Preparing the dog for a baby

supermouse · 07-05-2008, 03:56 PM

Hi-
I know millions of people have pet dogs and then go on to have babies later, and everything works out fine most of the time.
We have a dog, she is a young dog (approx 2) and very sweet and pretty well trained, but we want the adjustment period of having a baby around go as smoothly as possible.

In order to facilitate this, I have done several things:
1)Ordered a few guidebooks with tips on how to acclimate a dog to a new baby. It's too early for us to have any baby stuff right now, but eventually, we'll have a stroller, for example, the house. And we'll wheel it around empty so the dog can get accustomed to it. Later on, when the child actually arrives, there will be other things to do.

2)Being aware of potential issues now---like hauling off and trying to chase squirrels every time we go for a walk. We've invested in a Gentle Leader halter collar, which, if used properly, should elimate all pulling on walks.

3)Introducing our dog to young children as the opportunities arise. She's never interacted with a kid younger than 2 or 3, but she doesn't seem too bothered by toddlers and children. She sniffs them, licks them if they are sticky and ignores them. Of course, we would never leave her unsupervised with any small children, which is rule #1 of dog-baby households.

This dog seems fairly bright, as dogs go, and is quite adaptable. So, I think she will make the adjustment and be a great family dog, but Im still a little nervous.

Does anyone have any tips or ideas?

What have you done, or will you do, to acclimate your dog to your new baby?

plastic stars · 07-05-2008, 04:18 PM

I've heard of people letting the dog smell the baby's blanket before they meet the baby. I don't know if this does anything but I guess its worth a try. Dogs can get really jealous so make sure you give your dog lots of attention when the new baby arrives.
Puppia brand harnesses are great. I have a pitbull and she pulls a lot on a leash. I had another harness for her but it rubbed under her front legs. The Puppia works really well and doesn't hurt her.
Good luck!

Kathy2579 · 07-06-2008, 07:19 PM

Super I have a cat and we put baby items around the house. Also we put double sided tape around the crib so she will not touch the area.

I also have heard of other people bring home something from the doctors and hospital visits so they smell that smell. Also each day the baby is in the hospital bring home something he or she has worn.

Lastly talk to your vet. Mine was very helpful

ryan3 · 07-06-2008, 08:16 PM

While I was in the hospital with ds my husband brought home one of his baby blankets that we used in the hospital. Then when we arrived home we put ds in his carrier in the garage and let our dog out. She sniffed right to ds and we praised her like she had found him for our family. We gave her treats and made a huge deal about it. Then we brought everybody inside and that was that. She was still curious about when he cried and made noises, but she adjusted well. Now you can't keep the 2 apart. I got the idea from a dog book.

acrowe · 07-06-2008, 09:53 PM

I bought "Preparing Fido". Its a CD of baby noises and Id play it like once a day. This way the pups would get used to the crying mainly. Plus it was total fun for me to hear! It seemed to work. I have a high strung beagle and she was great.

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lamnidae · 07-07-2008, 01:33 AM

for our doggies (rotti/germ. shep mix, belgian shep mix, akita/husky mix) we have started brushing up on their obedience training and making sure they know who's boss. When we get closer we are going to train them to stay out of the nursery.

Erin

supermouse · 07-07-2008, 08:52 AM

Kathy--I will ask the vet, thanks!

Ryan--what a cute idea! I would like to try that, if we can.

Acarter--thanks, I'll check out that website.

lamnidae--yep, we're working on strengthening obedience and pack order already. Luckily our dog is pretty good and she's not super-assertive, so it'll be more of an issue when the baby is a toddler and the dog has no respect for it.
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We'll have to keep reinforcing that humans are always dominant to doggies, even little humans.

Kathy2579 · 07-07-2008, 11:24 AM

The other thing we have done is use sounds bits online of baby noises near where she likes to sleep. She doens't seem to be bothered. Sometimes she will come to the laptop and seem conerned about the noise.

My friend also tried having other people with small children over.. see how the dog reacts.

JSTysinger · 07-07-2008, 04:35 PM

The child's noises are a really good idea. You might also record your child's cry at the hospital and play it back for your dog along with letting her sniff a blanket from the hospital.

If you are going to walk your dog while holding or strolling the baby, start training her to heel now. It has only taken about two weeks to teach our very head-strong dog to heel fairly well, but he is getting refreshers on sitting when stopping and staying to the left side of the leash holder so as to stay away from traffic. Gentle leaders are great, but they do not prevent all pulling or chasing of other animals. I would enroll her and you in a training class so she will learn to get past distractions of other animals and people.

Also, if you are holding the baby, let her sniff the baby, have her lay down in the floor next to you, then praise her and give her a treat. She will begin to associate the baby with good things instead of that loud smelly thing that takes attention away from her and know that she is expected to be calm (and not jump) around the baby.

Hope everything works out great for you all.

Tensei · 07-07-2008, 05:46 PM

Amy - Here's a suggestion I read in a magazine:

One of the biggest problems with little kids (crawling age) is that they tend to pull on the dog's ears. Dogs tend to bite in response to such a thing - especially if they're sleeping when it happens. It's just an instinctual response.

While you're still pregnant, have a treat handy and tug on your dog's ears while she sleeps. As soon as she wakes, give her the treat and lots of praise.

Over time, being pinched, tugged, and bopped will not be something scary for her.

brianne1975 · 07-08-2008, 12:13 AM

When I was PG with DS, I downloaded a few sound bits of a baby crying and would play that. My DH also brought home a blanket that the baby used at the hospital. Also when we got home from the hospital, I had my mom come out and she carried the baby in - so we were able to greet the dogs. Funny thing was - they could have cared less
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butterscotchmother · 07-08-2008, 11:11 AM

I was so glad to read this post...I've been concerned about this too!

We will definetely be sending home things from the hospital for our Furbaby to smell prior to bringing BABY home!
Also, our pooch is still terrified of vacuum, etc even though she is 4...so we will also try to introduce her to the stroller ,etc.
She knows what "baby" means as she has been around them before and we have alwasy spoken to her alot (word recognition) so I keep mentioning "BABY' to her. She is also very attentive to the large screen television (particularly other animals) but we also direct her attention to it when a baby is on, especially if there is crying involved! She sits right in front of tv, nose on screen, turning head from side to side with ears erect, taking it all in! LOL You might think I'm crazy, but it's true!

This is prime exmaple of how she gets ALL of our attention and will definetely deserve some special coaching to share her time with Baby!

ssaunders1187 · 07-08-2008, 11:57 AM

We have a Saint Bernard who is 1 and a half, a Chihuahuah and an old Shih Tzu.

We already have a little boy and he was only 3 months old when we got our Saint so I dont think we will have many issues.

Personally our dog got weirded out by the recording of sounds. He looked confused the the sound was coming from an object rather than a living thing.

Our biggest issue is the Saint getting on the furniture. You really want to think about this because if the baby is laying on the couch next to you and the dog jumps up it may unintentionally jump on the baby. We have really started scolding him for that NOW rather than wait for it to become an issue and seem like we are yelling at him because of the baby.

One thing that has worked well with our dogs is using the word "BABY" like a command. When our dogs go near any child under the age of 4 we always say "BABY!" really firm so they know to be more gentle.

I want to add on to what the previous poster said about pulling the dogs ears. When your dog is eating get your hand in there and take food and put it back and sit next to her and pet her and pat her and even get your face next to hers while she is eating. I was bit by a Chow who was protecting his food, so you want to make sure she knows how to 'share' her food with the baby (as gross as that sounds!)

tinamarie248 · 07-08-2008, 07:47 PM

anyone have any suggestions about the barking? our dogs bark at anything outside they see, hear or think they see or hear. that's not going to be good for a sleeping baby!

ssaunders1187 · 07-08-2008, 09:06 PM

Tinamarie= You will be surprised what a baby can sleep through once they get used to it. But they do have the colors that shock or spray water when they bark.