Bulldog & Baby Help!

[Lauren31287]

Hi All,

I know it has been quite some time since I posted and I really apologize for that. Life has really gotten in the way of me keeping up with things. I hope everyone is doing well!! I am having an issue with Winston and I am hoping someone has been in this situation and has some advice! Winston is normally pretty mild mannered, when it is just my husband and I he literally sleeps and rests ALL the time lol as he is turning 5 now. When friends or family come over he gets excited for about 5-10 minutes and then he settles it was never a big deal.

We are now getting to a stage in our lives though where a lot of our friends are having children and here is where the issue comes in. Every time the baby cries or yells Winston's automatic reaction is to bark, run towards the baby and jump on whoever is holding the baby or if its a toddler who is walking jump on the toddler. Obviously I keep a very close eye on him and am able to get him away before he does any harm. I tell him no and correct him but NOTHING seems to work to calm him down and it gives me serious anxiety and ends up where he has to be in a different room alone without everyone else and he hates it and I hate doing that. Now granted every time this happens he is not at his own home and we are usually visiting family and I feel he is just trying to protect the child but he can't do this! My fear with this is we are at a point in our lives where we want to start a family. I am very scared that he will be like this all of the time. I always thought English bulldogs were a great breed to have with children, is it just me?!

So I am wondering has anyone every had this happen to them? Do you have any advice or thoughts on how to correct this issue? Please help!!

-Lauren

 

[2BullyMama]

Hi there!! good to see you again!


when you take him to where children are going to be, I would keep him on lead so you can control the behavior and begin using the time now as a training tool for preparation of having your own at home. I will tag some people that have children so they can give better insight.

good luck!

 

[Lauren31287]

It's good to be back! That would be great, thank you so much!!

 

[bullmama]

I would make sure he gets a really good sniff of the child and their parents, so he knows there is no danger or nothing to protect. My Jesse barks at every noise that is beyond a certain pitch, drives me batty!

 

[Corine Pesantes]

Lockjaw would do the same thing- but with EVERYONE (minus the barking and add squirt peeing-lol) followed some advice, and when company came over or we were out, I kept him harnessed and leashed. Before he got any attention, he was made to sit and calm down. ONLY then did he receive that attention.

It's only been about 2 weeks, but he's gotten sooooo much better. You can see that he REALLY wants to jump, but he is starting to go into a sit/stay position with more ease and without being told.

I'm so proud of him and actually surprised at how fast he took to it.

Also because he's not jumping, the excited squirt peeing has also gotten better. Lol

Consistency and patience is key.

Good Luck!!


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[ddnene]

Lockjaw would do the same thing- but with EVERYONE (minus the barking and add squirt peeing-lol) followed some advice, and when company came over or we were out, I kept him harnessed and leashed. Before he got any attention, he was made to sit and calm down. ONLY then did he receive that attention.

It's only been about 2 weeks, but he's gotten sooooo much better. You can see that he REALLY wants to jump, but he is starting to go into a sit/stay position with more ease and without being told.

I'm so proud of him and actually surprised at how fast he took to it.

Also because he's not jumping, the excited squirt peeing has also gotten better. Lol

Consistency and patience is key.

Good Luck!!


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Great advice above!!! I have always had bulldogs since our grandson was born, and ALL of them were extremely protective over him… the behavior you described is extremely normal. Consistency in training is key, and I agree w/Lisa too… allowing them to sniff the baby beforehand might help to calm him down some. It's SO great to see you back on here, I hope you and Winston are doing well...

 

[Lauren31287]

Thank you all SO much for the advice!! It gives me major relief to know that this is normal, phew! I will start working on the training piece with him and will definitely try to sniffing part! As usual you are all lifesavers!!!

 

[sheshistory]

I have been through 2 new babies with my bulldogs and I was VERY nervous bringing my first baby home because of a lot of the behaviors you describe in your post.

First, remember, your dog picks up on your anxiety. Even if you're telling yourself to be calm, if you're not, your bulldog is going to know. The day I brought my son home, I was so NOT calm that I asked that Truman stay away a bit longer because I was nervous. But eventually he'd have to come home.

My second tip is be careful not to restrict access too much. Don't they ALWAYS want to get on what they shouldn't? So I allowed unrestricted access to the baby. I would sit on the couch and hold the baby or put him in a Boppy where Truman could get to him. Of course I kept a close eye on things but babies must smell SO good to bullies - milk and poop and spit up - all bulldog favorites. So I let him sniff and lick and if he got out of hand, I issued a reminder.

Honestly, for us, it was way more about me than it was Truman. Truman is a crazy nut a lot of the time but he was great around our baby. And the second baby, I didn't even think of it - not even a passing thought to the issue.

Here's a few pics of Truman and our days old baby after he had never been around other babies before and, if he was, he was generally not well-behaved and I was so afraid I'd keep him on a leash in the house. I think the key is really releasing some of your anxiety and allowing access.

 

[Lauren31287]

Oh my goodness you have NO idea how much this puts me at ease!!!! Those pictures are so adorable, thank you for weighing in on this, that is great advice!