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Well, if you absolutely cannot in any way move out of the house (that would be my first option - this is your kid's safety we're talking about), I'd say your best bet is to befriend the dog. I have a Catahoula Leopard Hound, and he is not a dog for "casual" dog owners. He is incredibly social, affectionate and good with kids, but I doubt he would be that way if I hadn't worked like hell to train him.
He needs to be exercised. When I take my Houla to the dog park, he chases a ball for hours. He is not the kind of dog to entertain himself in a yard. He wants interaction with his human. So take this dog out and get him playing fetch at a dog park or in the yard. Buy a muzzle and take him for walks. Exhaust him.
Keep tiny treats (cheerios even) in tupperware throughout the house, out of the dogs' reach and reward him when he obeys a command. Go ahead and play tug with him again, but set boundaries - you really have to establish yourself as the boss. When you want him to give you something, you stop all play and interaction until he gives it to you. When he gets overstimulated, end the game.
And when he is around the baby, make it a positive experience when you shoo him away. Tell him to go away and then toss him a treat for listening. Otherwise, he's going to see the kid as an encroachment on his territory. Instead, you'll be associating the baby with good things.
Look, these are great dogs, but they are bred to herd cattle and hunt boar. They are not labrador retrievers. A Catahoula is a working dog that needs a job.
Read some books on training dogs by people like Karen Pryor (clicker training), etc. Also, read some books about introducing dogs to babies and establishing proper boundaries.
Because if you're going to insist on staying in that house, you're going to have to take responsibility for the dog as well as your baby. Otherwise, you're just hoping that an accident doesn't happen.
Actually, your best best for some more complete is to repost this on the Dogs forum - there are several experienced dog trainers posting there. Twelvepaw is a freakin' genius. Listen to whatever she tells you.
I agree with all of this excellent advice except the starting to play tug again. I would recommend that you focus on non-dominance games for the foreseeable future.
Dont take chances. Even if you are right near the baby a dog can bite so fast you couldnt possibly get between them before the damage is done. When I was a we toddler (according to my mom), we were at my grandmas house, and apparently I poked my grandmas springer spaniel in the eye and it bit me. I dont remember this (because I was too young, or for whatever reason). If you have to live in the house with those dogs, all - or at least the suspicious one- should have a muzzle on at all times whenever your baby is in the house.
The above are excellent resources. The situation is manageable IF you are willing and able to carefully supervise the situation and work now to desensitize the dog so it isn't so reactive. This will take time and effort and i you (or your sister) do not have the time, it would be best to have the dog humanely put down by his vet since he's bitten.
Don't take him to the pound. He'd be put down since he's bitten and it would be very cruel and stressful to do than to him.
Thanks. Although I posted the basket muzzle idea I really like the suggestion about having the baby mom take the dog to training classes, on walks and doing the in-house training so I repped those posters. The baby mom may not have been a member of the household (in the dog's eyes) when she was bit and the dog saw her as an outsider. Also no details of what happened leading up to it. Was she arguing with her sister, one of the nephews etc.? So much goes into something like that. Since this isn't her house and she is a temporary resident having the family get rid of the dog seems over the top when a few simple not harmful management techniques can assure the baby's safety. But only good things can come of her working with the dog which is why I really liked the training class suggestion.
All this only makes them complacent. What a silly risk to take with a baby - to think you can control with certainty a dog of that kind of breeding.
All this only makes them complacent. What a silly risk to take with a baby - to think you can control with certainty a dog of that kind of breeding.
Sorry it wasn't clear. I was saying to do the training in addition to the management practices with muzzle, baby gates, and crate feeding. I have had small pets and when I adopted my dogs I could tell after they were trained and saw me as the head of the household they also viewed my relationship with the small pets to mean the small pets were part of their pack. That is why I thought the training was good.
When my sister brought her 2 and 4 yr old over for an extended stay I put my chow mix in a crate and explained to the kids that he was old, grumpy and wanted his alone time. My sister was told the truth, that this dog was not comfortable with kids and would certainly snap at hers and might bite. But I didn't tell the kids that so as not to scare them. Whenever I was gone from the house he was in his crate in my bedroom with the door closed. Whenever I was home and the kids were out in the house he was locked in the bedroom. He was fine, they were fine.
Things can be managed when there are temporary residents. He got a good run (a couple of miles) before work and after work. He got to potty before bedtime in the back yard when the kids were in the room I gave them. Hence he never bit a kid and lived to a ripe old age.
The kids even had their own dog with them. Unfortunately they felt crating was mean and did not comply with my request that their dog be crated when they left the house during the day while I was at work. I ended up with some scratched antique furniture. I knew their dog would be nervous being in a new house, hence the request that he be crated.
The other dog was the reason I had to crate mine. I was worried he would get through the bedroom door if he heard/smelled the other dog through the door. If the dog hadn't been there I probably would have just locked him in the bedroom. He was very well behaved and used to run of the house during the day. He never damaged a thing.
We're in the process of looking for our first family dog and strangely enough, we have been seeing A LOT of Catahoula Leopard dogs on the shelter lists. That and Australian Shepherds and the eternally-bad-named pit bulls. I asked my husband about the Catahoula breed (I'd never even heard of it) and he told me that he's heard that they are known for being aggressive and territorial.
OP, ANY dog can bite and cause serious damage. But, if this particular dog has already been showing aggression (and no, you didn't "ask" to get bitten, a properly trained dog will not bite) then he is NOT safe to be around. Look for another place to live.
I don't agree. OP said she was playing tug of war with the dog, put her face near his, and he bit her. It's possible he bit her accidently while trying to go for the tug toy. And I also disagree with your idea that a properly trained dog will not bite. A properly trained dog will not bite in most circumstances. But dogs are animals, and are not always predictable. And did you know humans are animals and are not always predictable either? That's why when many people are violent and kill someone they supposedly loved, we often say, "We never would have thought he could have done that! He was such a good neighbor/friend/husband/whatever!" But there is such a thing as provocation, for example teasing and hitting the dog.
I am wondering if the dog may have a medical problem and possibly be in some sort of pain. A vet visit may be in order. I feel for you, OP. I do believe the best thing to do is to try to move out. You are in a difficult circumstance, but protecting youself and the baby comes first. You do have a few months to prepare, so please explore any option you can.
I don't agree. OP said she was playing tug of war with the dog, put her face near his, and he bit her. It's possible he bit her accidently while trying to go for the tug toy. And I also disagree with your idea that a properly trained dog will not bite. A properly trained dog will not bite in most circumstances. But dogs are animals, and are not always predictable. And did you know humans are animals and are not always predictable either? That's why when many people are violent and kill someone they supposedly loved, we often say, "We never would have thought he could have done that! He was such a good neighbor/friend/husband/whatever!" But there is such a thing as provocation, for example teasing and hitting the dog.
I am wondering if the dog may have a medical problem and possibly be in some sort of pain. A vet visit may be in order. I feel for you, OP. I do believe the best thing to do is to try to move out. You are in a difficult circumstance, but protecting youself and the baby comes first. You do have a few months to prepare, so please explore any option you can.
I agree. I've been bitten twice by well trained, good dogs. The first dog was in pain and we tried to move him into a car to take him to the vet. The second dog I stepped on his tail waking him up in the middle of the night.
I agree. I've been bitten twice by well trained, good dogs. The first dog was in pain and we tried to move him into a car to take him to the vet. The second dog I stepped on his tail waking him up in the middle of the night.
Yep, sometimes even well trained, good dogs bite. My hubby got bit in the ear by our youngest dog after having to pick the dog up because the dog had just broken his paw. That bite actually drew blood.
We've also both been accidentally mouthed a number of times when getting arms and legs accidentally between the dogs while they are playing with each other or getting between the dogs and a toy. However, we have worked very hard on the "no bite" thing and the dogs always release as soon as they realize what's in their month. I don't call these bites because this mouthing never breaks the skin, it's normally our fault for sticking our hands where we shouldn't have and our dogs have very soft mouths to begin with. If I had a breed with a harder bite, I would be a lot more careful about where I put my hands when playing with the dogs.
As good as our dogs are, I would never leave them alone with a baby or small child ever. No dog can be completely trusted with a small child and small children generally can't be trusted to behave appropriately with a dog either.
The OP is living in someone else's house so she has no say in whether the dog stays or goes; nor should she have a say. The only appropriate resolution for this situation is that she needs to figure out somewhere else to live by the time the baby is born. Isn't situations like this what welfare, section 8, and other social services are for? Plus I'm sure her sister doesn't really want the OP and a new baby all living under her roof; the house sounds crowded already and the baby isn't even born yet. Best for future family relations if the OP takes whatever social services she can get in order to move out now.
I don't agree. OP said she was playing tug of war with the dog, put her face near his, and he bit her. It's possible he bit her accidently while trying to go for the tug toy. And I also disagree with your idea that a properly trained dog will not bite. A properly trained dog will not bite in most circumstances. But dogs are animals, and are not always predictable. And did you know humans are animals and are not always predictable either? That's why when many people are violent and kill someone they supposedly loved, we often say, "We never would have thought he could have done that! He was such a good neighbor/friend/husband/whatever!" But there is such a thing as provocation, for example teasing and hitting the dog.
And that's why you should never leave little kids alone with dogs.
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