For those with Dogs

s.leigh.c

Ok so this may be a stupid question but I think about it a lot and have no idea what people usually do.  What do you plan to do with your dog(s) when you go in to labor.  I mean our dogs are usually crated when we're not home (b/c they're boxers and are crazy).  What is everyone planning to do when they go in to have the baby?  I figure most of my family will be more concerned w/ me and the baby than actually going to take care of the dogs.  Also you don't really know how long you're going to be in the hospital based on how things go, etc.  What are you all going to do?

robinsokj

Hot damn I havent even thought about this.  I guess we'll crate them and DH or someone like my mom will come feed them and let them out periodically.  I've been thinking more about how the dogs will react to the babies.  Yet another thing to worry about

MWoodside

I hadn't thought of this but now that you bring it up my mom is local & our dog knows her very well so I'll have her stop by on him every few hours for potty breaks & to feed him breakfast & dinner, etc.  Or my BF lives close & knows him real well.  Whoever's available I guess.

Mellisue122

Wow! I thought about the same thing because my little guy (Pek-a-chon) is my first born - haha. So I was very concerned. Luckily for us we are going to be passing him over to my mother-in-law while I am in the hospital. However, I am concerned that if I go into delivery suddenly he may be there alone for a bit. I would see if some of your family is willing to take them on a for a couple of days. That way your significant other doesn't have to run home and let them out, worry about feeding them, etc.

My biggest concern is how my dog is going to handle being around a new born! Yikes!!!

jess60

We'll probably have a friend or family member stop by to take care of them.

smorzandoj

My dog is my parents first grandchild so I am sure my dad will come pick him up and he will go visit grandpa and grandma.

alicianrj

We are very lucky and the hospital is right around the corner (we could walk there.) With that being said DH will be able to come home and let our dog out but our family will most likely be around as well. They will be able to take her out too if DH can't get here. Do you have any neighbors/friends/family in the area that can help out? I know we are very limited to who can let our dog out so I don't know if it is the same for you.

We have a boxer too!

kate930

Our original hospital was very close so my H could come home and let them out and feed them. We have moved to a birthing center a bit farther away so my family will let them out if need be. We are lucky to have lots of siblings very close by. 

s.leigh.c

My mother is near by so hopefully she can do it.  Like others have said they are our first born so of course I stress about them...and mine are just so dang needy.  Maybe I should start focusing on how they will re-act to baby instead of if they'll be getting enough love while I'm in the hospital, ha.  Thanks for the input everyone!

Tryingtogetpregnant

We were really worried about this too because our little guy is our first spoiled one! Anyway, DH's best friend always stays at our house when we vacation, so he is planning to stay here when we have the baby. If I go into labor suddenly, then we can have our neighbor let him out until DH's best friend can start staying at our house.

My DH will come home a few times though to bring things that smell like the baby - a little hat or blanket or something, so we can work on helping our dog adjust by the time we all get home. I am sure it will be a huge adjustment no matter what!

 

aokarma

We're sending our dogs to "camp" for a couple of days. They will have much more fun playing all day, rather than being stuck with family!

mysticporter

This time around my mom is coming for an extended visit before the baby is born to be able to stay with DD when we're at the hospital, so she'll watch the dogs.  When DD was born, we put a key in a lockbox outside with a combination lock, and talked to several of our friends who knew our dogs about coming over and walking/feeding them.  Then when the baby was born we had several people we could call, they rotated around who visited for the few days.

scoutkate

When we need to board our dogs or just get them out of the house for the day, we take them to a doggie daycare that they LOVE.  We plan to have a standing arrangement with the daycare so that we can drop them off for a few days once I go into labor.  Our dogs look at it as a treat--they get to play the entire time they are there, except at night, and the people there are great.  Plus, when they get home, not only have they been bathed, but they sleep for days on end.  That might make the transition a little easier for them--maybe they'll be too tired to care!

My only fear is that the baby will come a couple of weeks late and I'll go into labor over the 4th of July holiday, in which case the doggie daycare may be full.  But like I said, we plan to have a standing arrangement with them.

EAng

We will either have the neighbors come and let her out or we will take her to doggie day camp, depending on the time of day.

mbear511

Both of my dogs are part of the Paws with a Cause program (trained to be service dogs) so we can take them to the facility whenever we need to to have them crated for at least a week or so. It will be really convenient that first week at home!

avada_kedavra

my dad lives 3 blocks away from me, so i'm sure he'll come over and let out his granddoggies.

our only concern is how our beagle will handle the baby. he's definately a mama's boy, and i have a feeling he's not gonna like not having all the attention anymore!

lildevil968

We have a close friend with a key to our house that is going to be taking care of them while we are at the hospital.

Mrs.Weggy

My parents will probably spend the night at our house while we are in the hospital.  My dog isn't crated anymore (she's 4 y.o. TODAY! - Happy B-day Roxy!) so we want someone to be home at night with her.  The hospital is about 10 minutes from our house, so DH can come home to see her and my parents will be there at night.  She probably won't even miss me with her grandparents being there...she is IN LOVE with my mom.

crae04

Try  "Fetch" pet care, or another service. They will come over and meet you and your pups and get all your instructions and preparations. They will hold your house key and come on any kind of schedule you would like, or they will come on short notice (which is PERFECT for labor). And they leave you a detailed report.

Mrs. Reckling

When we are not home our dog goes in his pen outside.  So we will make sure he has plenty of food and water when we leave and then ask our families to check on him until we get home.  We will probably also ask our neighbors to keep an eye on him.

JessT0508

Right now we're just planning on having friends and relatives at the house to keep him entertained and out of trouble. If nobody can go over and he'd be left alone for a long stretch of time we'll probably board him for a night. As long as I don't deliver too close to Easter they should have room for him with no problem.

gypsywitch

When my 1st daughter was born, our neighbors took care of them, and they'll probably do the same with this pregnancy...although she's pregnant too and due around teh same time and we're eachothers plan for our 1st kids too SO lets hope we dont drop these kids at the same time otherwise we're both screwed!

  Generally if everything goes as planned, plan on bein in the hospital for 2 days. Chances are, everything will be fine.

cdc1982

We haven't really thought much about it.  It's hard to plan ahead since you don't know exactly when you'll go into labor so you can't plan to drop the dog off with someone.

We'll probably put ours in the crate (as long as we both remember to lock it in our hurried state, lol!) & then DH might call someone to go over to take him to their place or watch him.  He's use to being in his crate while we're at work but labor usually takes longer than that!!!

Pytko7

Boxers are not crazy..lol  We have a boxer and a yorkie. My yorkie will proboly be going to my parents just cause shes picky and the boxer can go to my brother or BIL or even friends.  we just started thinking about this a few weeks ago

jifer

We are still debating about what to do. We orginally asked some friends, but we are wondering if it would be better if we asked my parents. My parents live out of town so when we give them the call they could come up and house/dog sit while i'm at the hospital. Only thing though we would kick them out once I get discharged (I know, kinda mean, but we want our alone time as a family)....we don't want company staying with us and we lost our guest bedroom since it is LO's bedroom. IL's are in town so that could also be an option to let the dogs out....maybe we will get several volunteers and put everybody on a schedule so it isn't up to one person.

mommyrenee

My mom came by a few times a day and let him out & fed him when I was in the hospital with DS.

This time he will go to my parents house with DS. DS will be more comfortable having him there & it will be less work for my parents.

magdalina.h

My inlaws are going to come over and get him and watch him until we get home.

krstokes

My MIL lives 5 min away , so she is going to take Courtney for us again.

georgia_peachy

Our friends live in the same subdivision as us and we took care of their dogs when she was in labor and some after that b/c they had twins that had to be in NICU.  They have already offered to help us feed/let out our dogs.  Since it will be a long time we'll probably gate them in the kitchen instead of putting them in their crates.

sarahlindsay

We'll probably drop them off at my parents' house if there is time on the way to the hospital, or have one of my best friend's come over and watch him/stay with him.

Kittycat196

We have a pet sitter we use several times a year. We will probably call them when the time is near and have someone on call for us.

rxqueen918

Our dog is not crated because all he does is sleep and wake only to bark at the mailman. We have a close friend who lives one street over from us and with DD  she volunteered to come by and walk the dog. DH only spent the first night in the hospital (DD was born at 1:41AM) and our friend walked him that morning and that afternoon. The other two nights DH stayed at home so he could walk/feed the dog in the morning and at night and my neighbor only had to walk him in the afternoon. Since he is used to being home alone all day when we are at work it was really no different than that. I don't know if our friend will volunteer again because I don't think she thought she would have to walk him every afternoon while we were in the hospital, just the once while we were in labor, but if not he does have a doggie day care he now goes to so we may make arrangements with them since they also offer a dog walking service.

This time around I am more worried about what we are going to do with DD, since last time I had such a fast labor I had to leave for the hospital as soon as I called in, but with the dog I didn't have to wait for someone to come over and watch him.

Halen0804

My mom lives about 4-5 hrs away but will be coming in when I go into labor.  I will have my neighbors let my furbaby out a few times and my mom can stay with her if I have to stay more than a night or two in the hospital. 

FemmeNat01

My ex is going to take care of Chloe while I am in the hospital. She used to be ours and when we broke up, I took her. She knows him and she will be fine with him.

Lexi0402

MIL just brought this up actually and offered to have the dogs stay at DH's grandparents' house (3 minutes away). Sounds like a good plan to me!

kat1012

Haven't even thought about this, but our neighbors will be more than happy to help us out.