December 07, 2012

We have an 8 month old baby who is crawling. Our dog stands over her when she is on the floor in a dominant way. How can we correct this?

Full Question:
Hi, my name is Natalie. I have a Lab/corgi mix,Ginger, who is 6 years old. This year my husband and I had a baby and she is now 8 months old and crawling. Ginger has recently started to stand over our daughter's head when she is on the floor which is something she use to do with our black lab mix, Shelby, before she died. I have been told that this is a dominance thing. My husband yells at Ginger every time she does it but I don't think it is helping. I don't want her doing this to our baby but I am not sure how to correct this behavior. I know Ginger is jealous of the baby and I try to make sure she gets alone time with me every day and my husband does the same. I am afraid of this behavior progressing so I would like to know what we can do to correct it. Thank you for any input!
Cindy
Cindy Cindy's Answer:
I wrote two very good articles that are on my website: Introducing Dogs & Babies and How to Prevent Dog Bites in Children. I really recommend that you read these and follow the advice.

You should be afraid of this behavior. You can correct this if you’re willing to make some changes in how you live with this dog. It begins with pack structure behavior - Establishing Pack Structure with the Family Dog DVD.

Regards,
Ed Frawley

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Expert Dog Trainer Cindy Rhodes
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