thank you!! I will follow up with my vet asap.

I defiantly will but I don’t have much money how much does it normally cost just to get them examined

She is 2 years old

ANY sudden behavior changes should be met with a vet visit first to rule out any medical problems.  please, take your dog to the vet and get him checked out.   i’d also talk to a veterinary behaviorist about this situation.

If you have to remove that sweet dog from your home, call a reputable rescue in your area and try to find a good home for him. Perhaps his tail was pulled harshly and it was just a warning to your child, but I understand she is too small to know better. You can take him to a behaviorist and see what that say but please don’t put a family member in a shelter. Can you imagine what he would feel like after only know your family all these years. Best of luck to you!

This is one of the hardest situations I have ever had to deal with. He is definitely a family member, and this is why it is very conflicting for me. I have family members telling me to just send him to the humane society but I know what would happen and I cannot do that without feeling extremely guilty. If it was just me I would do anything to help the dog, but my husband does not agree. I am in a very difficult situation and heartbroken. I thank everyone for their honest advice and will take this all to heart and continue to soul search in which road I should take. I do not believe he needs to die in any way shape or form.

i can’t imagine how difficult this is, but please, do the medical checks to make sure there isn’t something else going on. it’ll make it easier for a rescue to place him, as well.

Thank you, I will be looking into the Chihuahua rescue to see if they can assist me, I truly appreciate your help and honesty!

Totally and absolutely agree with P K here. The brutal truth is you allowed this to happen by letting an 8 month old baby pull your dog around, and how many times has she done it before? Look at it from the dogs point of view, if someone was constantly poking you and pulling your hair what would you do?
You would retaliate. Which is just what your dog has done.
This is honestly not your dogs fault. You shut him away now and you are compounding the problem, I’m not surprised hes stressed and barking….dogs pick up on our emotions very well indeed.
Please don’t rehome this dog. Rather be sensible and keep your baby out of his way for both their sakes. Again I agree with PK I would not let a dog go to a home with a child under the age of 7 years when they are old enough to treat a dog with respect.

Hey Brittany,

I just came across an article in The Whole Dog Journal about getting your dog ready to deal with a baby – this article mentions a company Family Paws Parent Education in Cary, NC which has a program, “Dogs and Toddlers” which is available to families through a worldwide network of more than 200 licensed presenters.  Jennifer Shryock developed this program in response to a huge number of families that wanted to surrender a dog after an incident (bite) had already occurred with a child in the home.  This program takes an in-depth look at helping the family dog successfully live with kids (and since he has been living with the 2 boys successfully I don’t think you have a big leap to hurdle!).

I can’t encourage you enough to give a trainer a try – they can help you design a training plan to keep everyone safe, while minimizing the dog’s anxiety.

One of the techniques recommended in the article is to teach your dog to be calm and happy in a room that is gated away from where the baby has access.  This works best if it is a room where the dog can see your family.  For example gate the kitchen so the dog can be in there with you while you cook and he can peek out and see the living room or family room.  Since it is dangerous for babies to be in the kitchen anyway (hot food or knives falling, reaching for pot handles…!) it makes sense to let the dog be in there, but not the baby.  The older boy can let himself through the baby gate to interact with the dog but the younger children are kept safely away in an area where they can be overseen but not touching the dog.

Ways to keep the dog happy in this space is to interact with him there, and when you are not interacting give him toys and chews to work on.  A Kong stuffed full of goodness and then frozen will keep him content for hours.  A trainer can help you with this!

I am just so worried for this sweet little guy!  My best wish for him is that he stay in the home he has known his whole life, with the people he loves.  But if that is out of the question I wish I could come scoop him up!

Thank you again for this information! I am full-heartedly trying to convince my husband that we can help our dog and keep him at the same time. He has had no prior aggressive behavior towards anyone in the family or anyone I bring into the home (the only aggression he has ever showed is to strangers when he is outside in the fenced yard – but I just think this is because he is very protective of his territory)…. I really do appreciate your opinions, help AND suggestions (rather than just being told I am at fault for everything).