of a klutz and will walk into things inadvertently. But I imagine we will continue to not leave them alone together and things will work out.

 

Here's a picture of the two.

 

 

ETA: Also, we purposefully never allowed Bistro on furniture or our bed to set limits with him. We want those as places for people (and cats, I suppose) and not for him. He has his own beds and that is his safe place.

Edited January 10, 2010 by rachelee

[Mystella]

Yes I should clarify from my pics that I was hyper vigilant about the two, though it looks from the photos like I allowed Faith to go bug Stella, the opposite is the case, Faith would be playing and Stella would go over and plunk herself down, never liked to be far from 'her kid' and would sleep on the floor beside Faith's crib. "Tellla' was Faith's first english word, followed shortly after by Mama!!

 

Faith has always known the rules you don't bug the dog, if it wants to play it will come to you, otherwise leave it alone. Stella had her 'safe space' she could retreat to (her own room) and Faith wasn't allowed it there. It was rarely ever used except when visiting 'strange' toddlers were over.

[BootsyCollins]

Lucas was 3 months old when we adopted Bootsy, so it was a nonissue for a long time. But since movement has started, the crate has been valuable for us, as it sets very clear boundaries for a toddler. We took the door off so Bootsy can always come and go, but it was his safe place. He recently told us that he no longer likes his crate, and I took it down this weekend, but it is now so ingrained in Lucas that that corner is off limits, that it hasn't been an issue.

 

Lucas loves giving Bootsy treats, and I think that has gone a long way toward Bootsy's acceptance of Lucas.

[Guest LineDancerDana]

It will work out.

 

Have fun making babies.

 

 

Thank You!! We sure are!! Though it breaks our hearts to hear Amelia whining outside the door cause she can't be with us.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

It will work out.

 

Have fun making babies.

 

 

Thank You!! We sure are!! Though it breaks our hearts to hear Amelia whining outside the door cause she can't be with us.

 

It's for the best. You haven't lived until you've suddenly felt a freezing cold hound nose in the worst place at the worst timing

[Guest Harry702]

Don't have a baby yet, but one is due to arrive at the end of April. This issue was on my mind before and during the pregnancy, and this is my take.

 

Harry is on the shy/nervous end of the spectrum. We know this about him, and we know that it's something that predisposes him to be fearful of things he doesn't know, understand... particularly if those things make loud noises or sudden movements... all things that we KNOW a baby will do. The best we can do in the situation is to try everything we can to expose him to the things we know could potentially be triggers... baby noises, baby smells, sudden movements. The first two are easy... we play baby noises for him for several hours at a time. We started at the lowest level that he'd tolerate (i.e., that wouldn't make him act nervous by licking his lips, nose dripping, curl into a little ball), and as he got more and more tolerant, we upped the volume slightly. He's actually impressed me with his tolerance level, and it's only taken a few times to have him ignoring the baby noises altogether... at a pretty loud volume! We're starting on the baby smells next, and we've been teaching him the difference between HIS toys and baby toys... though I know that will be a constant issue. As for sudden movements, while it's difficult to replicate the sudden movements of an infant, I try to "surprise" him sometimes, but grabbing his tail (not hard!) randomly, or petting his head and lightly pinching his ear by surprise... he's dealt with that in stride as well. I can't picture him being one of these dogs who LOVES kids, and lets them cuddle with him, but I don't see him as destined to fail either. He's impressed me too many times in the 2 years we've had him.

 

I agree with those who say that, if possible, you should try not to exclude your dog with the new baby stuff. We let Harry sniff any of the baby's stuff (and boy, is it really starting to accumulate!), and he's welcome to hang out in the same room as baby as long as one of us is there, too. If he'd rather pass, that's okay too... his crate will be set up as his private, baby-free zone. With time and supervision, he'll figure it out just fine. I don't need them to be best buds, but I do want everyone to be safe and feel like a member of the family.

 

Good luck with the trying, and try to enjoy pregnancy! It flies by!