My 2 year old lab just started lightly growling at my 1 year old daughter last night any time she crawled by him or approached him. He’s never shown any form of aggression towards our other two kids ages 5 and 2. When I reprimanded him for growling He growled at me. He’s not an aggressive dog so this caught us off guard. We’ve been keeping the baby away from him. He isn’t neutered so I’m thinking that may be why. Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.
Hi Krystina and welcome to the forum. Your dog growling at your baby has nothing to do with him not being neutered. He feels uncomfortable with her crawling towards him, and says this in the only way available to him. It is important you don't reprimand him for growling, as this is his way of saying he feels threatened or worried, and if he is denied the chance to express this, then he may move to the next level, which would be a proper growl with raised lips or even an air snap. You must keep him and your baby separate unless you can supervise them very carefully - use baby gates to keep them apart, for instance. Build up good experiences with the two of them - take them out for a walk with the baby in a buggy or on your back, for instance. Or let her drop food from her high chair when she is eating - that always goes down well with dogs!! Don't let him feel displaced or jealous of the baby - help him to feel she is a wonderful little creature, and that good things happen when she is around. In a while, once your baby is a little older, they can be good friends, as your dog is with your older children. For now, vigilance is the key.
Hi and welcome . There is a saying which I firmly believe in , it is : Never punish a growl . The meaning of this is that a dogs only way of saying " I don't like this at all , I feel threatened or scared " is to growl . Many dogs get quite worried about an approaching toddler , especially a crawling one, as they just don't understand humans crawling around ! Make sure that you supervise , or keep them apart when baby is on the move , it isn't aggression at all, its a feeling of acute discomfort , all will be well with close supervision .
Sadly for me my children are grown. Lots of memories with children and puppets. Good that you are on top of this with yours. Better safe than sorry. I thought I had read another thread about the crawling motion, or jerky motions of toddlers are scary to dogs. Try searching for that? My 1 year old chocolate growls a very little in some situations. One when the Manx cat is playing with his tail, I think the cat has tail envy or is paying him back for the extensive butt sniffs. Two when the other dog is getting a little too much attention and three when we bump him when he is sleeping soundly on the couch which reminds me of a very tired toddler. It isn't often and it's not every time. Not aggressive dog. Not neutered. I interpreted growls as a 'I am a little uncomfortable' and neutralized the situation. Or is this something more? Been reading a bit here on the forum.
Meant puppies not puppets though we played with those too. Sorry didn't mean to hijack discussion from babies. That is the most important discussion here.
Had our 6 month old Granddaughter here yesterday. She tugged on Cooper's ears, and Cooper gave her kisses. All of our Labs seem to understand babies, small kids and frail old people. (I'm old but not frail)
I'm sorry but no baby or child should be allowed to pull on a dog's ears. Cooper may have given her 'kisses' but more likely to have been appeasement licks asking her to stop. Just because Cooper didn't growl/grumble etc doesn't mean she was happy.
