3 yr old english pointer--9mnth old baby

[ATM]

Here is my problem. My 3 yr old pointer has been very good with the nieghbor kids they pull his ears tail etc and he just sits there.But with my 9 mnth old he has been very scittish, he scampers away any time the baby is in the room. Now that the baby is crawling he has shown some signs of aggression. Today my wife called me at work and said that the dog went from the couch down to the floor where the baby was and howled at him. I was not there to see it but my wife said he was aggressive towards the baby.

I think it may be a territory and attention issue as the pointer was the only one around for 3 yrs. Any ideas on how to make the transition to having the little one around easier on the dog would be appreciated. My son is very close to walking so this will probably create some more stress on the dog.

I have had him outdoors in the yard more with the baby around.

On a funner note I went scratch hunting with trigger at major ave hunt club on monday. trigger had 3 really nice points. It was hot out and the bugs were thick. If anyone would like to join me for some scratch birds i am a member at major ave and will be out there quite a few days before the season opens.

Adam

[LABS4ME]

ATM, watch that dog closely... my old boss had an EP and he had a lot of the same warning signs as you are until eventually 2 years later the dog clamped down on his son's cheek. I don't know if it is a territory issue, or what but it started off the same way, a little growl here, a snarl there, squaring off with the kid when they'd get up and move etc. etc. I told him to move her out to a kennel outside, but he refused to and in the end after the bite, he had to get rid of her. He wishes he would've just turned her into a kennel dog before then. I don't know if constant corretions will work or not... it didn't for him. Plus you can't be in the same room as the dog and kid at the same time every time...

Good Luck!

Ken

[Swamp Scooter]

ATM,

Sounds like your pooch does not like the new addition. Labs4me is right. Watch him very carefully. How does he react when you roll him on his back and pin him down and you are the alpha? Does he roll and give up or sruggle and fight it? This may be a dominance thing but it is hard to say. Is the dog kennel trained? If so hae him go to his kennel area when the young one is around. Creating a safe zone for the dog may help. Not sure. Is he fixed?

Good luck and hope it works out.

[ATM]

Well guys thanks for the info. I have decided the first thing im going to do is make a more solid effort to make the dog more comfortable around the baby. This morning I had trigger lay on the floor in the living room and with my help my son and I gave him a couple of treats. Then I sat him next to the dog and helped him pet triggers head. At first trigger seemed stressed out but with the treats he seemed to relax a little. Later in the day while my son was crawling trigger was kind of sniffing him out while doing this I gave him praise. Ill let you know how it goes. Adam

[Rick]

fixed