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This is why it is sooo crucial to socialize dogs from day one with all sorts of people, babies and kids included. You can't change the past, but for others reading this let this be an example to take the time to take your puppy to lots of places and meet a ton of people. Don't wait until they are older and suddenly you have kids, or a relative does.
To the OP - a couple questions. Why are you fighting an uphill battle with relatives regarding your dogs? They are your dogs. If you aren't comfortable with them around the baby, don't let them around him! Yes training is great, and muzzles I suppose aren't a bad idea in your case (muzzles are not a 100% safety net though). Are you and your dogs living with this set of relatives? If not, why are they dictating what occurs with your animals? Are they over on a daily basis? If they are only over infrequently, I would keep the dogs put up for now and introduce them, on a leash, one at a time, to the baby when they are over.
I personally teach my dogs that babies, kids, etc are not to be an item of huge curiosity any more than any other person. Don't turn the baby into a desired item. The dog needs to learn to be CALM around the baby. I see so many people that introduce dogs to kids using a high pitched excited voice, holding the baby over the dogs head, etc. This only serves to amp some dogs up and make them think this cool smelly noisy thing is an item to be desired. Ideally, you want a dog that ignores the baby and sees it as just another person in the household. They should not be permitted to constantly nuzzle, lick, or bump babies and kids. JMHO
To the OP - a couple questions. Why are you fighting an uphill battle with relatives regarding your dogs? They are your dogs. If you aren't comfortable with them around the baby, don't let them around him! Yes training is great, and muzzles I suppose aren't a bad idea in your case (muzzles are not a 100% safety net though). Are you and your dogs living with this set of relatives? If not, why are they dictating what occurs with your animals? Are they over on a daily basis? If they are only over infrequently, I would keep the dogs put up for now and introduce them, on a leash, one at a time, to the baby when they are over.
I personally teach my dogs that babies, kids, etc are not to be an item of huge curiosity any more than any other person. Don't turn the baby into a desired item. The dog needs to learn to be CALM around the baby. I see so many people that introduce dogs to kids using a high pitched excited voice, holding the baby over the dogs head, etc. This only serves to amp some dogs up and make them think this cool smelly noisy thing is an item to be desired. Ideally, you want a dog that ignores the baby and sees it as just another person in the household. They should not be permitted to constantly nuzzle, lick, or bump babies and kids. JMHO
