I Am WORRIED SICK!! please Help

Geri_Berri · **Geri_Berri**

Hi everyone

its my lil girl Becky...

Like all mothers I worry lol..

Thing is...when a dog/dogs growl and bark at her showing aggression, all she does is go into fits laughing...she would laugh so hard..the tears run down her lil face.....She doesnt KNOW that these dogs can bite her

She has a habbit of reaching out to dogs that do bark at her...(mainly Jack Russles) I keep pulling her away from them..and at times I go to stick my boot in them...fear of them hurting her

She is almost 11 months old now...but she has been doing this from she was 6 months old..always going into fits of laughter at dogs that bark Smilie_PDT

I once got so scared...that I told Gary that his mom and dad have to keep their big dog away from becky....they took what I had said the wrong way...I had to explain to them..that a dog can snatch at a childs hand in a blink of an eye....cuz Becky is forever reaching out to their dogs mouth and she pulls his lip and tail....so I figured one of these days...when no one is looking...she will do this again..and their dog Ted, will turn on her in a flash...and if he does..I will kill it...and never allow her back there again.....
I dont want to go to that extreme...but if push came to shove..I wouldnt think twice....

My nanny I have hired to look after becky 3 days a week, when I am at work..has a huge great dane...that always growls at any adult that enters the house to pick up their kids...it did the same to me.....and there was Becky..laughing at this big dog.....reaching out for it

Winnie (the nanny) told me that her dog is trying to protect the children from the adults...she told me her dog (she calls this big dog of hers...tiny lol)....would not touch the children...she says...when Becky goes anywhere near her dog...the dog just ignores becky...and when becky tugs at the dogs tail...her dog runs away from Becky LOL Smilie_PDT

....even though this is true...I still fear the worst...i so wish I didnt...but I do..

HELP LOL do you know any kids that are like this??
Am I over reacting?

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JMPD · **JMPD**

When we brought our baby girl home from the hospital, we had a tricolor collie that we had since she was a pup. Everyone said "watch out! she'll attack the baby from jealousy"
I laid the baby on the couch, and brought over the dog. Kimba, sniffed amanda from head to foot, then licked her little face. Until the day she died, Kimba was convinced that Amanda was "her" pup. LOL

There was so much love between the two of them, it was amazing.

Little ones have no real inborn fears. Fear of (specific thing) is taught or learned. Taught by the reactions of older kids and adults; learned from first hand experience.

I don't think the Dane is going to be a problem, but you are wise to keep the jack russels away: they are nippy little rats.

Once she is a little older, you can teach her to stay away from strange dogs. Until then, there really isn't anything else you can do.
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Bebi · **Bebi**

My daughter (aged 7) has a habit of walking up to strangers who're walking their dogs and stroking them. (as in the dogs not the strangers LOL) Andy and I try so hard to stop her doing this for the obvious reasons, but because her dad thinks this is funny and laughs when she does this, it just completely negates everything I do towards trying to wean her out of this behaviour... I think the only breakthrough is that now she asks the person if she can stroke the dog rather than just launching in there, but it still worries me like mad, especially when people say "sorry he's not friendly"... It also makes me look bad as a parent - the amount of dirty looks I've got from people as if to say "why do you allow her to do this?" The answer is I DON'T her father does so she thinks it's acceptable. Whenever I try to talk to him about this he just laughs and says he can't do anything about it ffs he drives me barmy...

I must admit I'm a believer of when kids get old enough to let them find out their own mistakes. For instance my mum's dog is lovely but she's very old and can get grumpy. Both kids knew not to harass her but they still did and in the end I just said to them "if you don't leave her in peace she'll snap at you" My son (aged about 7 at the time) was on the receiving end one day (not a bite as such, just a warning nip which didn't even break the skin, just a little redness) but I tell you something, he has a hell of a lot more respect for animals now than he ever did, because he knew full well he'd been warned what would happen. I know it's difficult while Becky is still so small, but I'm sure once she's a little older and you explain to her that not all pets are friendly and to treat them with respect she'll be fine hun xxx

JM, I too was told that my pets would be jealous of the baby. I had four cats when Anthony (my first) was born, two adults and two kittens. I never ever had any trouble with them trying to sleep in the crib/pram which I was told I would do. I think most people assume pets just get on with things and don't understand anything, because I did what you did; I sat down with the baby and called the cats over to say "hello". Let me guess, it was an older relative who told you the dog would hurt the baby?
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JMPD · **JMPD**

Yes, it was my mother in law.

Funny thing was, for a while the kid thought she was a dog! We had the hardest time keeping her on her feet when was walking. LOL

One other thing: Dogs 'discipline' young dogs by placing their teeth on the pups neck. The pup knows it is time to calm down, and will sit quietly while the older dog "lays down the law'.
The problem is, dogs think people are dogs and when a child annoys one, they treat the child like a pup. Most 'bites' are the result of the child pulling away from the teeth. This, to the dog, is an act of disobedience in the pup(child), so they press harder. Since human skin isn't protected by fur, the result is a puncture in the kids arm.

Of course, there are some dogs that just bite full on. But they usually give warning signs.
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Delovely · **Delovely**

My daughter eversince she was a baby she loved playing with dogs. I like only puppies, especially shitzus. We had one before and Helena would spend the whole time playing with the puppy. Sometimes she gets too rough and kick the puppy or carry the puppy roughly and so the puppy would growl and like yours, Geri, my daughter would find that amusing. So what I did, was show her how to be gentle with the puppy, i showed her how to pat and to how to carry and stuff as I tell her. Then one time I came home from work, I saw her playing with Snowball (the puppy), they were chasing each other and I saw Helena pat the puppy the way I showed her. I was happy to see it. Then as she got older, I explained not to go near dogs she doesn't know. So from then on and until now that she's 5, she would only point when she sees a dog and tell me about it.

Just make sure to keep watch all the time, you never know what a dog can do, even if you think they know their dog very well, stilll...... always best to keep precautions all the time. You're not being paranoid, Geri, it's normal to worry as a mother. Play with your daughter and the dog if you can and show her what she should do, as she gets older, she'll follow you and understand more. :)
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Bebi · **Bebi**