Any advice on how to prepare my two dogs for the new baby?

I hope someone has some advice. I've had people tell me to get rid of my dogs and I just can't imagine that! They are my children and I will never get rid of them. Anyway...

I am due to have my first child in February. Our dogs are very good with kids, so i'm not too worried. They don't bite when you pull their ears or tail. The only thing is, Jack (my terrier) tends to nip at you if you pull his ears but he never bites down EVER. Also, Owen (the shihtzu lahsa mix) gets really jealous when we give attention to any other dog. Neither of my dogs are jealous when I give attention to people or babies however. They do like to sniff babies and tend to try and lick them as well. :wink: But, other than that they are pretty good about it.

I just would like to know if there is any way I can get them prepared for the baby. I don't want them to jump on him/her and I want to make sure they realize that this baby is part of the family. I hear dogs have an instinct and will just KNOW but if there is anything helpful that we could do, I would appreciate it. I think they will be good, but any helpful hints would be great!

Thanks!

 

I have heard of people having a baby doll that they basically treated as their child to get their dogs used to the fact that something is coming that may take mommy's and daddy's attention away from them. I would think that you would train them with the baby doll how you want them to act with the baby. Don't allow the dogs to do anything with the baby doll that you wouldn't allow them to do to your baby. While this isn't perfect practice because the doll isn't going to cry or grab at the dogs, short of borrowing someone elses baby, I think this is one of the best ways to prepare them.

Something I forgot earlier. With the attention thing, also try to give your dog less attention as the baby comes closer, so that it does not seem as though the baby is the cause for the loss of attention. For instance, if you walk your dogs twice a day, but are going to have to cut it down to once a day after the baby comes, do that before the baby comes so that the baby does not appear to be the cause of the loss.

 

I agree totally with Tuttifrutti's second paragraph in doing some, work on some 'time out' where the dogs dont have your attention when they want it, not only will they then not associate the baby as much with your lack of attention to them but it will get them more settled into being 'seperated' from you so it wont be a big deal to them.

The doll, personally Ive heard some people saying theyve tried this but it made no difference, my theory on it is....does your dog know the difference between a soft cuddly dog shaped toy that he can throw around the room and a real dog that he comes face to face with in the street, no different than the difference between a doll and a real baby, unless youve got something that smells, moves and cries like a baby.

First golden rule, no matter how much you trust your dogs NEVER leave your baby unattended with them, not even to go and answer the front door, to pick up the phone in another room. Even with the gentleset dogs accidents can happen.

One of the things I did when I was pregnant was I would lay on the couch, invariably one of the dogs wuld be up there with me anyway, they would lay with their head near my belly....they can hear the babys heartbeat, feel the movement. Should say though if your dogs go on the furniture now but you wont want them on when the baby's here then I would stop them getting up there now, that way the jobs already done and its one thing you shouldnt have to worry about when the time comes.

One thing that you can do now is get a blanket and lay it on the floor (like you might if your playing with your baby.....teach the dogs to stay off the blanket.....kind of like the blanket is a boundary and theyre not allowed to cross it. I would work with one dog at a time intitially, as soon as the dog steps on the blanket....a stern NO....'off', keep doing it over and over again, dogs do learn boundary areas pretty quick if your consistent. Kind of like some people dont like their dogs being in the kitchen or dining area, so as soon as the dog steps foot over the doorway (usually like one of those metal strips that holds the carpet down.....or the flooring itself goes from carpet to tile etc) they give them a stern NO and the dog will back off a little.

One of the things that can really make a dog anxious is a lot of crying, you can get tapes or cds of various different sounds including babies crying.....if you can get one of these (or even if you know someone who has a young baby, see if they can record the crying)....start playing it quietly while the dogs are around and gradually increase the volume, (aou dont need to play it for long periods either)....this should desensitize them somewhat, they will no doubt still react when they hear your baby but it shouldnt be as alarming for them. A lot of dogs will want to alert you when they hear the baby crying, desensitzing them a little wont stop that....again instead of just the sound they will also be picking up on scent and movement. It should just take away any major anxiety issues that they may have with the sound of the crying.

Hope that helps a bit.

 

Thank you for all of your suggestions! I liked the one about making sure they know to stay off of the blanket. That will help for sure. My dogs are good little guys, they only get hyper when we arrive home from being at work or when it's time to take a walk. My husband isn't worried about it, but I want to make sure we don't have any problems.

Both of your posts were very helpful! :y_the_best:

 

To stop them being hyper when you first come home, what you need to do now (you dont want them jumping everywhere when you walk through the door if your carrying your baby).
I would completely ignore them for about the first 15 minutes after coming home....dont talk to them, dont pet them....just basically go in, take off your coat, maybe go into kitchen make a coffee or something....then you can make a fuss of them. Some people dont like the idea of this as they kind of feel bad that theyve left the dogs alone but dogs dont think like we do, yes they are happy to see you....theyll be just as happy in 15 minutes though, they do adjust to this usually pretty quickly.

I actually do this for about 15 minutes after coming home and the same before I leave, cuts down on chances of seperation anxiety and destructive behaviour while your gone.

 

Thank you! I've tried saying "NO" very firm and they back off but then do it again two minutes later. My husband greets them and is rowdy and playful and only makes it worse! lol

I will talk to him tonight though. I will try anything! I don't mind if they are excited, it's just the jumping and nipping at my heels that might be a problem. Jack is a small dog but can jump as tall as my head!

Thanks for that advice. I would say that is the biggest issue with them.

 

DeLaUK is right about the hyper greetings people allow their pets to deliver! That excitement is because they have been taught to get excited when their people come home. It doesn't make them feel good --- it makes people feel good to be greeted that way.
I have large dogs and it is dangerous to have them jumping over each other and on people for a greeting.
It is much more comfortable and safe to enter the house calmly, put down the groceries, hang up a coat, close the door (not necessarily in that order) and then calmly greet the dogs. Even though they waited for their greeting --- they are just as happy to see their people and the few minutes they waited doesn't dampen their happiness to see their people!

DeLaUK gave good instructions on how to adjust your dogs for this.

I am really happy to know that you are already thinking about your dogs and preparing them for your new baby! I am sure with a little tweaking your dogs will gladly accept the new addition to your family.

I love to hear about responsible pet owner!!!

 

just bringing this back up Leanne is you see this. I just read this artlce about preparing your dogs for baby arrival. Its really good


http://www.slate.com/id/2144196/?GT1=8483