How did you prepare your pets for the new baby?

DingMommy · 08-16-2009, 09:24 PM

Hi! I am the proud mother of two yorshire terriers who are spoiled beyond belief! I am nervous as to how they will react when we bring home our new bundle of joy. Is there anything I should be doing to prepare them for this transition? Thanks in advance!

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HRkswildcat · 08-16-2009, 09:28 PM

We need the same advice...have a bichon who is our "baby" We are nervous he will be upset with the baby.

Piper.piper · 08-16-2009, 10:19 PM

I don't have any personal experience yet, but I have a cairn terrier and we are trying to get him used to having baby stuff around and teaching him that its off limits right now so that when the baby comes he doesn't associate the baby with getting punished.

Also my dog barks sometimes when he sees people outside, hears a loud car/motorcycle, or when the post lady is bringing our mail to the porch. We are stopping him every time he starts now so that when the baby comes his barking doesn't scare the baby and make him cry.

soonermomma03 · 08-17-2009, 02:27 AM

Most likely, especially as a newborn, the barking isn't going to disturb the baby. Our dogs have barked if someone bangs on the door, or when the mail would come, and it didn't disturb the baby, just annoyed Mommy.

I would let the dog into the babies space. Let them sniff things out, get used to stuff. If you think they will freak about the crying, I would consider getting a recording of a baby crying, so that they can get used to the noise before the real thing is here.

I would give extra toys as well, in hopes that they will use those instead of baby's items to chew upon.

Before Mommy comes home, some people will bring home a blanket with the baby's scent on it, so that the poochies can smell it.

When we came home with Lainey, I came in the house first, and greeted my babies. Then I sat down on the couch (had a C-Section...felt this was safest for me) and let them get on the couch and love on me. Then I had DH bring me Lainey, and I held her while allowing them to sniff her. I don't remember if they tried to lick her, but if so...I would let them lick her head.

I have a picture of our first meeting, but I don't have it scanned in I guess. I would just make sure to not leave your baby in a position where the dogs can reach him/her when you are doing things...like taking a shower or cooking or something. You never know what could happen.

Celestial_Star_Gazer · 08-17-2009, 02:54 AM

With DD what we did was DH brought one of the blankets and outfits that we had DD wearing in the hospital home before DD and I got released. When we finally got home I went in first and loved on our little weiner dog and let him get his excitment over me finally being home out of his system and then DH took DD out of her car seat and let Chewy (our doggie) sniff her and kiss on her. It worked wonderfully. Now he is her best friend. While I still don't leave them alone together he is very good with her. She pulls on his ears, face, tail, feet you name it and he sits there and takes it. He kisses on her and plays with her. He enjoys getting her to chase him around the room. Oh and he is her protector as well. When someone comes over they are quickly "told" that she is his baby and they better not mess with her. Its actually pretty cute.

SweetestTara · 08-17-2009, 01:09 PM

We have a Newfoundland, which is a very large breed dog. We have been working on the "gentle" command. He is gentle anyway, but sometimes forgets his size.

We have also been playing a baby cry that we found on the computer so that our cats as well as our dog get used to the noise. At first or pup seemed kind of nervous, but now he is fine.

jessietex · 08-17-2009, 05:23 PM

Great thread!! We have two spoiled Rotties & it will def take some adjusting on their part. I would NEVER leave my pups alone with the baby or a child, IDC how sweet and gentle they are to my husband & me. The fact is that they haven't spent much time around small kids. My biggest worry is that they will accidentally knock over or step on a baby, toddler, young child. They have been fine the few times freinds have brought little ones over, but very curious & cautious. We'll be working with our trainer in the near future to figure out a game plan. I'll post any tips she gives me.

ANGIE3232 · 08-17-2009, 06:43 PM

Hey there! I want to hop on this thread for any tips people can provide. I have a spoiled Springer Spaniel. She gets jealous easy, so it will be interesting. Our hospital actually offers a class, although I won't be taking it for a little while. But any advice out there is definitely welcome.

Daisychain · 08-18-2009, 12:59 PM

If you have any friends with small children or babies, start inviting them over
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And could be good training for hubby too, he can have the opportunity to change a couple diapers
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supermouse · 08-18-2009, 04:20 PM

I was unable to do much with my dog before the babies came, due to being on bedrest (at home and hospital). However, someone took a blanket or hats that the babies had worn and brought it to the dog to sniff. She was actually staying at my SIL's since I had been hospitalized, and didn't come home until the boys were 3 weeks old. However, as mentioned, she did get to sniff their clothing in the hopes that she'd "recognize" them when she came home.

Anyway, she had no trouble adjusting to the babies---initially, she seemed concerned when they cried. Now she largely ignores them, except to lick them if they are covered in food and down near her level. Im not sure how it will go when they are mobile and chasing her, but I think as long as she can get away, all will be well.

As a PP said, dogs and small children shouldn't be left unsupervised, and anyone with a dog/s and small children will quickly learn the value of gates. Im quite sure that the dog will knock the boys over when they are learnning to walk, since she is just the right height, but as long as she isn't sending them down the stairs, that's no biggie.

I think more dog-child issues arise when the babies become toddlers and that would simply require more vigilance on the part of the parents, teaching the toddlers to respect the dogs, teaching the dogs to go to a quiet place to be left alone, and prudent use of gates. I think it works out fine for most families, with patience and time.

PBLayzod · 08-18-2009, 04:46 PM

Our dog was taught that baby things were off limits. We also didn't let me approach DD until she'd been home for a week or so. Then he was able to come up and sniff, but we got pushed away if his sniffs got too forceful. We didn't really have much problem until DD started crawling. He would flip her over with her nose like he was playing with a puppy. He's never been rough with her on purpose and doesn't growl or nip at her ever. Of course, we picked a breed we new would be good with kids. We also picked a breeder who has young children.

jweetheart1019 · 08-18-2009, 05:18 PM

We had a baby doll that cried and carried it around the house. I also made the baby pet the dogs so that they got use to little hands. I also had a receiving blanket that we took to the hospital and had Christian wrapped in then my parents took it back for the dogs to smell. We also introduced them one at a time and give them time to warm up before the next dog came home

BoxerMum · 08-18-2009, 05:36 PM

Our boxer went through a bit of a rough time when I was pregnant as he started peeing in the house (no medical reason). We figured he was sensing a change so we started giving him calming drops in his water recommended by the vet. Once we got the nursery set up, he was free to go into it and look around. When I was in the hospital with DD, my DH brought sleepers and blankets home that were previously used by DD for Denver to sniff. Before we got home, he did manage to have one last pee on her crib. When we brought Olivia home, he got down on all fours, his tail was going a million miles an hour and wanted to sniff her, which we let him do. We watched him very closely for the first few months but all he did was sniff her and lick her, he was never agressive. Now they are the best of friends, he lets her do anything she wants - lays on him, pull on everything (once even his boys), covers hims up with blankies and she even puts her bears beside him when he's sleeping. Now and again he knocks her over when excited but she generally just brushes it off.

GroupieKilla · 08-18-2009, 09:04 PM

I have a Lab/Pit Mix who has been my constant companion since the day I found him as a scared, skinny, and sick stray puppy. We are going to try the scent thing also but right now I'm letting him hang out in the nursery with me while I clean/organize/nest lol so he gets used to baby things. I will never ever leave him and the baby alone together because you just never know.

I'm also making a rule right here and now that we will teach our child to never pet someone's dog without asking and to be gentle always. It will come in handy in the future. I've seen too many kids who just run up and get in a dog's face the second they see it and I've always wondered why their parents don't stop them.

PBLayzod · 08-18-2009, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GroupieKilla
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I'm also making a rule right here and now that we will teach our child to never pet someone's dog without asking and to be gentle always. It will come in handy in the future. I've seen too many kids who just run up and get in a dog's face the second they see it and I've always wondered why their parents don't stop them.

We've had toddlers sneak up to Otis without their parents or us noticing. Luckily, he's very gentle, but the parents have no way of knowing this. He is a 90 lb doberman after all. I've had to explain to one of our neighbors that he's barking to try to get them to come pet him. They finally figured it out. Now he leaves them alone. He's such a wuss.