Pregnant with an aggressive dog: Can he live safely with a baby?

Oh goodness. This is a big question. You may want to consider a visit with your veterinarian or a veterinary behaviorist. As a veterinarian and a mom I can tell you that is pretty easy to keep them separated the first year of baby’s life, but as they become more mobile the next several years are hard. If you have a dog who as a low bite inhibition, meaning he has already proven he will bite, then the likelihood that he will bite a child is high. Other options are to keep them separated 100% of the time (near impossible in my experience), or to keep a basket muzzle on him any time he has access to the children. I also encourage you to consider the size of the dog - and how powerful and destructive a bite will be to a small child. I have been in your shoes and it is a very hard decision to make. I have also been the mom of the child who was bitten. I encourage you to always put your child’s safety above all else. If you want to discuss this further I would be happy to consult with you. Take care.

Before bringing in another dog to your home, I would recommend getting a trainer to come to your home and work with Jack. We cannot predict if Jack will attack another dog when they come into your home, but you can try to work with Jack and see if you can correct the problem. The trainer will be the best person to discuss if bringing another dog in would be ok. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I'm so sorry that you're in this position! Behavior problems like this can be heartbreaking for everyone involved, and you're correct that the unpredictable nature of the aggression makes Jack much more dangerous to manage. I do believe that euthanasia can be a reasonable option in cases like these, even though this decision may be very difficult. If you want a professional opinion to help you make a decision, I would recommend consulting with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate Jack in person. He/she can give you a much better idea of the risks involved in working with him and trying to manage him safely, as well as an opinion on the prognosis for significant improvement. Your vet should be able to help you find the nearest veterinary specialist in this field, generally at a referral center or teaching hospital, if this is something that you decide you want to do.

I would get Bentley in with a professional behavioral expert immediately, and do not introduce her to your newborn baby at all. I'm very concerned that she has already lunged at your 4 month old niece, and that is an aggressive behavior that could have extremely serious and even fatal consequences. The safety of your baby is paramount, and I would not allow Bentley anywhere near your newborn because she already has a history of lunging at babies. You need professional help managing this behavior, and it may be honestly that rehoming her is best. I know that this would be extremely hard, but you can't have an aggressive dog around a baby. Have her seen by a professional behavioral expert first to discuss training if you want to keep Bentley, but until they feel it's safe, keep her completely separate from the baby. It may seem like I'm overreacting, but I know of cases where this has gone fatally wrong. The last thing I would ever want is for that to happen to someone else, so I will always advice extreme caution. Speak to your vet first thing Monday about a referral to a professional behavioral expert. I hope this helps!

First off, I'm so sorry you have to make this decision! It's a very hard one to make, but it likely is best for the safety of your baby especially if he put your brother in the hospital before with a bite. I can say honestly that dogs who are aggressive are not recommended to be rehomed due to the safety risks. I'm not sure that lead Henry to bite your brother, but you need to be honest with the animal charity about that situation. They may want to do evaluations with an animal behavioral expert before deciding if it's safe to rehome him. Sometimes it does happen that a dog needs to be put down for the safety of everyone, and you don't want to keep a dog who can potentially hurt your baby. Ultimately you have to put the safety of your baby first as hard as it is, and removing him from the home is likely best. Again, I'm sorry you are in this position!

This is a very valid question and your primary concern should be the safety of you and your family (and also any visitors/public). Indie's extreme behavior indicates that she is struggling with social interactions and her quality of life is also questionable given the high state of anxiety all of the time. Euthanasia would be a realistic option in this case, I would agree that rehoming would be difficult as she would require a highly experienced owner willing to deal with all her flaws and risk themselves getting bitten - I would not recommend this option unless you had a personal reference for the new adopter

That is very concerning and you should definitely not have the baby and the dog in the same room. The best thing would be to have a professional trainer work with your dog to try and modify the behavior, especially if you are planning on having a baby soon. You could also get an Adaptil collar and see if that helps. Your vet could also prescribe an anti-anxiety medication, like Prozac or Trazodone, to see if that helps, too.