Baby and Dogs

KirstyLeigh88

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I apologise if there has already been a thread for this, but was wondering if anyone has any tips and such forth for helping prepare my gorgeous doggy's for the arrival of their little brother? I think both know something is going on, when Charlie slightly leans on me, baby goes mad kicking away, hoping that's a sign of a connection between them! Jack has never been cuddly or clingy with me, but has been since being pregnant which is always nice. Both are being very gentle and caring with me too which is a relief!

I have done some reading and got some advice off the Midwife and health visitor, such as wrapping baby in a blanket for oh to bring home for them to smell, oh carries baby in etc. But wondering if there is much else I can do? They have open access to the nursery to get used to the furniture and the moses basket.

Any other suggestions are welcome :)
 
I don't know if it's something you can arrange, but my parents have taken our dog for the first few days, came for a visit on day 3 and she was fine (she's 10 years old so pretty chilled anyway) and she's coming home tomorrow now! It was mainly because I was very immobile after some surgery though, otherwise I would likely have kept her at home. I think she was prepared though - she seemed to know what was going on in a way, and has been fine around the baby.
 
Hey! I have 2 doggies too, and I am just not acting different. They are very sensitive creatures and always will pick up on something changing, and will become anxious if you do too much differently so try keep them in their normal routine, and yes let them sniff and see things in the house.

Mine haven't ever been allowed on furniture or bed, so I don't have to contend with that luckily because I don't think it is safe for them to be all over the furniture etc as they can carry parasites of course, so if yours are allowed on furniture that would be the only thing I would change is getting them used to being on the floor, and on their own beds. That is the best advice I have really! And once the baby is born don't make a big thing about them being separated this will only make the dogs more inquisitive and cause more problems. Obviously just don't ever leave the dogs unattended with the baby too!

Lol sorry to go on I feel like I have just been really bossy! This is pure experience for me though, I am a dog groomer and have heard it all before with certain situations etc, and when I had my daughter my dogs were amazing with her and shes 5 now, they are all best buddies! It is lovely! xxx
 
See I'm on the other side of this. I'm not a dog fan & we had to give our family dog up a couple of years ago because he just couldn't adapt to my brothers baby. Now my FIL has a dog, he got it fairly recently & he's still fairly young, not even a year yet but he's so boisterous and jumpy and keeps nipping & I just cannot trust it. I just cannot see how you could prepare this dog for a newborn, he jumps up when I'm holding my 4yr old niece as he wants to get at her but of course, can't say anything as it's not my dog. I just won't be taking the baby there on my own & the minute that dog jumps up at me or anyone holding the baby I'll be heading home.

I have mentioned taking a doll or something around like it was a newborn but I was told no it won't be the same and the dog will know it's a doll so I'm not sure there's any other way to prepare that dog for a baby! X
 
I did the following with my dogs:

Put all baby furniture etc in place well in advance so seeing it all became normal and mundane.
Carried around a doll wrapped in a blanket.
Played a sound CD of a baby crying.
Took the dogs for walks alongside the pram.
Varied their feeding and walking times.
Taught them a leave cue and a cue to go and lie down on their beds and stay there.

You need to ensure you pair all things baby related with nice treats so that you dog builds a positive association with baby. Heavily reward good behaviour that you want and ignore or distract from behaviour you don't want. It's a good idea to such up on rawhides and long lasting chews or prepare a job lot of stuffed Kong's which you can freeze or even invest in a couple of puzzle feeders which will help occupy your dog for liner periods.

XX
 
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That would be what I would love to do, introduce the dog to baby stuff but it's not our dog and doesn't live with us and so we can't tell somebody else what to do with their pet. It's tricky but I'll be making it clear the very first time that dog jumps up to try and nip me or the baby that I'm going home & wont be coming back until the dog has learnt he can't do that. Xx
 
That will be difficult as the dog is still a puppy.
Can you not ask FIL if he would help doing some baby prep with the dog?
 
I don't have a baby, but been around people preparing for babies arrival with dogs in the house...
Pull on the dogs fur and tail, because as baby gets bigger s/he'll start grabbing onto the dog, so doing this will make dog less likely to snap at child when they do it.
When you bring the baby home, introduce the baby by making dog sit, and sniff gently and feed treats.
Don't leave the dog out, as it might get jealous of the baby
Don't get anxious when dog is around baby, as it'll pick up on it
Don't shout at dog if it goes near baby, as the dog will become scared of it.
Hope this helps. Most this i watched my aunt do, as she had two German shepards x
 
It's not for me to ask. I've asked the oh about the doll thing etc but was told it's pointless they'll know the difference and won't treat it like a real baby and will just want to play with it as they'll know it's a doll.
It's hard not to be anxious around the dog when you don't like them & are scared of them. Xx
 
I would say as it's your FIL and his grandchild you're having then you have every right to say you would like it if everyone could pull together to help the dog get used to the baby.
The doll idea is rather pointless to be honest, the dog will just want to play with it. They know it's not a person.

I think one way to approach might be to say that the dog and the baby are both part of the family and you would appreciate it if they could work with you on this, because you are uncomfortable about your new baby being near an excitable puppy.

Unfortunately nipping takes a while with some dogs as they, like children, explore the world with their mouths but have very pointy teeth. It might also be helpful for you to look up the correct positive reinforcement methods you could use around the dog to make you feel more confident.
 
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I think it would be hard if you yourself are a little frightened of the dog, I can imagine that being a bit awkward because you don't want to tell him what to do, I understand that xx
 
Thanks for the advice ladies! Summer I hope something works out for you and FIL dog.

I shall be trying some of the bit's that you have all suggested x
 
I didn't let the dogs into the nursery or near her stuff at all. The day we came home we showed them Lucie and they looked in her chair and sniffed and that was it. They are beagles so fairly chilled. That night I took them and pram for a walk around the village. They weren't bothered by her but I didn't ever leave them alone with her or let them close enough to lick or bite. As she got older she would go to them and follow/stroke them. She is now 3, and dresses them up, brushes them and just won best child handler at a dog show lol. I didn't play noise to them or do anything special, just kept them at a distance but still have them attention X
 
With the doll thing, it's not about fooling the dog into thinking it's a baby. Most dogs will jump up to investigate whatever you are carrying, so having a doll means you can carry something novel and teach your dog not to jump at it.

I wouldn't personally advise pulling on a dogs fur to get it used to it. A child shouldn't be allowed to do that to a dog in the first place which is why an adult should supervise the interactions between the dog and child. Plus, more importantly so, you cannot desensitise to pain so even if your dog is used to being grabbed or pulled about, if it hurts it may still react.

Google the Canine Ladder of Aggression, as this will help with an understanding of body language.

If it's not your dog, then other than voicing you concerns they'd not an awful lot you can do in regards to training it.

XX
 
What emily said - Never let a child pull a dogs tail or pull its fur - any dog would flip out at that and the canine ladder of aggression is a very good way to scale what a dog's behaviour means.

Dogs are not humans we all forget this sometimes, its not their fault that they want to protect themselves from any harm or danger which is how they view most things in life, they are pack survival animals at the end of the day xx
 
I haven't read everyone's reply so I apologise if this is a repeat

When we had our son my husband bought his vest, hat and grow home that he had worn after his birth and left it near the dogs bed. They both had a good sniff and one dog licked and licked the outfit and when we came home the day after my dogs had a sniff and we're happy as they recognised the smell
 
I carry a doll around and simulate as much as I can with the doll on all the baby things and play baby sounds. So far our bouncy dog has been ok obviously the test will be the real baby but she is now used to the baby bits being around the house. Our dog is a 19 months so still very hyper runs around like a lunatic so we have extra tall stair gates and just have to manage her the best we can. But so far the training has been paying off.
 
We had a deaf dalmatian when my son was born 11 years ago and we brought the babygrows home that son had been wearing and let the dog sniff them to get used to sons scent. When he came home and we had visitors we ensured they petted the dog first and then saw son so the dog would't feel left out. We never left son by himself with the dog, but the dog was great and was very protective of him.
 

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