Reactive dog and new baby

No judgment here please, just honest answers. Our baby is nearly 5 weeks old so I get we are probably still just adjusting, but we have 2 dogs, one is soppy as anything and we’ve had since a pup. He loves everyone and is so chilled. A few years later we introduced a rescue dog from Romania who was also a pup but she has grown to be very reactive and super protective of the house, meaning we struggle to have anyone over because of how she responds and there isn’t really anywhere safe we can separate her off. She is lovely with us but needs a lot of attention and requires more than what we feel we are giving her. It has always been like this with her and I think it’s just escalated how we feel since having our baby. She also has a habit of destructive behaviour when we aren’t around, meaning we feel stressed leaving the house, which is just not how we want to live, and also isn’t fair on her. We have gone back and forth with the idea of rehoming her somewhere more suitable for her but the idea always makes me feel so guilty and sad, but at the same time I can’t help but feel it would be a less stressful life for us all in the long run. We are also looking to work with a behaviourist to try and correct these behaviours before making a decision. Sorry for the long post but I just wondered if anyone else has been through anything similar?

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Aw sorry to hear this, definitely try a behaviourist if you can first, as there might be things that can be improved. We also have a reactive dog who really struggles with visitors and new people. Once she gets to know people she's great but it takes a lot of introductions for her to trust new people. So I was really worried about post baby visits from midwives etc. She really likes dogs though so she goes off to doggy daycare on days when we might be having visitors, or my parents will take her for a well timed walk! I know how frustrating it is not feeling like you can have visitors but we just have to manage it best we can now. A tube of squeezy cheese is a helpful tool if work men or new people come round and she's in the house, a dog trainer introduced that to us and it helps her cope in situations. She barked whenever the baby cried to start with which was stressful but I desensitized her to the crying with liver treats over a couple of days and now she just ignores the baby

My LO is the same age as yours. I was so confident that my dog would be fine with the baby after we fostered another dog and how gentle he was with her. We also played baby sounds. Once he came back from boarding, after I had my LO, he was really reactive. He jumped on my lap when the baby was crying and tried to jump in the bassinet we have in the kitchen. My immediate thought was to rehome my dog I had since a pup but I got stairgates to separate rooms. The dog trainer came round and basically explained that your dog needs a job to do to distract them from what makes them anxious. Everytime the baby cried, he would get a treat. We also put Dairylea inside a buffalo horn but she suggested lick mats and chew toys. In less than 2 weeks, he stops barking and has accepted my son. We can now sit on the sofa as a family but would still never leave the dog alone with the baby x

Really recommend going down the behaviourist route before rehoming. Have you got a safe space for her that’s just hers to go to? Like a crate? You can keep the door open and make it cosy and dark with towels. Have you done any work on socialising her?

I am going to say this, if you have exhausted dog trainers and crate training, I would do the right thing by rehoming. Now I was in this position a year ago, with two dogs. One was a soppy thing? The other was unpredictable, he was soppy, blanket dog. But he was also on edge, reactive to anything being smaller than him. I loved the pair of them so much, I decided their quality of life and my lack of time and attention to give? Just wasn't fair. They went from being my babies, daily walks, cuddles in the evenings. To a stress out mumma who couldn't even sit with them for 10 minutes and struggled with me not being in their life constantly. I rehomed both. One to a rescue who was amazing and one to my family. It was the best thing I ever did, now I know that they are getting exactly what they needed.

Thanks all for your replies. We are arranging a visit with a professional behaviourist to see what we can do to help her. We’re hoping we can crack it but it is extremely stressful and ultimately we want the best for her.