A friend of mine has a two year old male (entire) West Highland Terrier. She also has an eight month old daughter. Until last weekend there were no problems. Unfortunately there was an accident where the dog bit the baby on her face. No serious damage was done but teeth marks were visable. Apparantly it was witnessed and seems to be an accidental bite not a deliberate one. The dog has never shown any signs of aggressive behaviour and until now has been brilliant in the company of the baby. My friend is now so concerned that the same will happen again (even if accidentally) that she is considering rehoming her dog. Does anyone know if there is any way of testing the temperament of the dog to predict if it's likely to snap again?

There are various temperament tests but in my view they are rather silly - for example, teasing a dog with a fake arm or using a doll and pretending it is a baby !! The best way to get an idea in my view is to watch the dog's body language and see just how relaxed the dog is etc. One slight ringing of alarm bells is a dog who may choose to goout of the room when the child is in the room - the dog is showng the first signs of wariness/discomfort. Also a dog who goes very still and freezes.

If the dog is rehomed, i hope she won't say that the dog bit her baby :( as it was apparently an accident anyway :)

Best wishes
Lindsay

Is the baby starting to crawl or walk? Often this change in status is what scares the dog - the thing that used to lie on the floor and was no threat is now a very different creature indeed and the dog is making sure 'it' learns that the dog is not to be messed with (the dog is frightened/unsure of what will happen next.......)

What a shame!
I know this may be different but when my daughter gets on her hands and knees (She's 4) our dog thinks she's fair game for a play fight.

Regards..Sarah

well my friend had a dog and her son was once playing with it on the floor and she accedetliy bite him. this was a year ago and there has been nothing else since.

all i say is that baby and child are never left alone

I would agree with Ice Queen - never leave the two alone, unsupervised - the dog needs protection from the baby as much as the baby needs protection from the dog.

However, if your friend does rehome the dog, I disagree with Lindsay - she must be totally frank and say that there was an accidental bite so that Rescue can make sure that the dog isn't rehome into another family with babies - that's how dogs keep being put back into Rescue.

Regards
Margot

ah how i must agree with margot! DO NOT LIE. bend the truth a little but DO NOT LIE!

"the dog didn't take a liking to the baby so its only fair that we have to rehome her"

that will be ok!

Personally i think they should get rid of the child but i no its not my place to say so im gonna keep shut!!!

I have a 13 week old baby and all my Labs are at all times supervised.

I have no doubt that they would not do anything in some respects they would protect her but I am not prepared to risk it !

They are allowed to go near her and will often sit next to her but they know their limits. I will at all times tell them 'NO' if they go beyond that ! They are relaxed and at ease with the situation and so we all are in return !

When she starts to get mobile then it will hopefully be ok as they have all learnt the boundaries but it will be the time to then teach the baby where her limits will be with the dogs !

Lucy

My 3 kids have always been raised alongside my dogs and we've never had a problem. We were once fostering a young GSD and he snapped at a 2 yo face :( He was rehomed on the understanding that it was with older children only.

We all love our dogs but imagine having to live with yourself should the dog go on to injure another baby? She knows this dog best so she is in a position to look out for warning signs better than a new family. I'd say moniter then if he has to go please do warn his new owners.

Ah, the perils of email .....

I didn't suggest anyone lie, honest! :D

I said that if the dog was to be rehomed, the mother didnt simply say "he bit the baby" as it is easy to do. If she says "he accidentally bit the baby, it wasn't his fault, but now i am nervous" that's fair enough, as then the rescue/rehoming etc will know the dog was not at fault and he will be more likely to find a home rather than languish in kennels and so on.....

I agree one must be honest when rehoming as it is only fair to all concenred, including the dog :)

I agree too, dogs and children should never be left alone..... anyone remember the tale of poor Gelert?!! :D

Lindsay

Gilert? I'm a newbie so I've missed it! Tell all :)

BTW hope your friends westie can stay where he is obviously loved - I know it's hard not to panic with first baby. By the time she has 3 the dog could be helping rear them ;)

Wasn't Gelert the tale of the kings dog who protect the baby prince from wolves by hiding him and then attcking the woves when they came and killing them. Only for the king to come back and think Gelert killed the prince and so killed poor Gelert and only afterward here the baby prinses crys. Or something like that?
Jane

That's the one, Jane!
:)

Thank you everyone for your responses. I would just like to state that the baby and dog were not left alone unsupervised, it was just an unfortunate accident. The dog up until this point had not shown any nervousness, fear, concern or weariness of the baby and had been absolutely fine. However, my friend has decided not to take a risk and rehome the dog but will be completely honest about why she is rehoming and very selective about where he goes. a decision that has not been taken lightly and is distressing. I must say that if it was me, I would probably give the dog a cautious benefit of the doubt and give him a second chance, however, I am not a parent, so maybe don't fully appreciate my friends feelings regarding taking a risk- not my gamble!
Again thank you everyone, I didn't expect to get so many responses so quickly.