STMs with dogs, how did you introduce dog to baby?

riveridgional

Do you do anything to prepare your dog for baby? What did you do, when did you start, and how did it work?

We have the world's most energetic bulldog, who truly has no idea of his weight/size. I'm pretty worried about him being gentle with and not getting jealous of the baby. Whenever he gets jealous, he just bullies any other dog or person out of the way. No biting or growling, just uses his size to wedge between everything. He'll also paw at things when he wants to see them (very gently), but he's so topheavy, his weight will make the claws a little painful. Here he is wearing socks (we've thought about making him wear them around baby so the chances of any scratches may be less if he does paw any).

cait5413

FTM here. Our local SPCA offered a Dogs & Babies class with some helpful tips and the book Good Dog, Happy Baby also has good info. Haven't put it into action yet (since baby's not here!) but, basically, now is the time to make sure the dog is well-trained and obedient to your commands.

bananers

We quit letting the dogs on the furniture so they wouldn't jump up and accidentally jump on DS. We did this while I was pregnant so they would be used to it by the time he got her rand they didn't associate it with the new baby. 

We we set up all the baby stuff way ahead of time so they could get used to it all, smell it, etc. 

After DS was born, we had my brother and SIL, who watched the dogs while we were in the hospital, bring home a hat DS was wearing so they could get his smell. And then when we got home from the hospital, we let them sniff the baby but didn't make a big deal out of it and made sure to pay them some attention. 

Honestly, babies just start out as little lumps, so our dogs didn't even really require much adjustment until once he started crawling. When he was a newborn we didn't put him down on the floor so he wouldn't get stepped on. If we had to set him down we put him in the swing, and if we did tummy time we did it mostly on the couch or bed, or we were very cognizant of where the dogs were. Our dogs aren't aggressive, they just don't know their size!

Things have overall been pretty smooth and now that DS is 3, they're great friends!

haboobjob

We have an 80-lb, very energetic (jumpy) boxer and I was totally nervous about bringing DD home. He knocked us down a lot so I was terrified what was going to happen with our little tiny baby. It ended up being totally fine. We spent a lot of time during the pregnancy introducing the baby stuff to the dog (stroller, nursery items, little baby doll). We were in the hospital for a little longer recovering from c-section so we sent home a swaddle blanket with my MIL to give to the dog so he could familiarize with her smell.

I think something we really kept in mind that as big of a change as this was for us, it was also a huge change for him. He was our "only kid" and totally spoiled so we made sure he still felt very part of the family and didn't keep him from the baby. I had to correct my FIL a couple of times when he yelled or would punish our dog if our dog got too close to the baby. We may have just been lucky but he learned boundaries very quickly. Now DD is almost a year and a half and loves our dog. Our dog is thankfully very patient and sweet with her but keeps his space. He has accidentally knocked her down a couple of times when she was learning to walk. She knocks herself down all the time so she's a tough chick. Kids are resilient little things.

lmtrmama

Aww what a cute dog! Our dog was terrified of the baby...we think that he was worried that he would accidentally hurt her so he just stayed away. If we tried to show her to him, he turned his head and wouldn't look. We actually ended up having to put him on Xanax for awhile because he started throwing up. After about 3 months he was fine but he's still SUPER careful. With my first, we were at my moms and she has a golden doodle who is filled with energy. She will jump and
step on anyone without a second thought. When we first brought the Baby home, we let her sniff, lick feet, etc but we firmly kept saying "leave it" that's her word to be good or calm. Anyway, to this day, my daughter is the only who who this dog is calm and
gentle with!

I can't speak for all dogs, but I would say most dogs I have come across who listen and have even the slightest obedience skills know that there's something teeny that they need to be careful with! I still never left my babies alone on the floor and as they grow, I don't let them tease the animals. Good luck! I just think your dog is so cute!

kiwico14

We got pretty lucky with our dog and didn't need to do a whole lot to prep him. When we came home from the hospital, I went in first without the baby so I could greet him and give him a belly rub. We were also really careful not to react nervously or defensively if he approached the baby. As long as we acted like it was no big deal, he accepted that. 

I think the other thing worth noting is that a lot of the time when people think their dogs are being cute with the baby, the dog is actually showing nervous or aggressive behavior. A grin, a yawn when not tired, licking the baby, ears tucked back, showing the whites of the eyes, and a wagging tail held low or tucked between the legs are often signs of anxiety. A nervous dog is much more likely to snap. There are a lot of good resources out there for understanding a dog's body language. It's worth putting a little more energy into trying to understand your dog now so you can read a situation later. 

Edited-autocorrect fail

Sunnyn75

Our dog adjusted really well too, really without much effort on our part.  We did have someone bring a blanket home to him from the hospital to let him smell it and stuff before we brought the baby home, but that's really about it.  Our dog is a JUMPER when he's excited, and he's never once jumped on our active and playful 2 year old.  They are best buds and so cute.  I really think dogs somehow just get it.  My brothers dogs who aren't really around kids have also always been really gentle and careful with DS, and we didn't "train" them for it in any way.  

smzapp

We packed extra hats for the hospital and had our parents bring them home for the pups to sniff after baby wore them.They got to sniff him out first so when we got home it was familliar. One of our dogs even hoarded two hats in his bed which is what he does with our shoes when we leave for out of town.

charmedlifex3

Our big problem with baby / dog I think is going to be "woof." She is a corgi, and pretty mellow and has been around babies a few times. She does like to "woof" at any noise. Like last night my husband snoring, was "snooore... woof."

We've been playing crying baby videos and giving her positive reinforcement when she doesn't react to screaming. It SEEMS to be working, we are down to one woof like "Hey! Noizse!!!" rather than frantic barking / howling whenever we play it.

Ceventa

When DS was born, we sent home with my in-laws one of the baby blankets he was wrapped in at the hospital for our dog, Jack, to smell. The instructor of our baby class suggested it, saying that babies smell different to kids and adults because of the milk, so it was a good idea to let your dog get used to the smell first.

When we got home from the hospital, I sat down on the sofa with DS to let Jack smell him, once he took a sniff he got all excited and ran away. He came back with the baby blanket! Its was so awesome. My in-laws, who were staying at our house at the time, said that he slept with the blanket while we were in the hospital. Here's a photo of him bringing me the blanket:


Jack is a 60 pound golden retriever and he has been AMAZING with our son. With his size, from the beginning we would always use words like "gentle" and "easy" when he would come near the baby. However, I have to say this dog understood from day one. DS is going to be 2 this week and those two are still inseparable. If anything, now I have to keep a close eye on DS because he loves to climb all over Jack, take his toys and food. So now I'm explaining to DS how to be gently and easy with Jack. Jack has never knocked DS over, growled at him, or been aggressive in any way, truly this dog is a treasure in our family.

I would suggest keeping a close eye on your furbaby when you bring LO home and working on using key words so that the dog knows to be gentle. Definitely bring home something your dog can smell before baby arrives. For all you know, your dog will get it right away sensing a new member of the "pack". I wouldn't worry too much, bulldogs are great dogs (a friend of mine has one and two young boys and he is awesome). We did make sure to try not to yell at Jack when he would come near the baby and told family to do the same. We didn't want him to associate the baby with negative behavior like yelling and punishing. I would try to give him the space to smell him and be near him but still keep an eye.

 If anything, I've learned that the dog and the kid create their own dynamic!

AliKay20

Wow these are really good points. Thanks for this thread--we have a 3 yr old Westie and he has been spoiled with all our love and attention. We are afraid he'll go through depression after the baby comes. All these tips are so valuable to me & DH!

bellaklawvuh

So glad to read this is gives me hope, I'm terrified to bring my twins home once they're born to my super hyper, very barky 120 pound St Bernard cross...hopefully things go fine

riveridgional

Yes, thank you all so much for the pointers! I also feel so much better about bringing the baby home.

@Ceventa your story and that picture are amazing! How cute! 

JournoGrl23

I have two cats and a dog and am actually more worried about how my oldest cat will react. He got a little depressed with each new animal we brought home because he used to get all the attention and now it's divided. They're all doing great together now but a baby requires even more time and attention. I just don't want anyone to get depressed.

Mrsrundell

@Ceventa awwwww!! That is the cutest picture - your pup is so sweet

megframe16

I did the same as many above! DH brought home a hat or blanket each time he stopped home and let the dogs get familiar with the smell. When it was time to come come I was given advice that I took! I had DH carry baby in the home while I came in and sat down and gave the dogs attention. They haven't seen you in a few days so they will want/need some of their mommas love too! I sat down and they were all about me and after 5-10min of loving them up we took my DS out of his car seat and introduced them. Most dogs seem to have a good grasp on babies and to be gentle. 
I know have two rowdy little boys and the dogs are seriously the best with them! 

ashleymz

I would spend money on a dog trainer to come to the house... my dogs are well trained and dainty (min pins) and it was still an adjustment. My boy dog was SO excited when we brought home the baby he wouldn't sit still and would follow us everywhere. It was so sweet. But If he was a bigger dog I'd be concerned. 

ginger819

When we first brought home DD our dogs were more excited about all of the other people there (my parents and DHS mom). I think they thought for a while she belonged to someone else. They sniffed her once then went to greet everyone else. When people left they still hardly paid attention to her. They barely paid attention to her until she started crawling, in fact. Now they just know to get out of her way if they don't want her to "pet" them (she clasps onto their fur or pets them kind of hard). We've been more working on "be nice" with DD  and she's caught on really quick. They have been great around her, but they are both older (8 and 9) and only get rambunctious every once in a while if someone gets them riled up. We never leave DD anywhere alone with them, because you never know when she could grab onto an ear or other body part that the dogs may not like (they're both good about this, but you never know if she accidentally hurts them). 

tinkerbell11210

We have two Chihuahuas. We also sent home a hat for them to smell before bringing DD home. When we brought DD home our male chi fell in love with her. He would lay by her feet or next to us if we were sitting on the couch. He still curls up next to her to snuggle. It is the best. Our female chi did not feel the same way she basically never went near DD unless I was next to her. Unfortunately our female chi passed away last year through an illness. 
After our heart break we got another female Chi. She is DD dog but is great with everyone. She is wonderful with my niece and nephue who are 6 and 8 mo. She listens when we tell her to leave it so I hope she does well wth the new baby.  I think we will send home both a hat and blanket this time for them to smell. 

ashleybaker712

We have 4 dogs: a 90 lb mutt, 86 lb Lab, 80 lb Boxer, and 100 lb Rott. They were all fairly young when my DS was born and we were worried about their reactions. We started by letting them see/sniff anything we bought for the the baby. We also set up his room, pac n play, and bouncer so they could get used to them being around. Once my son was born, my husband brought home his hat for the dogs to smell and get used to. We let them sniff him when we brought him home but made sure they kept their distance. We wouldn't let them in the room if he were on the floor or on the couch. They quickly understood to keep their distance and would only come over to him to sniff and then walk away. That is all they were allowed to do. They also could not get on the couch if he were on it. We stopped all playing in the house. That is an outside activity now. 

My son is 2.5 and he chases them, tries to lay on them, and hugs them all the time. They know to just walk away if he's annoying them. We've never had an issue of them trying to do anything.

Good luck! Hopefully your adorable guy does well!

kriley602774

I have a German shepherd. She was already pretty good at listening to commands which was nice. I had everything set up ahead of time and let her check out LOs room. My SIL brought home a blanket from the hospital for my dog to sniff. The dog reall wasn't all that interested and would sniff DS when he was in his bouncy seat and occasionally try to kick him. Once he started crawling I had to seperate them occasionally because she's just so excitable and would try to pounce but she's pretty good now. I still watch her pretty closely just to be safe though! 

echurley

We have a lab/pitbull mutt and were worried. He's really sweet but like yours needs lots of attention. When we came home my Husband held his collar so he could sniff the baby. He immediately gave him a tiny kiss and seemed totally unsurprisedhe was there (I think dogs get pregnancy). Four years later, He and my son are best friends/brothers. They love each other a lot and always have. 

Jenniferk08

When I was pregnant with my son we had 2 large breed dogs (95 lb male Alaskan malamute and a 55 lbs female gsd/malamute/husky) that everyone swore were going to go rabid and harm my baby. 

We we upped our training. If there's a bad habit your dog has then work on it now. We also would play baby sounds to get them use to all the noises they make. I started using some baby products (shampoo/lotion/powder) to get them adjusted to the scent. 

Once my son was born my husband brought a blanket and shirt home with his scent. Our dog sitting would have the pups smell/check it out. 
By the time I came home my pups were ready to guard their human. 

Sadly since then our malamute had to be put to sleep. But our gsd mix is still with us. They do not always get along. There has been some growling on her part and my son yelling for her to go away. But like all siblings if anyone gets too close to the other they will guard each other. 

Jenniferk08

Also check out the book child proofing your dog. It has some good information. Our biggest rules was dog and baby are never alone in the room together. Never set your dog up to fail. 
as our dog got older we made him the cookie giver. They knew to be gentle with him and as he got older it made them more likely to listen to his commands if needed. 
My gsd mix will obey him as well as she does my husband and I. She will also sit by his side waiting for crumbs to drop. 

esmyitworks

My husband put our sons first beanie from the hospital around our dogs collar so he would recognize the smell when we brought him home. He was still curious but not trying to get at him to figure out what he was.

cy&damonsmommy

Lurking from June
I've had bulldogs my whole life and they have been great with the babies. Even with their size they are very gentle and easy.