As with most large breeds, supervising an American Bulldog when around babies is essential. So is teaching this breed baby manners. To a dog, a baby does not smell like an adult human and thus he must be taught before the baby arrives that this odd, squealing and strange-smelling creature is precious to the master and that the master is to be minded when he commands the dog to leave the nursery, "heel", or "leave it", and "NO." American Bulldogs are a breed with a background as a guardian dog and thus this step should not be ignored or skipped, especially when evidenced by its weight being heavy enough to knock over a cradle in its over-exuberance and high sensitivity to unfamiliar things: he has to learn that this weird thing is a human version of a puppy and that baby is too little to play rough An American Bulldog showing correct temperament, once it learns there is a new and very tiny family member, is a dog that shall be gentle and watchful over the little one and will tolerate baby tugging on its ears with patience. Any aggressive or possessive behavior is very much out of character and a sign of a poorly bred and trained individual: as has been related, in Early America one of the things they protected was the children of the household from intruders and wild animals. This would have included babies and toddlers.