staffies with a baby

hey guys, got a 3 year old staffie, she has been to a few bad homes in her past but me and boyfreind got her when she was 2 and gave her the most loving home ever. we've now got a baby, the other day our staffy got abit excited i think and leaped straight at babies face, i didnt sit there long enough to see what was gonna happen, she licked her face before and cries every time baby cries but im so nervous incase she gets jealous. what can i do to feel comfortable and get our staffy used to the baby? obviously i know never to leave them alone together, but im scared of any dog going near my baby. our staffy has never been viscious to other humans, but seems to cry when babies are around her.
thanks for any replies

I haven't got children myself so I really wouldn't want to advise. They are big softies and do like to be part of the family, just take things steady and spend time with them both. Moo feels like my child and yours may need just a little reassurance with you in control so you feel safe Xx

All i know is Cassie is a different dog when kids are about, if an adult comes to say hello she goes a happy kind of nuts, but she seems to sense when children are trying to get close, she is very submissive and i don't think she would hurt one but i am very weary so i can sort of understand your fear. As a mother you are right to be careful and as you say never left alone. I think the answer is plenty of socialising together as you would with an older child when you bring in a new baby, good luck and keep us posted please

i often have my brothers little girl around shes 10 months old and all lexii wants to do is lick her face and sit beside her and often crys at the door when she leaves there not called the nanny dog for nothing

It's a scary thing.. To trust a dog around a baby.. My neice is 1 years old and Ramsey is so gentle with her compared to how he is with everyone else but I still have to moniter him because I couldn't live with it if something crazy happened.. I don't know what advise to give really.

thankyou. she seems to be very protective, like when lexi (my baby) cries then kaos sits there looking over at us with ears pricked up or looking at baby monitor untill i say "baby ok" then she relaxes. i think she will be ok just dont know anout her past and if that will reflact on how she is. thanks again for your comments

hi, i have a 3 year old little boy but both him and tyke have grown up together and they are fab.

Can i ask how is she when its say on a night your sat watching tv and your all in the same room? does she tend to stay away and avoid the baby or does she settle close by?

we made sure that with tyke we 'involved him' in everything, he was roughly about 6 month old when our son arrived so when it was bath time tyke came and watched, feeding going out etc etc we treat tyke as if he was the 'older brother' as such and just made sure he was part of it all. how old is you baby?

yea you dnt need telling about leaving baby and dog alone etc have you any children in the family who you could socialize her with? tyke is the same as how dave described cassie, with adults he is all over them but kids he stays at there level and generally is very submissive

Congrats on giving her a forever home!!

hey, tonight is her first proper night with us as i moved out because there wasnt enough room for all of us in my bf's flat. but my bf brought her up before and she just got excited and wanted to lick the baby. tonight she has stayed away from baby, i let her sniff the crib and i stroked her whilst holding/feeding baby and she just sat next to us (on the floor whilst i was on chair) she seems to distant herself from baby but starts crying when baby does... and thankyou, shes like a daughter to us =)

The more they are around each other the more things will settle and you will be able to begin to relax a bit. Sometimes they jump up just because you have something interesting in your arms they want to see so you need to teach Kaos not to jump up at all and you will have a much better time. Otherwise, it can happen when your daughter begins to walk and has her toys etc. With some additional training and getting used to each other, I am sure all will be ok. I have 3 dogs and 4 kids and have been through that myself.

Is she in a crate on a night ?? Just a thought but you might like to sacrifice some of baby's bedding and put it in the crate so she constantly has the smell with her , this way it's not an instant attraction and something she is very familiar with

Logan is great with small children, very gentle and respects their space, he also cries when he hears a baby cry, even if it's on tv. However, I agree with everyone it's hard to trust a dog fully with an infant.

My advice is to just take it very slowly and correct any behaviour you aren't totally happy with. Logan gets very obsessed with things, like other dogs people/children so it's maybe worth looking at some time consuming treats/toys to divert some attention away.

Dave wrote:Is she in a crate on a night ?? Just a thought but you might like to sacrifice some of baby's bedding and put it in the crate so she constantly has the smell with her , this way it's not an instant attraction and something she is very familiar with

I was going to suggest the same thing, smell of baby in her own enviroment may make her feel more included!

This sounds like a common Staffy trait as Rocky also gets very concerned when he hears children crying and looks around for the source of the problem.It must just go back to their Nanny dog protectiveness.

thanks again guys. no kaos normally sleeps in bed with us but inmoved out and kaos is with me now. she slept in lounge on a chair under my dressing gown lol. today has been better. shes licked the babies face when my nan was holding her and i had turned away for a second.but thats enough for today. she sits on sofa with us but to newvous to let her too close as one bite cud seriouslt harm lexi. i will take it slowly and hope to become more comfortable x