let's talk pets and babies

rhodesign · September 2012

How are you ladies preparing to introduce your pets (particularly dogs and cats) to the new baby?

Our pup has only been around one baby in our house ever, and all she did was sniff her. She plays with the 3 yo neighbor kid a lot and so far seems pretty docile around kids. I don't think she'll be weird or aggressive, and probably will be pretty protective since she is of us and the house anyway.

I know a lot of people bring home a hat from the hospital with the scent of the baby on it before bringing the baby in so they get used to it, but other than that, should we be doing anything else? She comes into the nursery and lays on the floor while I'm working in there, and we say 'baby' a lot while we're in there (though he'll have a name. eventually). Also while she snoozes on the couch, I play with her ears and gently tug at her and pat her a bit to emulate a kid and she never seems bothered.

Just wondering your thoughts. STMs, experiences you've had?

rnbeth477 · September 2012

I have no experience with dogs other than when we've visited people who have them.

We have 2 cats. When we had DS, DH brought home a blanket DS was wrapped in a day before we came home. We never had any problems. They just left him alone. Now, we have problems with DS chasing them...lol.

Rachelilly23 · September 2012

Sounds like you're doing all the right things now to prepare. I did that a lot too- took our dog into DS1's room so he got used to spending time in there. DH also brought home DS1's hat and blankets he was wrapped in to get him used to the smell. I don't think we're going to do anything this time. Our dog is extremely shy, but very gentle and sweet. He's used to DS1, so I don't think adding a baby to the mix will change anything. He'll be more afraid of the baby than anything, but he'll warm up after a couple weeks.

irish city girl · September 2012

We had 2 dogs when ds1 was born. We did a lot of what you talked about as far as playing with the dogs and annoying them a little to see their reaction. They both did fine with us. We had my parents bring a hat home for them to smell before we got home. When we came home, one dog didn't care at all about ds and the other one was very curious and then became a little protective.

Once ds started crawling, the dog that was uninterested when he came home became annoyed with him. She growled at him a few times and then one time he crawled next to her and she growled and tried to bite him. We ended up rehoming her after that. I wasn't willing to have her bite my son. It was clear she wasn't going to be tolerant. Our other dog is absolutely fine with ds and has never showed any aggression.

looboo · September 2012

We also have cats and think they will keep their distance for the most part. I have removed the crib mattress till we need it so the kitties don't think of the crib as their spot. We are also getting a bigger cat tree with height so when DS starts chasing, they have a safe spot to escape too. I am more concerned about DS cornering one of them.

lauracoro · September 2012

We actually didnt do anything really when we brought dd home. I read about having the dogs snif a hat or blanket but we actually forgot all about it until we were already inside the house and our dogs have taken to her and all the changes that have come with her well.

veslick · September 2012

I like to have "quiet time" in the nursery with the dogs. I invite them in and I pet them and let them sniff but try to discourage rowdiness so they know its a quiet room. I also plan on having dh bring an item from the hospital for then to sniff and when baby and I come home, I will go in first to greet the dogs and dh will come in after me with baby. If I were holding baby and the dogs got excited my reaction would be to turn away some and I don't want to send the wrong message to them.

hboo2011 · September 2012

Just this morning I asked our trainer if she had any book recommendations, to add to our 'practice being around babies' routine. (we use a doll, will put it on the couch next to the dogs, on the floor, carry it around, etc and make sure they don't 'swat' at it like they do with their toys, we have let them be around all of the baby's stuff, smell it, get used to it, the swings/stroller/carrier are all out and in the living room so they get used to more stuff being in the house, and the dogs are not allowed to play/wrestlein the nursery, they can go in, but it is a relaxing room only). Our trainer recommended we read this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Your-Baby-Bowser-Stephen-Rafe/dp/1577790456

I haven't read it yet but plan to pick it up this week.

CDCbaby · September 2012

We had two dogs when DS1 was born. One is an awesome, sweet, laid back perfect lab who has never even growled in his life (who we still have). The other was a neurotic, nervous, sometimes aggressive mixed breed (who has now passed).

We did a lot of the things you mentioned. Spent time in the nursery with them. had my parents bring home a blanket from the hospital while we were still there. and then when we got home we left DS in the infant seat and sat him on the floor and let the dogs sniff him.

But in my opinion? at least from my experience, the way your dog reacts to normal "stressors" and "new things" now is probably very reflective of how he/she will react to new baby. Our lab LOVES DS and has never batted an eye when crawled over or accidentally stepped on etc. But the mixed breed? was still a pain in the assss and always seemed nervous around DS and I tried to make sure he was separated from DS once DS became mobile/crawling/etc.

Just trust your gut about the way your pup acts around the baby! I think you will be able to figure out quickly how they will handle the baby after those first few weeks that baby is home.

cwallac · September 2012

The only other thing that I can think of is probably touching your dog's mouth. We did this with ours from the time they were pups (including ears, paws, tails, etc) not only because we planned on having babies some day but also because they would be more used to it when going to the vet. It probably won't happen any time soon but eventually LO will be big enough to crawl and will probably be interested in all parts of your pet.

We did it with the cats too but they mostly just give us a screw you look and sulk away. I doubt they'll be a problem though lol.

rhodesign · September 2012

Thanks everyone! Good suggestions

We think she'll be fine. She's such a sweetheart of a dog, so I think she'll be a good girl. So far she only barks at strangers at the door/in the house until she can sniff them, and once she does and we tell her it's okay, she licks them and gets them to play with her. She's all talk and no action.

She LOVES laying on the rug in the baby's room, so I know she'd be comfy in there keeping guard if she wanted to.

shanaynerz · September 2012

We plan on taking our 2 Labs to boarding once I'm in early labour (hopefully) b/c when I was rushed to the hospital with the twins, we felt really bad about leaving them home all day alone. This way they'll get a mini vacation and we can bring LO home w/o being bombarded by the dogs right away.

Also, when DH goes to get the dogs, he'll bring a hat or blanket or something with her scent to have them smell before coming home. We also aren't allowing them in the nursery because that's Chloe's room, not theirs. She'll sleep with us for the first while though, so once her bassinet is set up I'll keep the dogs away from it, too, though I guess they can smell it.

I'm not worried. Our dogs love kids and are just excited when they first meet new people, then they calm down. They'll get used to her pretty quick b/c she won't be going anywhere!

Don't Hassle the Hoff · September 2012

Out of everything I could possibly be worried about pertaining to pregnancy, how our dogs will react to the baby is my #1 worry. We have a 150 lb. american mastiff and a 65 lb english bulldog. The mastiff is super friendly, doesn't jump, but is really territorial about her food and if another dog (the bulldog) invades her personal space while she's sleeping she'll usually growl.

The bulldog is the friendliest dog in the world, but he's a jumper and has zero idea how strong he actually is. He would never intentionally hurt someone, but he's head-butted a few people in the face while playing.

Neither dog has any interactions with kids other than random strangers at the park. None of our friends really have kids so they have idea how to act around them.

We shall see what happens. I think they will be fine though.

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