Westhighland with newborn baby

garycoyle1

Hi all my wife just gave birth yesterday to a little boy and when we came home tonight our westie went beserk and tried jumping barking and being quite aggressive.. The dog has been with us for 6 years and had 2 biting incidents in the past. Really worried its an accident waiting to happen but hes been in the family for so long. Who or were can i go for help dont want him to be put down

VonVix

I'd personally recommend you get a behaviourist to come into your home and give you a strategy with how to manage what is going on and figure out why this is happening, since a dog with a bite history and a new baby is a pretty delicate situation for someone to advise you over the internet without seeing the dog firsthand and knowing more about him. You shouldn't need to put him down, but management will most likely be crucial.

The poster DBB has lots of experience with Westies and may be one of the best here to advise on this matter.
I'd expect to see a well thought out post here from DBB (no pressure :P ) in a while that may help and perhaps point you in the right direction.

PucaMama

Behaviourist asap. Also try leaving the baby sleep with a blanket for a while then give it to the dog

Stheno

Agree with the last two posters and as someone to give advice on westies, I know no one better than DBB, I have worked with her in the past and she is a fount of knowledge

PucaMama

I have a westie x jack Russell who is very difficult with new people

coathanger

Contact Emmaline in citizen canine ireland, she is excellent & will be able to help u.

DBB

Ah lordy lads... I'm morto*
*(the brown envelopes are in the post)

OP, Did you get around to prepare the dog before the baby arrived?
It does sound as if he's really worried and upset about the new arrival, which may pass as long as you handle things well, but I would strongly urge that you contact a good, qualified behaviourist to help you with this (Emmaline, recommended above, is fab!)
However, I'm kinda getting the feeling from your post that the writing is on the wall in terms of the dog staying with you at all? Is this right?
In which case, you won't be alone in any way, shape or form in being a parent whose Westie is NOT enjoying the arrival of a new baby. The biggest problems tend to arise when the baby starts becoming independently mobile, from 8ish months onwards (crawling, toddling), so if your dog does manage to settle at this stage, you're going to have to prepare carefully for the toddling stage.
But I can tell you that the majority of Westies being surrendered to rescue in recent years were given up because there was a problem with a child in the home... more often than not, a child who arrived after the Westie did. Westies are just a bit too short-tempered and intolerant to live with small children full time. It sounds like your lad is no exception.

Edited to add: Congratulations on your new arrival by the way! I meant to start my post off with that, but got carried away with myself

garycoyle1

Really heart broken but the baby comes first and he doesnt listen or obey my wife at all she does not trust him😞😞 i bought a wee doll and played baby noises to him for the last month and he seemed to get use to the noises. But he reacted so badly tonight i have to but safety of family first
Thanks guys

Bells21

I would definitely agree with all of the posts above in regards to getting a good behaviourist on board, just remember that there's no magic over night solution so you will need to take precautions in a mean time which I'm sure you are already.
My mam has a westie who is now 14 and unfortunately I have the scar to prove what short tempered little feckers they can be(the incident was 100% my own fault, I went to hug him as he was lying on the sofa before I left the house and got a bit too close to his face as he woke up).

PucaMama

garycoyle1 wrote: »

Really heart broken but the baby comes first and he doesnt listen or obey my wife at all she does not trust him😞😞 i bought a wee doll and played baby noises to him for the last month and he seemed to get use to the noises. But he reacted so badly tonight i have to but safety of family first
Thanks guys

Sounds like she doesn't like the dog. Also sounds like your mind is made up already.

hannible the cannible

PucaMama wrote: »

Sounds like she doesn't like the dog. Also sounds like your mind is made up already.

Agree with you here , the op has got some good advice about behaviourists but is seeming to ignore it , why not try all options first op and if nothing works at least you've tried, but you seem to be giving up a good companion with very little fight , be proactive about it , although it seems to me like you're saying the easiest option would be to just kick the dog out

DBB

Folks... Go easy, will ye?
Going on the attack is not a good way to help someone who's clearly under serious pressure here. Please post in a manner that's helpful to the op, or zip it.
Do not reply to this post on thread.
Thanks.
DBB

borderlinemeath

hannible the cannible wrote: »

Agree with you here , the op has got some good advice about behaviourists but is seeming to ignore it , why not try all options first op and if nothing works at least you've tried, but you seem to be giving up a good companion with very little fight , be proactive about it , although it seems to me like you're saying the easiest option would be to just kick the dog out

In fairness, with a dog that already has had a couple of biting incidents, who doesn't listen to one of the adults in the house, I'm sort of not surprised that the OP is thinking along the lines of rehoming, and particularly given DBBs knowledge base with westies and sharing the knowledge of how difficult it is for a lot of them to live comfortably with young children.

I have a 15 month old toddler and if any of my dogs had issues with the baby, as much as I'd hate to do it I'd have to rehome them - I know of a westie cross who has had to go and live with her owners parents as they didn't want to give up their pet, but she was clearly uncomfortable when they had their baby and is far happier in a child free home.

OP, if you are dead set on rehoming him, are you in a position to ask any family or close friends to help out? Even short term? Rather than having Mammy (and new baby) stressed out because the dog is still there, and/or shoving him out to the back garden where he will get stressed, (and perhaps even ill with stress) Contact local rescues, and you'll have to be brutally honest in regards his bite history - to see if they can find a suitable home for rehoming but please don't bring him to the pound, as a surrender he could possibly be PTS within 24hrs if they are full.

sillysmiles

Is there any short terms measures that you can put in place to minimise everyones stress (OP, mother, baby and dog) like set up baby gates and leaving the dog in the kitchen or something that might work in your home until either you can get a behaviourist out or get someone to take the dog.

How did the dog react when you brought the buggy and bits and pieces that go with a baby?

Is the dog crate trained? Have you had it since it was a pup? Has it ever listened to your wife? Or isthat new since the baby?