if you have a dog - goldie et al

cookiemonster03

Do you keep them separated from the babies at all times? We're trying to figure out how to manage this now that they're on the floor sooo much.

He's pretty high energy and for 3 yrs was the center of attention, and the adjustment is pretty stressful for all of us I think.

erinruns

Have you seen him around other small kids?  My dog isn't high energy, but I knew from past experience that if kids were pulling on her, she got angry.  I didn't do a ton of separating, mostly because she removed herself from the situation more often than not.  I did teach my girls very early to be gentle with her, and how to pet her.

chickaboo1974

I have 3 beagles- not high energy, mostly couch potatos.  However, we have really separated them for now.  We have boys only area, dog only area, and an area that both are in- while being supervised.  We have really worked hard with getting them to understand the new pack order.

naflmj

Well, our dog is older with high energy and has always been great with kids. Even so, it was a big adjustment to have a child in our home. I did not leave her alone with DS but now they get along fine....we did a lot of teaching with DS about being gentle and our dog just truns away if he is rough. DS is never really alone at his age so it's not an issue and the dog follows me wherever I go.

cookiemonster03

He's fine with older kids, and he's been exposed to toddlers in very controlled settings, but obviously I worry about pulling etc. He's the kind of dog that needs direction and authority, and it'll be a bit until the kids can tell him "sit". He's only 3, so we have a bit more time till he's old and theoretically mellow.

leecrystalwed08

Our dog is 5 and wonderful so far with the babies around. He gets little spurts of energy but he calms down when told- so for now they are blocked so he can't sit by them.

That being said he is a big dufass and I worry he will plop his butt right down on a baby and not even think twice about a baby being there! So when they are mobile he will be seperated.

 

Kristi1971

I spent 10 years managing a boarding, grooming, and training facility for dogs, cats, and other small animals.  From all my training and animal experience, I recommend NEVER leaving them alone together.  Remember that all dogs have teeth no matter how gentle they have ever been.  And as infants/babies become toddlers, they start doing things such as pulling on the dog's ears/tail, which can prompt a bite.

Dogs will tolerate a lot from the real young, but as the young grow (in their own packs) they will nip/bite as a form of discipline.  Your dog is a member of a pack - your family.

I have a high energy dog as well.  My plan is to have him "meet" our girls while they are infants while we are with them and have control over the situation.  We will not leave them alone.  When they are older and on the floor a lot, I will "play it by ear".  Likely we will allow some interaction, but supervised.  I can't say how much interaction will be allowed until I see the results and go from there.

I do have to say, even for myself, this is the first time I'm experiencing such a high energy dog with newborns/infants, and it should be interesting.

You may want to seek out the number of a reputable animal behaviorist just in case something comes up in your situation.  Good Luck! 

 

 

 

MagPie08

We have a big (80 lb) 3yr old golden doodle. He is a spaz around strangers/visitors, but from day one, he's never been separated from the babies and I think that's why he's so careful and gentle around them now. DD literally was laying on him this morning like he was a beanbag watching sesame st, and yesterday DS was "feeding" him puzzle pieces, which he would take in his mouth and then drop. Poor dog used to be the enter of our world- now he's the bottom on the totem pole. 

Eta- when they were newborns, I guess I didnt ever leave the dog in the room alone with them, mostly b/c I was afraid he'd step on them. But now I don't think twice about it.  I think a lot depends on the personality of your dog too. 

Rangergal9

We only separate the dog from my kids when they are eating.  Otherwise my dog would be snatching food from their hands and trying to lick it off their high chairs.  Once they are done eating I let him in and he cleans up for me :-)  Other than that he is generally in the same room as the kids, although we give them free range downstairs.  They usually don't bother him but do like to brush him with the doll brushes.  He's been great and tolerates them.  He's a 5yo beagle/basset mix. I should add that I don't leave them together unattended.  My older DD now makes sure the babies are nice to the dog when they are petting him....lol

amanda31H

I had to keep the dog separate from my girls when they turned 6 months old.

He was great with them when they were babies, but once they started rolling all over and crawling, he flipped the eff out. 

I would gate him off in the kitchen/dining room, and then let him out when they were napping.

We hired a dog trainer to come and help us, and basically he helped us to work with our dog on "pack order," but told us there's nothing we can do to get him to like the girls. 

Around 15 months when they were walking confidently and running, he started seeing them as "people" and has gotten a bit better, but it's difficult, I'm not gonna lie!  We're very disciplined about teaching the girls to be gentle with him, etc..but they LOVE him.  And he doesn't feel the same way.  They always wants to be near him, so he often "asks" to be gated off so he can get away from them!!!

 

JosiePosy

We have a lab who overall does really well with the girls. She got a bit edgy when they started crawling. They are never left alone together and the dog is gated out pf the room or we use our superyard to keep them separated if needed. It's taken work, but if you train them well and always supervose them together ou should be able to prevent big problems before they start. I am teaching the kids to be nice and respect her. No pulling or climbing allowed. The dog is never on the couch when the girls are in the room.

katyboston

We have a miniature dachshund and she LOVES babies and kids and is great with our 2yo. Despite how good she is with kids I felt the need to create a space where they could be separated if I couldn't directly supervise so my daughter has a gated areas with all her toys and if I needed to leave the room for any reason, she goes into the playzone and the dog stays out. We do allow the dog inside if there is an adult there as well. Also helps to keep the baby/toddler toys corralled and free from being chewed (our dog finds Melissa and Doug wooden vegetables delicious).