# Vizslas and new babies - "pointing" at the baby



## Brieandben

Hi all & happy holidays!

I have a friend who just brought a new baby boy home and has ~5 year old vizsla.....who is also her baby and the love of her life, just like my Jasper boy is to me. She is going through the stress of being a new mom, which is SO HARD the first few months, and is having issues with her dog. The dog is "pointing" at the baby and being aggressive. This is creating such a huge safety problem that she and her husband are being faced with sending him away, which is beyond heartbreaking to her. 

Have any of you had issues with your dog doing anything but licking your baby to pieces and jumping up in excitement?? Those are the issues (and of course the stinking toy stealing) that I faced when bringing a newborn home to a one year old V, and he still does it. My dog and my baby are best friends and partners in crime, even more so now that Adi is a year old and Jasper is 2. Although my daughter and dog can be frustrating because they love to cause trouble, it's more annoying or just funny, so I can't imagine being scared of them together. Any issues with aggression that you were able to solve and be confident that they were definitely resolved?

I'm desperate to help this friend find a solution other than sending her dog away, it's unthinkable. I cry at the mere thought of something happening to my dog and she's just as close to hers, so I can't have her add losing her dog to the overwhelming stress of being a new mom.

Thanks in advance for any help you can share!
~Brie


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## texasred

I can only go by my dogs behavior and this dog maybe different.
If they are pointing and getting excited its because they look at an object as prey. They have never done this with people but have with tiny dogs. My guess was it looked like a rabbit to them.
*If *this dog is looking at the baby as prey, the parents have a big problem. The dog could also be jealous of the baby. 
As hard as it maybe, you can't have a baby around a dog that can't be trusted. It only take the blink of an eye for something to happen, that you can't take back.


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## Brieandben

That's what I was afraid of; that the dog was seeing the baby as prey. Is that a behavior that can be worked on though, or is it irreversible? Do vizslas eventually get used to something/someone and calm down or are they relentless about stuff? My dog is pretty crazy when he wants something, but I didn't do the best job of keeping up on the training since we did it right around the time I had a baby and I didn't have the time or patience to devote to it. From what I know about this breed though, is that they are very very trainable, smart dogs. So I'm hoping for her it is an issue that can be remedied with a trainer.

I guess I've never had the issue with our dog seeing stuff as prey though becuase we don't use him for hunting, he's more just a lovie boy. I really don't know if Jasper would even hurt an animal if he caught it. I don't know if they use their dog for hunting, maybe that's where the issue is stemming from? Our dog does get jealous because he craves attention and affection, but with our baby, I just made sure he was still able to cuddle with me like he was before she arrived. And when he's jealous, he just gets rambunctious, not aggressive.


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## texasred

I am not a behaviorist, just a vizsla owner.
She would need to talk to a professional behaviorist and have them evaluate the dog.
If she does decide to rehome him, look up your area Vizsla rescue. They are better equiped at matching dogs to correct homes.


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## RubyRoo

I don't have a baby yet but due in 8 weeks. We have been doing training sessions with Ruby right now with a baby doll to attempt to prepare her for his arrival. We always made sure Ruby has been around young children her whole life so I am not concerned but I'm sure that is different when a baby is here full time.

So far, when we have the baby doll in our arms we give her commands. She definitely acts different when we hold the baby. We also put her in different situations with the baby doll and put it on the floor, couch, in the crib. She gets very calm and we put her in a sit/stay position.

All of this work may go out the window when our baby boy comes home but we have a trainer on stand by just in case issues arise. Also, we plan on putting Ruby in doggie daycare more so she is worn out and not overly excited the first few months.

Good luck with your friend and hopefully a trainer will help with the situation.


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## redbirddog

Always be on the safe side. Never put the dog in a position where it can do something that you and the dog will never live down. Just not worth it.

Stay always vigilant. We have two dogs and four young grandchildren. My daughters would never forget if my dogs hurt their children. I will not put my dogs or them in that position.

When in doubt protect the little ones by keeping space or use crates.

We have hunting dogs (that is what a Vizsla is).

RBD


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## raps702

Our son Jackson just turned a year old last week, our V (Axlel) is 3 years old. I remember being very apprehensive about bringing our newborn home and how Axel would react, would he be aggressive, etc. Axel was awesome right from the day we brought our son home, somewhat curious and alittle nervous, but nothing out of the ordinary. A year later they are best buddies, Axel never touches his toys or stuffed animals, he almost seems to have a natural instinct to know what are his toys and which are not? He does occassionally get jealous when we go out on a family outing and unfortunately he is not allowed to come, and I do feel guilty about this, however I try to bring him along wherever I go if it's possible. I am looking forward to when our son starts to walk, so that he can really chase the dog around the house and let them entertain each other and wear each other out... The one regret I have is that I am not able to take Axel out on our 2 hour hikes daily as we used to do before having the baby, it's just very hard to do at this time. We do try to take him to doggy daycare alittle more often so he gets to socialize with other dogs and gets plenty of exercise. At least he is home with us all day and does not get neglected, but I will say this our son is our number 1 priority and Axel is lower on the totem pole.(He may not think so) It is what is and he may not be as happy as he was a couple of years ago but when you have a baby things change in your life. I am sure when our son is alittle older we will be able to go on more hikes and adventures... Don't get me wrong, we go for walks everyday, it's just harder pushing that **** baby stroller around everywhere with a dog in tow. I have to buy one of those BoB strollers so we can go on more rougher terrain walks.


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## DougAndKate

Our daughter is almost 1 and a 1/2 now. She's starting to torture our almost 3 year old V mix Elroy more and more every day. He takes it so well, but it get's to a point sometimes where I give the bed command and keep him there until things calm down. We trained Elroy extensively before the baby came with a baby doll as well, now it seems we need to train our daughter moreso on how to respect the dog's space. If anyone recalls I made her a book with all of Elroy's commands and she's just now starting to really like it!

Last night was chaotic as my wife worked late, I gave them both dinner, they got rowdy after dinner and then Elroy's anal glands leaked. Sorry Elroy, you're on your bed until Mommy gets home!

Raps, there's good and bad when the walking starts. Elroy's tail isn't docked, so my daughter is constantly getting whipped in the face. Plus getting knocked over when they're both running around the house. But they are best friends indeed, and hopefully will be for a long time. And the exercise part is tough. We try to maximize our miles on the weekends as much as possible. My wife carries our daughter in a baby carrier for most of the hike and I handle Elroy.

As for the original poster, I would see a behaviorist immediately and go from there.


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## trevor1000

well this is easy
get a baby launcher
just like a bird launcher but for babies
I'd say tether the baby too so they don't crawl far after the launch and get away
The key is to launch the baby just before your puppy get's to it.
The dog will learn that they cannot get the baby if they rush or chase the baby
They will hopefully just point
This of course is a ridiculous yet funny approach.


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## jjohnson

We have a 2 1/2 year old Vizsla and a 14 month old girl, and I think our life is pretty similar to @DougandKate's\. 

Gus growled at the baby the first day we brought her home, but quickly got over it and was really just curious. Now that baby is walking, they play with each other, which usually means the baby grabbing Gus' ball, and then "throwing" it for him, or him grabbing it out of her hands. I have been pleasantly surprised with how relatively gentle Gus has been with her (for a Vizsla!). He does occasionally knock her down or whip her in the face with his tail. He still loves to lick her, which I have kind of given up on preventing. I am waiting for her to learn to say "no!" and push him away. 

For the most part, they love each other, and it is going better than expected. Gus guards his food pretty badly though, so he ALWAYS eats downstairs by himself, and doesn't get bones or stuffed toys around the baby. I also watch the two of them like a hawk and I am really trying to teach the baby to be gentle with him, although she is already starting to want to pull the tail and ears. She does love to give Gus "kisses" which is pretty cute (always supervised!). And of course, her first word was "Guh!".

I still never fully trust him- I am always watching their interactions, and I NEVER leave them in a room alone together. In answer to the original question, if you feel the dog really is a danger to the baby, don't chance it. Not worth it for a dog, even though we do love our dogs like babies. In all honesty, Gus is still on what I consider probation (we have had aggression issues with him in the past). If I thought he was a major danger, or if he ever snaps or nips her, he is gone in a second. We have to do everything we can to protect our children, dogs come second, as hard as that may be sometimes. 

PS- I had to attach the picture of baby and Gus waiting for Daddy to come home!


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## DougAndKate

jjohnson, forgot to mention. our daughter's 3rd word after dada and mama was EhRoo (Elroy).  And she already tells him "No" and "Bed" and "Down", probably from hearing us saying so much. She's also taken to coming into the kitchen and sitting down when she wants a snack, I guess it works both ways lol


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