Boxer dogs and newborn babies?

[doofershuman]

I do not have an infant, but I babysit a little 3 month old once a week and Doofer (6months) is always wanting to be right there next to her. He gets concerned when she cries, wants to constantly be near her, kiss her, steal her baby toys, etc.. He is gentle and more cautious around her, but being a puppy himself you have to watch out. He will try to nibble her and "box/paw" her. He is never left alone with her and if he is near her when she's at his level then I am half between them just incase. But over all he does better then I would have expected of puppy.

 

[EAO76]

I doubt you have anything to worry about. Our beloved boy Trucker, who was a rescue with all sorts of behavior issues...and sadly once killed a feral cat that entered his yard... was beyond wonderful with our son from the day he was born. Trucker was ALWAYS sweet, gentle, patient and loving. I have a million pictures of Trucker and our son playing and lounging together. Trucker passed away when my son was four and never, not even one time was he anything less than an angel with our son. And this was a dog that was far from perfect. Additionally we have two other Boxers that were never really exposed to kids that are great with our son and are also great with our 5month old daughter (they are litter mates, we call them the two headed monster because even now at 7years they are very hyper and would also chase down anything that runs) . Our 4th Boxer Fluffy is not that found of kids (she is also a rescue with a sorted past) but is not outright aggressive she just wont tolerate being poked or pulled on so we taught our son from an early age to not bother that particular dog. One thing that I believe is important is to teach children to respect the dog and to be gentle. Some people have the notion that dogs should take anything a kid dishes out which is ridiculous. Kids should be taught how to behave from a very young age.

 

[Alisa KM]

thanks EAO76

I doubt you have anything to worry about. Our beloved boy Trucker, who was a rescue with all sorts of behavior issues...and sadly once killed a feral cat that entered his yard... was beyond wonderful with our son from the day he was born. Trucker was ALWAYS sweet, gentle, patient and loving. I have a million pictures of Trucker and our son playing and lounging together. Trucker passed away when my son was four and never, not even one time was he anything less than an angel with our son. And this was a dog that was far from perfect. Additionally we have two other Boxers that were never really exposed to kids that are great with our son and are also great with our 5month old daughter (they are litter mates, we call them the two headed monster because even now at 7years they are very hyper and would also chase down anything that runs) . Our 4th Boxer Fluffy is not that found of kids (she is also a rescue with a sorted past) but is not outright aggressive she just wont tolerate being poked or pulled on so we taught our son from an early age to not bother that particular dog. One thing that I believe is important is to teach children to respect the dog and to be gentle. Some people have the notion that dogs should take anything a kid dishes out which is ridiculous. Kids should be taught how to behave from a very young age.

Thank you, EAO. We will have to gauge the situation as we move forward when it does happen. I was mainly worried bc trainers like Victoria Stillwell and others stress not leaving infants and small kids alone with dogs.; that sometimes they may get jealous or perceive the child as prey, which I had never heard about before in my life, so it totally freaked me out. Lots of people get into predatory drift discussions, and how a dog can confuse a child or infant with a chew toy or a small animal and go into prey mode suddenly because of something the infant does or a certain noise it makes. I was just curious as to whether or not certain dogs can tell the different between the noises an infant makes and a noise a small animal makes? So that was my main concern! Thanks