They should stick to the physiology of dogs, and not dabble with the psychology.

She may not "want", but she should do the decent thing and take the dog back.

I agree!

Im sorry, but i find this so unbelievably sad. This dog has been in your lives for 4 years, and done nothing wrong... yet she has to go. I find that heartbreaking. You said you've been on your breeders waiting list for 6 months, and your baby is 7 months... so you gave her 1 month to get used to the baby before making this decision

Loads of dog have a prey drive/predatory aggression (whatever you want to call it) and yet get on great with kids. A dog can have the prey drive to chase a small furry animal, but you said she is great with humans so why should she be a danger? A dog can tell the difference between a child/baby and a rabbit or cat. Its natural for dogs to be interested, especially when the baby will smell of you and the house etc. Also, from what you described she hasnt met the child that many times (think you listed three occasions, cant remember for sure though). People wouldnt 'rehome' a child coz they couldnt be trusted with their younger sibling... they would just work around it, and make sure both were safe. And from what you have said, she hasnt even done anything to cause this distrust in her.

I just find it so so sad she is probably better going to someone who understands her better...

And what sort of a life do you think the dog would then have?

If ANYONE doesn't want a dog----including a breeder, it is far better for the dog not to be there.

rune

Please, I would rather this didn't turn negative.

To answer some points.

Yes, she has been on the waiting list for around six months although we had contacted the breeder to discuss her behaviour much earlier than that, when she killed our cat.

The breeder was unable to offer advice to help us at the time so we contacted a different behaviourist who came to meet us whilst my wife was still pregnant. We explained the situation to her and described the circumstances of the attack on our cat. She advised that as this was an attack on a family cat, one she had grown up with rather than one on the street it should be treated more seriously.
She recommended that we contact someone with more specialist knowledge to help us. Towards the end of the pregnancy and once the baby was born I was taking River to our current behaviouist who would normally only see dogs if they were referred to her by a vet. She saw first hand her reaction to small animals and explained the stages that a dog goes through before an attack is initiated and what small signs to look out for.
We set up training exercises with River and our 'stunt' baby. Some of her reactions to these exercises were similar to how she reacted when placed in front of a small animal. So we contacted the breeder and asked to be put on the waiting list for anyone contacting her wanting to rehome a NI.
Once the baby was a bit older we allowed River to meet him. Again we observed a change in behaviour from relaxed to seeking and stalking hence our decision (and backed up by a fully qualified behaviourist) to try and find her a better home.

We've had this decision questioned before, but the person who brought it up was strangely unwilling to let us borrow her own baby for training use.

We don't mind the training, we are doing the training now and we will continue with the training for as long as it takes, but whilst it's ongoing we are compromising the welfare of our other dog. Also no-one has addressed the problem of what to do with our other cat. Even if she was fine with the baby she can't ever be trusted with a cat again so this would mean rehoming the cat, again compromising another animals welfare.

The analogy of siblings harming each other I don't believe is valid.

Also please don't make assumptions that we don't understand River, it's upsetting, misguided and detrimental to the orignial purpose of this thread.

Thankyou

Dan, I know exactly what you are going through and I know it isn't easy. I have had to rehome my last GSD. When you have a dog in the house that you do not trust and also have a child it is like living on a knife edge, and no matter what anyone says the family must be your first priority. I struggled for months with my GSD and in the end he did bite and not just one person, it can happen. I am not saying your dog is going to bite anyone I am just saying I know what you are going through. It seems to me that you have been a great dog owner, you haven't given up without trying, you live with this dog and only you know what is best for your dog and family. Good luck in whatever you decide it is not an easy decision is it?

So she was in the list a month after bby arrived you spoke about her prey instincts Before bby arrived sooty but this poor dog didn't stand a chance. She was labled without actually doing anything
ATD x

Hi I've been following this thread for a couple of days. Personally I agree with H & Z if you don't trust the dog better it lives in an environment where it's not tempted. Too be honest you cant win, it attack again be it the child or an adult and you have to have the poor thing pts. Spencer badly bit Ian last year (for the 2nd time) and we thought long and hard it we'd have had children we wouldnt have hesitated in having him pts as it is we live with him but we're constantly aware of him.
Its one think fearing for your own safety but another worrying about a baby.
By the way I cant help wondering if it was a different breed would the comments have been the same.

I dont think that last paragraph is fair to Dogsey members, some of whom are very experienced with behavourial issues.

I appreciate that what I dont like is a member coming on here asking for advice and everyone jumping to conclusions. It seem abvious to me the op has tried all she can including behaviourist.
To be honest I'm rather suprised at the tone of some of the replies, if the dog attacks the child and god forbid causes harm then will we all with hindsight hand on heart be able to live with ourselves for the advice we've given.
Lots of members have had to rehome animals for aggression and these haven't been castigated this much.