New baby and dog

con1888

Some of you may/may not know but I'm expecting a baby in March.

Naturally my pets are here to stay but just wondering if anyone has any early tips on best way to introduce things as I'll soon be bringing baby items into the house.

Have saw some say don't let dog near them at all and others saying the opposite so wondering if anyone has experience of the situation and can give advice


Logan likes kids but can be boisterous which we are trying to calm a bit ( he's a 16 month old GSD) and he isn't keen on (adult) strangers which we are also working on ( taking time though).

MadDogWoman_2

Hi Con,

When I had my daughter, my dog (greyhound) went to my parents whilst I was in hospital (had a c-section). On the day we came home we came home first, my mum dropped the dog off a couple of hours later. Daughter was in her car seat, kept dog on the lead let her have a sniff, we said hello etc, no major fuss, kept it quiet and low key.

We had used a dog crate as a visual aid when my Daughter was a toddler, easier to explain that if the dog was in her crate that was her space and leave her alone. If I did have to leave the room for any reason I just locked the catches and unlocked them when I came back.

con1888

Thanks, he still has his crate in the livingroom although may move it to another room. He goes there for quiet time when visitors are in ( some are scared of him and he picks up on that or if workmen are in) and also sometimes he goes in there to let me do my hosuework!

I have no worries about him deliberately harming baby ( although naturally will always supervise as I do with any kids atm) but he is just so clumsy I need to teach him to be less jumpy and clumsy around baby things. Have come far the last few months to stop him jumping on me as he used to be bad for that but now he just circles my feet when I get home.

Person_one

He might surprise you, his instincts will probably be to be gentle and protective around the baby.

Even the most boisterous young dog seems to know when its really important to be serious!

One thing I would suggest though is teaching a really strong 'drop' or 'leave' command. So many baby toys and bits look, feel or sound like dog toys, it'll come in very handy for dropped rattles, soft toys, dummies etc.

con1888

Person_one wrote: »

He might surprise you, his instincts will probably be to be gentle and protective around the baby.

Even the most boisterous young dog seems to know when its really important to be serious!

One thing I would suggest though is teaching a really strong 'drop' or 'leave' command. So many baby toys and bits look, feel or sound like dog toys, it'll come in very handy for dropped rattles, soft toys, dummies etc.

Yes he has already destroyed a baby thing. It came with a baby welcome pack but the toy itself was not suitable for babies ( was a beany toy) not suitable for dogs either mind you! I left it sitting on the arm of the couch and by time I came out my bath the beans were EVERYWHERE and pool polar was destuffed. He knows a good 'leave' and 'out' but need to do some ground work on not taking things he hasn't been given!

rev229

Dogs are quite intuitive. We had a 4yr old rescue dog collie/retriever/spaniel mix, and a tad stupid!. Our concern was about our daughter who has autism/learning difficulties and really had no interest in the dog at all. The dog from the moment she arrived home with us just seemed to know DD was 'different'! We would be jumped on by the dog the moment me DS or DH arrived home. With DD the dog would go up to her, wag her tail and wander off. Same with toys, she would take toys and run like a loony with them so we couldn't get them back. But with our daughter she would always bring them to her for a fetch and catch game! Even when the dog was on the sofa she would move off if DD wanted to sit on it! If it was me the dog was asleep and I would have to sit elsewhere!!

fluffnutter

Person_one wrote: »

He might surprise you, his instincts will probably be to be gentle and protective around the baby.

Even the most boisterous young dog seems to know when its really important to be serious!

One thing I would suggest though is teaching a really strong 'drop' or 'leave' command. So many baby toys and bits look, feel or sound like dog toys, it'll come in very handy for dropped rattles, soft toys, dummies etc.

When I started reading this paragraph I had visions of the dog wandering around with the baby in its gob, like it was carrying a puppy. :eek:

meritaten

I can only say from when I brought both DS1 and DS2 home from the hospital as DD was born before my lovely staffy Anni came to us.
I allowed Anni to sniff the baby thoroughly while I was holding him. I took the babies shoes off so that she could lick their feet (she liked feet), I made sure the babies faces were not near hers, but relaxed and let her get to know the babies. I was really vigilant and watched for signs of jealousy while maintaining Anni's routine as normal. maybe I was just lucky - but Anni absolutely loved babies! even strangers babies! she soon accepted the boys as 'siblings'! became very protective of them and just let them do as they liked with her. of course as the boys grew I taught them to treat animals with respect - but, she seemed to actually enjoy having her ears/tail pulled and reacted with playfulness rather than anger. she truly lived up to the staffys name as 'nanny dog' - as she seemed to have a sense of when they were in danger or behaving badly and would always come and 'alert' me.

I taught both my dogs 'NO!' upon which they would stop, look at me and sit' absolutely vital if you don't want the dog to pick up dummies, babies toys or even to give babies face a good wash if the dog can get close enough! (though it didn't seem to do my boys any harm), also very useful in any situation where you want the dog to just stop doing what its doing!

congratulations on the new baby btw! do you know what it is yet?

Shepherd1

Firstly congratulations x

I had 2 gsd !!!!!es (one 2 and one 2 and a half) when I had my daughter. When I brought her home from the hospital the dogs didn't even notice her at first they were so excited to see me. Once they had calmed down they noticed her sitting in her car seat they both went over and had a sniff and that was it.

They never touched her toys (unlike my stuff that got stolen all the time) they got up at night and came down stairs with me for every feed and sat by my feet. I can honestly say I never had any problems with them and my daughter. They are gone now and we all still miss them.

meritaten

Shepherd1 wrote: »

Firstly congratulations x

I had 2 gsd !!!!!es (one 2 and one 2 and a half) when I had my daughter. When I brought her home from the hospital the dogs didn't even notice her at first they were so excited to see me. Once they had calmed down they noticed her sitting in her car seat they both went over and had a sniff and that was it.

They never touched her toys (unlike my stuff that got stolen all the time) they got up at night and came down stairs with me for every feed and sat by my feet. I can honestly say I never had any problems with them and my daughter. They are gone now and we all still miss them.

awwww - some company for the night feeds! how lovely! I swear dogs seem to instinctively know their place in the family hierarchy when babies arrive!

con1888

meritaten wrote: »

congratulations on the new baby btw! do you know what it is yet?

Nope, had 20 weeks scan today but going to leave it a surprise. I have a feeling it is a boy but obviously don't know for sure.

I also have a cat.. no worries really with him he tends to keep out the way when my neices/nephew are here.