Over-protective pets?

CamiSelene

Anyone notice or have experience with their pets suddenly getting very protective of you? We have 4 animals at home: 2 cats, 2 dogs (a maltipoo and pit/lab/shep mix). Lately, My pitti has been sitting guard by me whenever I am on the computer. He will sit on guard for hours and chases the other animals away whenever they get near me. He hasn't shown aggression towards them but I don't know if there is a chance of it getting worse as I get farther along. I'm only 9 weeks now. Has anyone had experience with this?

CajunSnowWhite89

Not with being aggressive, my dog is too lazy for that haha. But he has been snuggling with me a lot more. He used to always sit with DH if he's home.

chickyclg

My cat is all over me, they definitely can sense it lol.

Yiggle09

Every morning I wake im in a dog sandwich. This just started happening.

SKZW

LOL @ dog sandwich

Not exactly over-protectiveness, but my little dog's been more whiny and "pay attention to me" like she knows there's gonna be a time soon when she'll be a little bit lower on the totem pole of attention. She def has a sense about it!

When we were pregnant with our first, we had a serious (ongoing) conversation about our dog. She's a rescue and can be reactive in certain situations, so we had to be realistic about our own expectations once the baby arrived. We asked ourselves the tough questions and decided, for us, that if there was even one instance of nippy, snippy, aggressive, or guarding behavior, to us or LO, that she'd have to leave the house. That might seem harsh but for us the baby had to come first, and one instance would be one too many. She's still an animal with root animal behaviors. I mention this in order to gently remind people that these conversations need to happen in advance of any (even minor!) instances because even the sweetest pets can have their moments, and I'd hate for anyone to have to make a tough choice after the fact, and then second-guess themselves that maybe they're over-reacting. Just my 2c.

SKZW

(and by "leave the house" I don't mean take her to a kill shelter!!! that'd be horrible!!! i just mean make other arrangements. we had a family member ask if she could go live with them even months before the due date; we declined of course)

FatPony

My beloved horse threw a fit when my son was born. She would hang out in her corral as far away from the house as possible and ignored me as best as she could. My friends horse did the exact same thing when her son was born. 

Now my horse is all pissy again. I assumed it was bc she sensed my pregnancy, but the equine therapist said it was bc her hocks were hurting her. She got adjusted yesterday, so we'all see how that affects her mood. 

RainyDays86

The first sign I thought I might be pregnant with DS and this baby was my dog becoming SUPER clingy.  With both it started about 3 or 4 days before my BFP and continued for a while (still happening with this baby).

CherylE418

My cat goes through phases of being really suspicious of me (like coming up to me and smelling me and walking away disgusted lol) and being really sweet and snuggly. When he is snuggly, he nuzzles right up on my tummy. He definitely knows something is up and isn't quite sure of it! 

starphish18

My pets haven't been acting any differently, as far as I can tell. If anyone needs advice about their pets, feel free to message me, though. I've been training dogs for a long time. 

@CamiSelene If you start getting concerned about your dog guarding you against the other pets, you can move him out of your space to tell him he doesn't need to be in control of the situation. If you're sitting at your desk, for instance, you can tell him to lay further away. If you need to, you can create a station for him, like a dog bed, so he knows where you want him. If he still tries chasing the others away, feel free to message me! There's lots you can do to assure him he doesn't need to guard you. 

ddvj79

My dogs did act different initially for a week but I train my boys every day so they have that expectation set up that I am in charge or that their dad is, so its been a lot easier getting them back into routine and that nothing has changed.

It's possible that your dog is just sensing the pregnancy and does not want to share mom out of jealousy. My younger one was moping around for a bit because he's a mama's boy. I would suggest working on incompatible behaviors to work this out of his system. Every time, he sits with you when you are on the computer, have him sit to the side where you will be in between him and any other approaching dog/cat, this should eventually indicate to him that you will do any protecting needed not the other way around. When the other furbabies are around, have the dogs do a down-stay and treat, use positive reinforcement methods to show them that all of them together = fun & treats. Every time the others approach, have your pup (who is exhibiting this behavior) immediately go into a down-stay & treat. Praise and treat all calm behaviors, ignore (you can get up and walk away from him) when undesired behaviors are exhibited. It will take a couple weeks of consistent training to get through to him for lasting effects. If you still have issues with him guarding or being protective, I highly recommend a professional trainer who can work with you and teach you how to address this situation.

onebadmotha

As with my last pregnancy, my dog will not stop sniffing my lady bits. It really weirds me out. 

mrsrep123

My oldest pit is hanging around me more than my son... while she has been hanging around him more since he was born. 

CamiSelene

@starphish18 thanks, that's really reassuring because that's what I've been trying to do with him lately. I've been re directing him to his bed near my husband's computer desk but currently my husband is out of town so perhaps his behaviour will change back when DH returns.

MamaMiller

My pug is currently not speaking to me... He is usually my shadow and I think he already senses another baby manic is coming. He will snuggle with the DH but gives me the stink eye. 

roper2617

My GSD definitely knows I'm pregnant and has made changes in her behaviour because of it. Only good changes so far, she's very careful around me. In the past she'd get excited and try jumping up and now she doesn't jump on me (seriously for whatever reason this was the most difficult behaviour to break her of). She's a very cuddly dog but now she's even more snuggly. She loves cuddling up to my belly. She's proven to be a great dog with babies and children so I'm excited to watch her bond with baby once he/she is here. That being said, I recognize that she is a dog and will certainly not be leaving her unsupervised with the baby (or child)

Cubslove12

My dog has become more attention seeking! He always wants attention now! It's like he knows his time being my only baby is coming to an end haha 

CamiSelene

LOL, one day I woke up with my pitt 100% on top of me. He's def not careful. He has just been a lot needier. He has to be as close as possible to me lately. He's good with kids so I'm not overly worried about that, I just don't want him thinking he needs to protect me because he's not the alpha in the pack and we have worked very hard to establish that with him since he was originally a wild dog on a reservation that my husband saved and used to have problems with resource guarding. He's been fine for the last two years though. Now our little dog even steals bones right out of the big dog's mouth and he doesn't even flinch! :P

keyte2011

Both of my cats have become super aware of my stomach lately. They'll run up against it, or try to lay on it as much as possible.