I have my concerns any advice would be brill

[Bethanybiggin]

So today due to creating a Halloween outfit we bought a doll and just to see how my dog would react we held it like a baby anyway my dog has always been number one but now I'm 6 months pregnant the way she has reacted to a doll has made me have concerns she wasn't nasty towards it just really inquisitive and wouldn't leave it alone to the point she came a bit obsessed with it so we removed it from her sight and she's still looking around for it and knowing it's upstairs (she isn't allowed upstairs) she has been constantly Waiting at the door wanting to go upstairs all night!! So my question is what do we do to prepare her if we can and make me not worry so much to when we bring the baby home! Thanks in advance

 

[PeanutButter]

I think maybe the dog just wants a sniff and to know what you were holding, if i hold anything and won't let my dogs see they won't stop bothering me. X

 

[violet13]

We brought home my sons towels he was cleaned with first well my hubby did we had 4 dogs at the time and none of
Them became obsessed they all sniffed licked and rolled in it (it was dry by that point) and they've been fine since but every dog is different, when she does behaviour you want give her a fuss and treat also if she goes into her bed on command reward her too if she gives gentle and good sniffs with baby with relaxed body language another reward also let her have fusses with you and baby keep her involved and take her on walks with the pram and reward her for being good with that too. Female dogs can be very maternal our husky cross is she was a bit all over me and when he was born she was great. Just do things slowly start putting baby gates up and letting her in and out when you need to say change baby downstairs before baby is here so she's used to it before labour. Good luck Hun let us know how you get on and give her a fuss off me xxx

 

[Bethanybiggin]

We brought home my sons towels he was cleaned with first well my hubby did we had 4 dogs at the time and none of
Them became obsessed they all sniffed licked and rolled in it (it was dry by that point) and they've been fine since but every dog is different, when she does behaviour you want give her a fuss and treat also if she goes into her bed on command reward her too if she gives gentle and good sniffs with baby with relaxed body language another reward also let her have fusses with you and baby keep her involved and take her on walks with the pram and reward her for being good with that too. Female dogs can be very maternal our husky cross is she was a bit all over me and when he was born she was great. Just do things slowly start putting baby gates up and letting her in and out when you need to say change baby downstairs before baby is here so she's used to it before labour. Good luck Hun let us know how you get on and give her a fuss off me xxx

Thank you so much for the reply! This has helped massively I'll definitely make sure my partner brings something home from the hospital first! We have put a baby gate up already and stopped her going upstairs as we had new carpets so from that moment we decided to stop her going upstairs not that she went up a lot but just in case we have had the Moses basket down and when I've gone through baby clothes I've let her have a sniff etc I think it's just a case of wait and see how did you introduce your dogs when the baby was first brought home xx

 

[violet13]

We brought home my sons towels he was cleaned with first well my hubby did we had 4 dogs at the time and none of
Them became obsessed they all sniffed licked and rolled in it (it was dry by that point) and they've been fine since but every dog is different, when she does behaviour you want give her a fuss and treat also if she goes into her bed on command reward her too if she gives gentle and good sniffs with baby with relaxed body language another reward also let her have fusses with you and baby keep her involved and take her on walks with the pram and reward her for being good with that too. Female dogs can be very maternal our husky cross is she was a bit all over me and when he was born she was great. Just do things slowly start putting baby gates up and letting her in and out when you need to say change baby downstairs before baby is here so she's used to it before labour. Good luck Hun let us know how you get on and give her a fuss off me xxx

Thank you so much for the reply! This has helped massively I'll definitely make sure my partner brings something home from the hospital first! We have put a baby gate up already and stopped her going upstairs as we had new carpets so from that moment we decided to stop her going upstairs not that she went up a lot but just in case we have had the Moses basket down and when I've gone through baby clothes I've let her have a sniff etc I think it's just a case of wait and see how did you introduce your dogs when the baby was first brought home xx

Exactly Hun, when introducing for
The first time have hubby hold your dog too just so it can be gentle. Try playing a new born cry for her off YouTube too ours weren't fussed but when he actually cried they where gentle but concerned which was adorable. I hope all will be okay xxx

 

[violet13]

We went into the living room and hubby brought them in one at a time let them sniffy his hands and bum but not his face and they all just got curious our small dog was quivery with excitement but always gentle now he's walking and he's doing things on his own they follow him and our male is a dope and is very loving follows him cuddles him kind of mothering our husky wants to play a lot but knows he's too small so just brings a toy over and very gently takes it and brings it back. We also used words like baba is too small to play and gently moved them and said good girl/boy on your bed when they did it I took baby over with me and gave them a reward xxx

 

[ClaireDoll]

Hello, I'm a dog behaviorist, just to put my tuppence worth in, the dog will know it was a doll, she would have been inquisitive because it's a new object you were giving attention to and she would naturally want to see what the score is! She wouldn't see the doll as a baby at all dogs don't make those connections like the human brain does, don't read too much into her reaction to the doll at all, and like other people have advised just do everything in stages, definitely bring clothing or a blanket home for her to have a good sniff at first then just be really calm about introducing the baby and let her get to know them at her own pace, it will be very new and confusing for her at first because she's used to being the baby, if you think how older siblings react to new babies it actually very similar, she will grow to love the baby as part of the family just take it slow and keep everybody supervised and there will be no cause for concern xxx

 

[Bethanybiggin]

Hello, I'm a dog behaviorist, just to put my tuppence worth in, the dog will know it was a doll, she would have been inquisitive because it's a new object you were giving attention to and she would naturally want to see what the score is! She wouldn't see the doll as a baby at all dogs don't make those connections like the human brain does, don't read too much into her reaction to the doll at all, and like other people have advised just do everything in stages, definitely bring clothing or a blanket home for her to have a good sniff at first then just be really calm about introducing the baby and let her get to know them at her own pace, it will be very new and confusing for her at first because she's used to being the baby, if you think how older siblings react to new babies it actually very similar, she will grow to love the baby as part of the family just take it slow and keep everybody supervised and there will be no cause for concern xxx

Thank you really appreciate your reply x

 

[JamsMom]

A doll is a toy and therefore plastic sharing the same characteristics of a dog toy. It will smell like a toy to a dog and that's probably why your dog acted that way. A dogs sense of smell is up to 10,000 times better than ours so they wull use that to distinguish one thing from another, your dog won't understand a doll is a pretend version of a human baby unless it was systematically taught the distinction and still it would be hard for a dog to understand that. I'm sure your dog will be fine and know when baby comes along, he'll probably still be inquisitive but I'd doubt as much as soon as he goes near and realises it's another human!