Dogs and Newborns...

AHughes33

My husband and I have two dogs. A friendly, excited (doesn't realize how big he is) German Shepherd and a chubby, sleepy, friendly English Bulldog. We're nervous because its our first child and not sure if we should get extra training for them. They aren't around many kids but when they are they don't seem to relaize there size and lick and jump a little bit, which can be scary for a kid let alone a newborn. Any advice?

Miz_Liz

We don't have a big dog, but we took home the hat that they put on DS right after he was born and we put it in her cage with her to get her used to his smell. A lot of dogs seem to instinctively know babies are fragile and they are gentle and protective of them, however I am a firm believer that you can't just assume this will be the case. I would introduce them while you are holding the baby and maybe have DH have both dogs on leashes so he could pull them back if there was a need. Let them get a sniff then sit on the couch and let them sniff some more and just acclimate.

Lalala2326

You need to be prepared to never leave them alone together, prepare a dog-free safe spot to put the baby down when you need to in the main areas (we used heavy duty metal baby/pet gates for this but there are always other options if not your style), and I would definitely work on curbing the jumping. One of ours (we have 2 crazy, 50-lb border aussies) was really bad about jumping. We found the only thing that really worked with her was a tin can with pennies in it. She hates when we shake it, so this is the corrector we used with her. A quick shake consistently every time she jumped got rid of the worst of it. We still use it now when she is getting too crazy around our toddler.

Starynightsky24

Like PP DH brought a blanket home for the dog's bed.

We also let her meet DS on her own terms. We did not force an introduction.

We were sure to give her lots of attention and exercise when we got back.

We also gave her a bit extra food, since I read they can be aggressive toward the baby because they view them as competition for limited food.

Our dog was fine. No issues at all.

I also agree that most animals know that they are babies and are extra careful.

AHughes33

Thank you for the advice, well be sure to follow all of it The dogs are our babies too and want to make sure there just as comfortable as we make our new addition.

Kimk1616

I took my new beagle to obedience classes and am considering the intermediate class now. She's picked up so many commands already and I feel like a lot of them (get in your bed, stay, leave it, etc) might come in handy when baby is here.

holli0801

We asked our old trainer and got some great ideas... Agree with pp about bringing home and hat or blanket first to smell. Also, play a recording of a baby crying so they get used to the noise. If you plan to walk the dogs and stroller, practice with an empty stroller before the baby arrives. She also suggested ignoring the dogs as much as possible a week or so leading up to anticipated due date. Then give them attention when baby is at home, and they are less likely to think this new thing is making your ignore them.

2gr8pits

Coming from a mom who had a son bit by our family dog while we were both sitting right there, I suggest any training you can get. We spent 5 days in the hospital, and additional 2 weeks with a wound vac and still see the plastic surgeon. I will never ever trust any dog around kids again. I was sitting on a chair, the dogs head on my knee and my toddler came walking over and wanted up, I reached to pick him up and it startled the dog (who was always amazing with him before). Soooo honestly, never trust a dog, get all training you can get and watch for any nervous signs from the dog. It isn't anything that any parent needs to go thru.

Miz_Liz

2gr8pits said:

Coming from a mom who had a son bit by our family dog while we were both sitting right there, I suggest any training you can get. We spent 5 days in the hospital, and additional 2 weeks with a wound vac and still see the plastic surgeon. I will never ever trust any dog around kids again. I was sitting on a chair, the dogs head on my knee and my toddler came walking over and wanted up, I reached to pick him up and it startled the dog (who was always amazing with him before). Soooo honestly, never trust a dog, get all training you can get and watch for any nervous signs from the dog. It isn't anything that any parent needs to go thru.

Wow! This is a huge phobia of mine, although my dog is too little to do that kind of damage, but she could still get a good bite in that could cause stitches.

AHughes33

Dogs are dogs I guess, there very good with commands and know when they've done bad. A few classes wouldn't hurt I guess. Just in case.

hannahohm

I have a basset hound and she's been amazing with babies from the beginning, she wasn't good when we would separate them because dogs get jealous. Its proven that dogs can sense pregnancy and thus I believe are better with babies

Lalala2326

Yea all this about dogs being instinctively more gentle around babies is not always accurate. Both of ours are in general pretty good with our daughter, but they get rough when playing still, still try to jump sometimes, run crazy fast and don't always look where they are going, and when they get excited they would likely run her right over if we didn't grab her up. People need to remember that dogs are dogs, they can bite, they don't always have the baby's interests in mind when other things are going on (particularly if very playful and don't know their size), and in general need to be watched very closely when around little ones and never left alone with them.

Lalala2326

Yea all this about dogs being instinctively more gentle around babies is not always accurate. Both of ours are in general pretty good with our daughter, but they get rough when playing still, still try to jump sometimes, run crazy fast and don't always look where they are going, and when they get excited they would likely run her right over if we didn't grab her up. People need to remember that dogs are dogs, they can bite, they don't always have the baby's interests in mind when other things are going on (particularly if very playful and don't know their size), and in general need to be watched very closely when around little ones and never left alone with them.