My [30 M] wife [29 F] of 4 years, is asking me to get rid of my dog (6 F) for our baby (4 mo F)

I can't imagine being in this situation. I feel so bad for you! This is why communication is such a huge thing in relationships. I understand where your wife is coming from, but what's shes asking of you is unfair in my opinion. This is something you should've talked about before you had a kid together, considering she's clearly never enjoyed your dog and now she's using your kid as an excuse to try to force your dog out of your life.

I think your dog deserves a shot before having her entire life turned upside down for something that might never even happen. I would agree to keep your dog away from your daughter and seek help from a pro who specializes in this area of training to work with her.

A big part of this is the behavior of the people in the house, though...it's not just about your dog but about your ability to control your dog and to educate your child about how to behave around your dog. For example, I get that your child is an infant, but you can start reinforcing the no throwing rule now so that when she's old enough to actually understand what you're doing it's already a behavior she's seen before. It will make it much easier to establish that boundary early on when the dog is reintroduced to her at 3 or 4. No throwing stuff at the dog, no fur pulling, no jumping, etc etc. It's extremely important that children are taught to respect animals and it's easy to do if they're well behaved in other areas, like being taught not to throw toys.

All that said, if your wife has already made up her mind and isn't willing to reinforce any education your dog receives from you and a trainer, this won't end well. Everyone has to be committed. If I were you, your wife's stubbornness might seriously injure the marriage. My pets and I are a package deal. You don't get one without the other, especially if they came before the people in my life -- so I guess you should be taking my advice with a grain of salt, because that's the perspective I'm coming from. I'll never accept the idea that pets are expendable. They're family, and unless they're out of control with an issue that's totally unfixable, they should stay with their people for life.

/r/relationships Thread