My wife and I have a 2 month old baby. Her friend who lives a few hours away wants to come visit her and meet the baby this weekend. The problem is this friend also happens to have a pit bull she insists on bringing because nobody else is willing to watch it. Now I’m not someone who is anti pit bull and if this was any other instance I would have no problem. I just don’t feel comfortable with a dog that’s 80lb pure muscle around my fragile baby when at any moment it could bite her head off. I know, very unlikely but not impossible. Obviously we’re not going to leave the baby and the dog alone but even being right there not a single one of us is fast enough to prevent something happening if that dog decide it wanted to. In addition to that, I’ll be at work most of the day so I wont even be there most of the day to ensure nothing does happenS My wife keeps insisting that pit bulls are only aggressive if they’re raised in an environment conducive to that behavior, something I agree with to a certain extent. This is just something that I don’t feel is worth risking. Any thoughts or advice?
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I would say no to anyone insisting on bringing their dog to meet my 2 month old baby, regardless of breed. It reeks of selfishness and is incredibly inconsiderate.
There’s also the question of why no one else will watch the dog. Does it have a history of aggression?
I would die on this hill. The dog is unknown. Doesn’t matter the breed. He shouldn’t be in the vicinity of a newborn. Genuinely don’t care how he is raised or trained.
Don’t frame it as a pitbull issue but frame it as extra precaution for your baby. Say any breed of any animal isn’t welcome. Doesn’t matter whose it is.
Yeah no way I’d be comfortable in that situation. Anyone who “needs” to bring their dog around a newborn shouldn’t be visiting
Look up the story of the woman whose two toddlers were killed by their family pittbulls. You’re not being unreasonable. These dogs snap – I know everyone claims is who raises them, but it also has to do with a lot of the breeding practices that have turned these poor dogs into these machines. I wouldn’t risk it, you can’t get a redo.
No, I would not also a pit bull (or any large dog) near a new baby.
I don’t understand this situation though. Why would your friend need someone to “watch” the dog? Dogs can be left for a day. Why can’t the dog go into the backyard or into another room? I just don’t see any reason why dog and baby can’t be kept separate.
Big dogs around babies is always a risk. Hell, even little dogs bites can cause a good bit of damage to a baby. Unless this dog has a history of being around lots of babies and small kids I wouldn’t let your kid be the “test baby” to see how it’ll react. The dog will also be in an unfamiliar environment so it’ll be more alert than usual. Friend either needs to get a dog sitter, board the dog, or postpone the visit until they can do option 1 or 2. I would still feel this way even if the dog was a Golden Retriever, you just never know how dogs will react.
I’d stick with your gut feeling. My parents had a Labrador when I was a baby, not fully grown but still huge compared to an infant. My parents both used to install a baby gate and keep the dog in another part of the house while I was around just to mitigate the risk. Our dog wasn’t dangerous, nor aggressive, but dogs are unpredictable. Even if the dog gets excited and accidentally jumps on your baby, that can be a serious injury or even death, since your baby is so young.
If you have a garden, I’d reccomend allowing the dog to come, but only letting it outside. If you have a baby gate, maybe the dog can have space elsewhere, wherever you’re comfortable.
Remember, this is your baby too, not just your wife’s! If you’re not comfortable, don’t allow it! If anything did happen to the baby, you’d be shattered. Is it worth the risk of having a (notoriously aggressive breed) dog with your very young baby? Even if there’s a 5% chance of something bad happening, is that still too much of a chance? I’d say it is, personally, too risky. There’s no second chance if your baby does get hurt, there’s no turning the time back.
I 56f believe that no animal should ever be left alone with small children. One or both could be injured. Ask wife for a compromise that if either of you cannot be in the same room with your child, the dog cannot be there either. Close the child’s bedroom door, etc.
Do not allow that dog anywhere near that kid.
Do u not watch the news???
You have a new baby. No one should ask to bring a pet to your home when you are kind enough to host them. That is true whether the dog is an unmanageable bully breed or a teacup poodle. It is very rude.
Your wife is misunderstanding the amount of work involved in hosting a dog.
I wouldn’t want any strange dog around a newborn, no matter the breed. You’re right to be averse to it.
I work with dogs and it’s a fact that kids and dogs are just a tricky combination in general. Rates for bites with kids and babies are much, much higher than for adults.
Dogs are wonderful creatures, but it’s important to keep in mind that dogs are predators. Kids and babies present very ‘prey-like’—fast, sporadic movements and high-pitched noises. Not to mention that size factors into prey-drive as well.
I’m in agreement with keeping dogs away from your baby. Set your boundaries and keep your kid safe!
And if this dog will be jealous of its owner holding and paying attention to a baby. My cute toy poodle mix is not happy when I have a baby to myself- wants to lick the baby and play too.
Regardless of the breed no one should be bringing their dog with when coming to meet your new baby.
The fact that no one will watch it for her is telling. There are boarding kennel’s, some vet’s do boarding.
My issue with pit bull’s is usually the owners.
It’s not like you need to let the dog near the baby… plenty of us brought our babies home to homes with large dogs and kept them separated for months without issue – you can’t figure out a solution for a day?
I really don’t get it, your baby is 2 months old, are you leaving it on the floor unsupervised?
Babies that age are typically in basinets, cribs, peoples arms… not on the floor with the dog or even in a dog accessible area – its also not hard to keep the dog in a separate room via a baby gate or some sort of temporary blockade.
Furthermore, you don’t trust your wife to keep your baby safe without you being present?
Look dude, I get it, I am a new father too and know it comes with all sorts of anxiety, but there are reasonable solutions to this problem that don’t involve barring the dog from visiting which still keep your baby safe, this is your anxiety getting the best of you.
I am sure the anti-dog crowd will come out to sow all sorts of fear and anxiety, but at the end of the day if you can’t keep your kid safe in this situation, you are going to be supremely fucked in the future when harder problems to solve arise.
No is a complete sentence. No strange animals should be around newborns even cats and small dogs. You have a right to protect your kid.
The friend could book the dog in with boarding kennels or get a dog sitter, she does not need to bring the dog with her. I’m a dog lover but it doesn’t matter the size/breed of the dog, they do not need to be brought everywhere with their owner.
Dog hotels exist.
You need to put your child first in this situation and have some conversations around oh diaries with the friend. Dogs can’t communicate their feelings like we can, and tragic dog related accidents happen with babies and young children more often than people realise.
Just say NO
No way in hell. Sorry. It’s selfish to bring your dog along to visit a new baby.
This isn’t about the breed – big dogs + little kids is risky stuff.
I can’t imagine asking to bring my dogs around a newborn. Find a dog sitter, lady!
There’s too many variables in this situation for me to feel comfortable with the friend bringing the dog if I were you. I have cats but I know there are places that house dogs for nights/weekends, why can’t they do that? Did your wife communicate to the friend that you don’t want the dog there? I wouldn’t feel comfortable bringing my animals anywhere if everyone didn’t agree to it.
It is your house, your rules. You simply tell that person that their dog is not welcome into the house. This is not difficult. Tell your wife, the same. You left his friend know that at this point in time you were not interested in having any animal that you do not own in the house with the newborn baby and that’s it.