yorkie and new baby

Question
QUESTION: In Jan. of '08 a 3 yr. old yorkie showed up in my back yard.  He was not claimed & became mine.  I had a trainer teach me how to be top dog after a few mo. Learned how to socialize him with people after he bit at my mother-in-law when she yelled at him for barking & swung her purse at him.  After training & exposing him to more people, he has been great now with new people. Prince was very stiff & unfriendly towards 10 yr. old niece/nephew so the training worked there also.
 Now, after 17 yrs. of no babies in our family, I will be babysitting my 2nd grandchild in Mar. '09 til school is out.  What is your input on any concerns & how I might prepare the dog for a new baby in my home?  (He is jealous of my cat & very devoted to me.)  Thanks so much...Fran

ANSWER: You have apparently done a very good job with this dog (although I have no idea what that trainer taught you.)  Your mother in law yelled at him and swung a purse at him!! NO ONE would fault him for demonstrating aggression; that's simply a normal fear response.  He seems to be habituated to older children now, but again, I have NO IDEA what that trainer taught you and how this habituation was achieved.  If you used coercion or punishment, you have a submissive, fearful dog; if you used real behavior modification, you have a dog that's more accepting of people with no pheromones who behave erratically (prepubescent children.)  This does NOT mean you have a dog that will accept an infant/toddler or preschooler.

Babies "smell" (diapers.)  They make weird sounds.  They scream and cry.  They crawl on the floor (at eye level with the dog).  These things make them totally incomprehensible to any dog that has not been well socialized to them.  Since your dog has already demonstrated fear biting (toward your mother in law, and totally predictable and understandable given the situation) and demonstrated a freeze response to your ten year old granddaughter (also totally understandable from a dog with no socialization toward children), the likelihood that the baby will frighten him is high.  Given that, you need to introduce objects the baby has worn (not laundered) to the dog by carrying them around with you (as your clear property) and allowing him to sniff them; you also need to bring the baby into your home for a few minutes at a time so the dog can acclimate to his/her presence, sounds, smells, etc.  Do NOT PUNISH the dog for demonstrating anything negative.  Instead, wait until he is clearly NOT STRESSED and then ask him for a trained behavior he can reliably perform and reward him heavily (with food and praise.)  Be absolutely certain the dog is CALM (no avoidance behavior, no shifting eyes, no hackles raised, no growling, no real and obvious sign of stress) before doing this.  If your grandchild can visit for short intervals at least three times a week between now and March, the dog should have become accustomed to him/her and will have learned that "working" (i.e., thinking ahead and performing to command) in his/her presence is highly rewarding.  This should be enough to allow the dog to accept the grandchild's presence.  HOWEVER, at no time, for ANY REASON, should any infant/toddler/preschooler be left alone with any dog; and at no time should you allow such a child to interact with the dog, even with your supervision.  The dog is not a stuffed toy for the baby's pleasure; the baby will develop (quickly) behaviors the dog will not have seen and may react to fearfully (resulting in an inadvertent injury to the baby.)

Even a dog that is well socialized to children and inordinately accepting of sudden, unpredictable and even "abusive" behavior from children, must be observed and HEAVILY supervised in the presence of a young child.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks so much for your great answer about my Yorkie and a baby.  A little clarification...The due date for the baby's birth is not until Feb. 24th.

What the trainer did was to socialize the dog more, have people come over, practice answering the door, and also teach  the children and myself to take Prince on a leash and make him heel.  (However, he is very stubborn and pulls so hard, my arm is left sore after a ten minute walk.  I worked faithfully on this for 1-3 times a day for three months using leash, then harness, then haltie collar.  He still pulls! He was just getting a little better after three months when my mom was seriously ill and then I had major surgery.
I've been unable to do this the last five weeks since  surgery and Doc. said not to walk him down the road for another couple weeks yet, just casually in the yard.)

He's very sweet and adoring with me, but I had noticed he was a little "nippy" only at the heels of friends who were passive personalities.  That and the mother-in-law who doesn't like dogs incident, is why I got a trainer to help me.
She taught me to NOT pick up the dog to answer the door, greet visitors with "It's a friend," put myself between them and the dog as they come in, ignore him, then let him sniff them and have them pet him if he was interested.

With the very kind niece & nephew he had refused to make friends with in the spring, he became receptive to the girl quicker (a nice,patient, but more dominant personality) after we sat in the floor with him, talking to each other and ignoring him, BUT he took much longer to relax with the boy(sweet, passive personality.)
 
It was after that, she had them walk him on a leash outside without me (She thought he was picking up on my concern & interpreting it wrong.)

 He really responds with more obedience when he is put on the leash, as when he is barking, so sometimes I put him on it and have him lie on his blanket for ten minutes. He will do it, but "argues" with me about it somewhat.
She told me to do that every day, but I haven't been able to keep that up (Mine and my mom's illnesses.)

If he's barking for my attention, I learned on my own to turn completely around and ignore him.  He can't stand that.  He will muffle his bark and hold it back, then settle down.  If he's barking like a maniac at something outside, I bang two metal spatulas together and it stops him.)

I'm just trying to help you get a feel for his personality.  I've never had a small dog before and feel like I need a degree in psychology to understand him, but he's worth it!

When visitors come, I make sure I stay relaxed but I'm still vigilant with him, because of the "nippy" attitude he showed a few times.  That attitude towards passive people and wondering how he'll behave when  a new small one is special to me, is what led me to ask the question.

Jill, I did not realize I needed this dog until he showed up.  He has brought so much joy, as well as challenge, and laughter to my life.
I don't want there to be serious problems once a baby I've waited for so long finally comes also.  I also would never tolerate a child teasing an animal.

So, knowing that the baby is not born yet and that I'll NOT have three months to acclimate the dog, do you have any further suggestions?
I agree with what you said and I would never leave a baby alone with a dog.  
It would be after the mom returns to work from maternity leave that I'd be babysitting... maybe April until June?  Hope I've not been too lengthy.  Thanks a million!  Fran

Answer
You've done a wonderful job with this dog!!! wonderful!! And your trainer is SUPERB!  I suggest you contact the trainer, share your concerns, and work further with her.  If, for some reason, your dog is unable to acclimate to an infant, he can be confined in another room with special toys, treats, etc., for the duration of the infant's stay.  It appears that your babysitting expertise will only be required a short time.  It's often best to be over cautious; however, the dog may readily adjust to the infant, who will be passive and totally unavailable to him.  It's when babies begin to crawl and walk that presents a problem.  Call your trainer; she sounds perfectly capable of dealing with this problem.