It's so frustrating!

[bailey44]

So off we go to sil's house for my niece's birthday. Polly, 7 month bc is invited too. My niece loves Polly and wanted to see her. Another distant relative brought their infant--maybe 4 months--as well. This turned out to be a strange situation because these people kept putting the baby on the floor! -- and bringing the baby into every room we went into. So of course we had to keep Polly on a leash. We tried to escape by going outside but out they came and I'll be darned if they didn't set the baby down on the floor of the porch where my niece was playing fetch with Polly. Polly has these new things where you don't have to talk or give a command, she goes to a down, belly crawls, goes round and so on with just hand signals. My niece was just delighted with Polly's new tricks, so back inside we go so she could play with her. We find a quiet hallway and my niece starts playing with Polly and in they come with the baby and dangle her down in front of their legs. Well of course Polly spots this yummy baby and runs over to give her kisses. The father was mad. You know what? They had every right to bring their baby anywhere they wanted to, but I was so frustrated when I had tried everything to keep peace. I would never have brought Polly if I would have known that a baby was going to be there. I almost died of fright because Polly could have very easily scratched the baby--thank goodness she just licked her and ran back to us to play. This had been going on for a couple of hours, so finally I had to gather her up and leave because it was just too miserable trying to keep her leashed and close to me in such close quarters. I have had dogs all my life and I have never been in a social situation where I've had to worry about someone pretty much keeping a baby on the floor. I just didn't know these people very well and I felt like the baby's safety came first. I was so disappointed that I didn't get to really enjoy my niece and her birthday. what do you guys think? What should I have done?

[Maralynn]

I don't think you did anything wrong, but I don't think they really did anything that wrong either. The baby I take care of spends lots of time on the floor - tummy time is is important for babies. They were probably just used to the baby laying on the floor.

 

As for keeping Polly on the leash, that was what you had to do. There's nothing wrong with that. It's good training for her.

 

Maybe the thing to do different is to say to the parents that you're trying to find a good place to play with the dog so you're sure she won't bother the baby. You could also mention that she is just a puppy, so is still a bit hyper around babies/kids. Hopefully they would get the hint.

 

I'd look at this the other way around, too. If you were there with a 2 month old pup that would stay close to you, and they had a toddler, you would expect them to make sure that the toddler didn't bother your pup.

[bailey44]

Thanks for the support and letting me vent! I don't get to see my niece very often, so I was hoping to get some pictures of her and Polly together for a scrapbook that I'm working on. They are both all legs and gangly right now, and they are so cute together. Polly isn't around babies, so i wanted to be sure that the baby was safe. I did try to let them know that i was going into another room with Polly, but the hint did not take.

[Maralynn]

Some people just don't take hints, do they?

 

Dogs, especially puppies, are people magnets! It does bug me sometimes. Everyone wants to pet my nice doggy, but my nice doggy doesn't really like getting petted by some strangers. She'd much rather sit quietly by my side and be ignored.

 

You did what you needed to do with the circumstances you were in. Sometimes these things work out for the best because then we're able to think up a "game plan" for next time.

[smileyzookie]

I guess I have a different take on it. Tummy time may be important, but I think it was a bit irresponsible to be laying a baby on a floor or wherever where a dog was close playing. I probably would have made a comment such as... hey lets go inside so the dog doesnt bother the baby or something so they'd understand you are trying to do right by your dog, but also by the baby.

[Michael in Tx]

Here's where just a little communication could have solved the problem. Say to the parents, "I'd like my niece to have a chance to play with my dog, but I am worried that your baby might accidentally be hurt. Could we agree on a 'dog zone' and a 'baby zone' so everyone will be safe?"

 

Reasonable parents would be happy to comply. Unreasonable parents would require you to leash your dog at all times, but at least the issue would be clear.

[bailey44]

I did that by saying to my niece, "let's go back inside and play with Polly--away from the baby." that's when they came back inside and brought the baby to where we were playing. I probably would have tried to be more forceful in my own home, but i was trying to be respectful at sil's house. sil has a little poodle,and she told me later that she was worried about her dog hurting the baby too. I guess when I looked at this later, i remembered that when my babies were small, I always tried to balance being friendly with other people's pets while keeping the babies out of scratching reach. Not everyone sees dogs as family members!! but I do. It was really no big deal, just one of those strange situations you find yourself in sometimes with your dog.