# Dog and Baby floor time conflict



## GAjenn (Jan 28, 2009)

I think I am not giving my 8 month old DD enough floor time. We have a great dane, who seems to be adjusting well to baby, however I am afraid of her stepping on her by accident. I feel like the only time she can be on the floor is if I am right there with her. She has just now really started to want “down”. My dog is my first child, so kicking her out is not an option. The only way I can ever accomplish anything is if DD is in something, sometimes I even use a laundry basket! DD wants to walk and pull herself up, but probably doesn’t get enough time to practice. Any suggestions???


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## New_Natural_Mom (Dec 21, 2007)

How about putting the dog in the yard/basement/other room for baby to get some floor time?


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## lifeguard (May 12, 2008)

I have 2 dogs - one a german shepherd mix. I am training them they are not allowed on the blanket when it's on the floor. Has he been stepped on? Yep - & he cried for about a minute & the dog was reprimanded. They are figuring it out & now I don't need to be on close watch anymore.


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## angie7 (Apr 23, 2007)

I have a Great Dane as well (along with 3 other dogs). Any child should be supervised around a dog at all times so you should be right there when the dog is in the room. I have a gate that gates my dogs off of my living and dining room and gives the dogs access to the kitchen and the upstairs. When my twins were little, my dogs were gated off from the babies any time I was not right there. I understand that you love your dog, but protecting your dd is the #1 priority and your dd needs to learn how to do things. Gating off the dog is not going to harm the dog in anyway and keep both safe. Your dd needs to learn to do things and to be your #1, not your dog.


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## SquishyBuggles (Dec 19, 2008)

I use gates or say 'go to your bed!' and my German Shorthaired Pointer knows to go lie down in her crate for awhile.


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## Katzchen (Aug 13, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *GAjenn* 
I feel like the only time she can be on the floor is if I am right there with her.

Honestly if the baby is on the floor and the dog is in the room you *should* be right there with her. Even the nicest dogs can snap.

Our solution was to put a baby gate across the kitchen doorway and put our dogs in there when I can't be right with the dogs and the boys to supervise. They are allowed to roam the house when I am actively with the boys, when the boys nap and after the boys go to bed for the night. Otherwise they have run of our large kitchen (which is where their beds are as well.)


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## Mama2Rio (Oct 25, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *lifeguard* 
I am training them they are not allowed on the blanket when it's on the floor. Has he been stepped on? Yep - & he cried for about a minute & the dog was reprimanded. They are figuring it out & now I don't need to be on close watch anymore.









:

while my dog is much smaller, (15 lbs) he is obediant. he has stepped on dd, and often wants to get between her and i when we're playing on the floor. he knows he is not to go near her play mats or toys. while i have to remind him of this at times, he's getting good about it.

if i need to go in another room, i have the dog follow me, i would never leave any dog unsupervised with the baby. after all, i am his master and he wants to go where i go.


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## jenr (Apr 13, 2006)

I have always had a Great Dane around my kids (sometimes two). When DS#1 was baby we had an old GermShep/Rhodesian Ridgeback Mix. The new baby will have to deal with a Great Dane and a Great Pyr. I have never separated my dogs from the kids during floor time because I think it is imperative to teach the dogs to be respectful of the kids and vice versa, and they have to be together to accomplish this. My kids have all crawled/walked just fine (actually DS#2 walked really early) so don't worry too much as long as your child is meeting milestones.


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## GAjenn (Jan 28, 2009)

Thank you so much for all of your advice. It seems to be a theme to use gates. I let the dog and baby together on the floor when I am on the floor as well. I never leave them together alone, on the floor or not (which is easy because DD is always with me and the dog follows where we go). I just feel like even when I am in the room with them both, but accomplishing something else, baby cannot have floor time. My full attention has to monitor the situation. Do you let baby down while you fold laundry, cook diner, and do general tasks around the house? I have found myself relying on putting her in something and recently feel like she needs developmentally to have more independence to move as she wishes. I guess when she is fully walking will have something new to worry about!


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## tbone_kneegrabber (Oct 16, 2007)

I always left ds on the floor with the dog. Not alone until now when ds leaves the room and sometimes goes in another room the dog is already in etc. I will do other things with ds on the floor and the dog in the room. The only times I gated the dog off from ds was in our old apartment when ds was learning to crawl and cruise and constanly wanted to play in the dog food/water and i was tired of cleaning it up so I would gate the dog in the kitchen w/ her food and water when she wanted to eat and pick up otherwise.


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## mamarootoo (Sep 16, 2008)

one thing about dogs and babies/kids...
dogs discipline their little ones by nipping. even a dog who would kill someone before letting them harm their human-baby could do unintentional harm.

our DD climbs all over my parent's two labs, can hand feed them with no problems, and they take commands from her (she's 21mo) but we don't leave them alone together. it would be devastating to everyone involved (including the dogs) even if something small went wrong.


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## lifeguard (May 12, 2008)

I think there is a difference between leaving the baby alone with the dog & what the op is asking. If you're in the same room while folding laundry you should be able to safely let them all intermingle.


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## chaimom (Aug 22, 2007)

Sounds like you realize your dd needs to be on the floor-- wants to be on the floor. At this age, she should be crawling over to your cabinets and playing with the tupperware, or banging pans on the floor while you fold laundry. Let her! I think you should put her down and train the dog to be respectful.

When my twins were babies I had two labs--my first babies, too-- and they were about 65 and 80 pounds each. We had to teach them to stay off the living room rug, and otherwise stay away from the babies because otherwise there would have been no room for the babies, too. The dogs really didn't mind and I think your dog will be fine learning something new, too.

But your baby really has to take precedence now. I don't agree with separating dogs from kids and family either, but if your dog is so wreckless around your baby that might be the best thing for a while.


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## Eman'smom (Mar 19, 2002)

As I type this I have a 10 month old and 2 dogs laying at my feet.







The dogs have always accepted dd as higher up on the food chain. They are never left alone together (obviously), and they do great together. Gates are a life saver, and our dogs are trained to "leave it", which is a huge help.


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## Chavelamomela (Sep 25, 2006)

I have a 50lb lab and she was also my first "baby" before I had ds.

We have always used a crate as a safe & secure place for the dog to have some down time, (and this helped w. house-training when she was a puppy).

When ds was around that age, I was more concerned with the damage that ds would do to the dog than the dog to ds! (the dog is very protective/indulgent/understanding of babies). So yes, supervision is important, but you also need to give them both the opportunity to learn the rules (specifically, now, the dog, and as your ds gets older, the baby will need to be taught how to treat the dog properly). I know that the dividends started paying off when ds was eating solids in a high chair, and would toss his food down to the dog - she knew where her treats were coming from, so she treats him gently!


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## Nolamom (Jan 29, 2008)

It also depends upon your dog's temperment. We had a terrier mix that was our first child - she was 11 when dd was born. She was fine w/ dd as an infant, but when dd started to walk she became more aggresive and would growl at her. I brought her to the vet and the vet did a thorough exam and "diagnosed" fear aggresion. I expected to pay alot for a training course, or, get some doggie tranquilizers, or something. The vet stated that with fear aggresion you can't take any chances - total separation was in order. She stated that the unpredictibility of the toddler's movements caused anxiety in the dog and not to take any chances. She went on to state that she'd seen it many times in her practice - dog owners who didn't separate aggresive/nervous dogs from children and ended up sending their kids to their prom with a scarred face. Extreme, maybe, but we followed her advice and separated the two at all times.
Now, my parents have a gentle yellow lab who could care less about being climbed on, fallen on, tail pulled, etc. She opens one eye to see who's bugging her then goes back to sleep!
I'd pay close attention to your dogs temperment.


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## GAjenn (Jan 28, 2009)

I am happy to report that all is going great with my DD and my dog. Usually, our Dane just lies around and watches her play. Our dog has always been very gentle; I am just worried that she might step on her by accident. DD did stick her finger up the dog’s nose the other day, giggle. Before I had a baby I was very confident and always understood what I thought and what to do; now it is all a whirlwind of figuring everything out! DD is on the move and while I am typing this she is trying to open the file cabinet drawer. My dog is half asleep. Thanks for all the support and suggestions!


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## mistymama (Oct 12, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *lifeguard* 
I think there is a difference between leaving the baby alone with the dog & what the op is asking. If you're in the same room while folding laundry you should be able to safely let them all intermingle.

I agree. I don't think children and dogs should ever be left alone together, but certainly all of you being in the same room is ok, and they need to learn to get along.

Ds was watched by my Mom part time from the time he was 6 months until he was 3. She has a 115lb lab. It took a little time for the lab to learn not to step on ds or knock him down, but it happened. I'm not sure how they would have ever learned to be togther unless they had time to work it out.
Now they are best friends, there was even a time when ds was smaller that he would climb on the lab's back and ride him like a horse .. they both LOVED it.









OP, I think you keep supervising them together and to give your baby more time to explore, have times where the dog is crated or gated into a different room. In my experience that can be helpful to let the dog know where the baby ranks in the family pack.


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## sammysmaman (Jan 24, 2009)

I think it'd be good for you to let your dc down while you're in the room. We got our black Lab as a puppy when ds was 2.5 and dd 4 mos old, so the dog was the last to arrive in our family and knows her place as the lowest on the totem pole. She's full-grown now (60 lbs), but, other than occasionally knocking over the kids, there's been no problem. It's never even occurred to me to separate her from the kids. They all need to learn to get along. I have to admit, though, that one of the main reasons we have not yet bought a Mastiff is b/c of the size problem. We're waiting til the kids are bigger so that they won't be completely smooshed.


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## cotopaxi (Sep 17, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *GAjenn* 
Do you let baby down while you fold laundry, cook diner, and do general tasks around the house?

I do now that she's bigger.

At 8 months I tended to gate the dogs out if my total attention wasn't on the baby and dogs.

Now at 20 months she's big enough to hold her own, move out of the way if they're getting too close, etc. I've also had lots of time to observe them interacting, and she's learned not to bug the dogs (i.e. pull fur or tails) and they've learned to behave calmly and respectfully towards her.

So it was a gradual thing in our house.


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