Has any experienced their lab being aggressive towards children? We have put our 8 year old chocolate lab through 6 weeks of training when I was pregnant to prepare him for baby in the house but now that she is crawling he is showing aggression and nipped at her a few weeks ago. I’m not sure what our next step should be. Any advice appreciated.
Hi Kristen, Welcome to the forum. The must be very stressful for you. I would seek advice from a professional behaviourist, one that uses positive reinforcement techniques only. They will be able to assess your Lab and advise you on the best course of action. In the meantime make sure that the baby and your dog don't come into contact. Do let us know how you get along. Wishing you all the best, Lucy
My lab is a hyper 1 year old, and I would never let him around a baby (at ground level). He's just to big, bouncy, and pointy. My 2.5 year old has fun with him, but at 30Kg, the dog sometimes runs him clean over, and just put a big scratch across my son's face yesterday (by accident). And if the diaper is dirty, my son runs around laughing while the dog tries to eat through his diaper. Anyways, I think you need to keep them separated for 2 years.
Hello, personally as a mum and dog owner, I don’t think small kids and dogs mix. Kids can’t understand/interpret dogs and dogs find children unpredictable. I have had many dogs over the years and many small folk in my home before my own children and it’s just a recipe for disaster expecting them to interact safely. I would keep them apart and seek some specialist advice and not expect much of a relationship until your child is considerably older.
Both of our Labs are fine with our 1 yr old grand daughter. Cooper will play with her, while Tilly will usually just move away. I would not leave them alone together, but I actually trust both dogs not to react badly even if they get poked or get their ears pulled. Our first Lab Ginger was the same way. None of our Labs have ever given any indication that they would bite, beyond a play bite, even when they were not happy with what was being done to them. They might kick to get away, but they just don't seem to have a biting bone in their body. Even though Cooper does not like being poked or prodded by the vet, they are not worried about being bitten by her. Tilly and Ginger never growled or nipped at the vet. I don't know if we have just been lucky, or whether our training helped make them this way. Note I'm talking about biting people. Cooper and Ginger would definitely square off with another dog, if they were pushed enough, but they started every encounter as friendly playful dogs. My Malamute I would have never trusted around small children. He would guard important (to him) resources, and would let you know in no uncertain terms that you should back off.
