Puppy manners with baby

DoodleDara · September 2013

Hi Ladies! I have a two year old golden retriever who is still quite energetic and requires a lot of attention. I have been stressing out over what to do to prep for the baby and how to go about training my dog. Luckily my dog has had a lot of exposure to children and babies, thanks to my nephews, but she loves them a little too much and has poor boundaries. I did a bit of research online and found this really great article that I definitely plan on using and hopefully will help out some of you who might be stressing over similar issues: https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/preparing-your-dog-new-baby Hopefully this helps!

Arinias · September 2013

Thanks for posting this! Definitely bookmarking it. We adopted our dog this year and he is 4 so we have no idea what he has had in exposure to kids, nor have we had the opportunity to see how he does with any. He is a good boy but he has issues with pawing at you when he wants attention and those claws can hurt. I also have insane paranoia about my cats trying to sleep on top of the baby an hurting it since they sleep on us at night all the time. Still not sure what to do about that, they all freak out if you close them out of the room but I think they will have to get used to it for a while.

Soupy84 · September 2013

Thank you for sharing this! I have a pyrenees-lab who will be a month shy of 2 years when baby comes home. Its never too early to think about the fur-babies we have and what additional training/exposure they will require.

JessElam · September 2013

Thanks for sharing! We were talking about this tonight as our Blue Heeler pup will be just a year old when we have our little one.

momo214 · September 2013

Yay blue heeler pup!!! Love!!

gurleymomma · September 2013

Try not to worry too much most dogs get along really well after the baby comes home.unfortunatly in personal experience with dd when we got home from the hospital i no more walked in the door with dd and my cat we have had for five years literaly 2 seconds laters she hissed,growled and attacked with dd in my arms.my husband had to come after her and lock her in the laundry room because after i threw her off she tried attacking again right away.i was tore up on my arms and bruised for weeks but at least she never got to the baby.thank god.just a warning to those with cats, daisy had never been aggressive ever and had been around children before with no problems.we never saw it coming.broke our hearts but we at least found her another home.

Jessy336 · September 2013

Thank you for posting this! We have a VERY energetic catahoula/lab mix. She seems to think everything & everyone is a play thing! She for sure has boundary issues. DH & I are also thinking about some extra training for our little nut-job. It definitely couldn't hurt!

talkthewholetime · September 2013

Thank you! We have an insane 4 month old lab/flat coated retriever mix! She started puppy kindergarten last night, but I'm worried that by May she will be an 80lb freight train!

Kate070 · September 2013

Thanks! We were also just talking about this, wondering if there's a training class or something we can get our dog into. He's a 1 year old lab/shepherd mix, who also has a lot of energy, is strong-willed, and gives us the puppy face if anyone gets attention but him.

dp1320 · September 2013

We have two boxers and one of them is THE WORST when it comes to jumping - thank you for this article!!

ehowa499 · September 2013

We will have a 2yo lab- newfound mix and a 1 year old mastiff. Just recently the mastiffs behavior is driving me NUTS. we belong to a dog club so will be hitting the training classes with both of them pretty hard this winter. I don't even want to think about what a 150 lb mastiff would put me through if we don't get her trained better...

rainydayluck · September 2013

gurleymomma said:
Try not to worry too much most dogs get along really well after the baby comes home.unfortunatly in personal experience with dd when we got home from the hospital i no more walked in the door with dd and my cat we have had for five years literaly 2 seconds laters she hissed,growled and attacked with dd in my arms.my husband had to come after her and lock her in the laundry room because after i threw her off she tried attacking again right away.i was tore up on my arms and bruised for weeks but at least she never got to the baby.thank god.just a warning to those with cats, daisy had never been aggressive ever and had been around children before with no problems.we never saw it coming.broke our hearts but we at least found her another home.

This is terrible advice! You should prep all your pets, don't just assume that most dogs are fine with kids and go off that.

My cat did great. He was very curious, but didn't really bother DD. He tried jumping in her crib twice and I got him out and that was it. If you snopes it, you'll see that the cat suffocating baby thing is an old wives tale. Consistency is key with cats.

bumpuser9353653 · September 2013

I just briefly skimmed the article, but it looked really good! We have a pittie who was 5 yrs old when we had DD last year. She has always been good with kids and babies, but we made sure to try and prep her for baby coming home to stay. We took her on walks with an empty stroller to get her used to walking next to such a "big scary thing" and when DD was born, DH brought home a blanket she was wrapped in from the hospital so our pup could smell and sleep with it. Then when we brought DD home, hubby held the baby in the carrier and I walked in first to greet our pup since she hadn't seen me for days. Then we brought baby to dog,NOT dog to baby and let her sniff. Also, we never did it, but I've heard of people playing sounds of crying babies in the house to see how their dogs react to such an unusual sound. Just another way to get them prepped and work on any behavior issues if needed.

All dogs are different, but I would totally start training now and setting boundaries. Is your dog allowed on the bed? Do you want them to be allowed on the bed if baby is there? Things to think about. My best advice is to be consistent in your training. Do not give up and let your dog "win" by getting away with jumping, not sitting, pawing and getting attention, etc.

In my opinion, calm and consistent is the best way to get good results.

Best of luck to everyone getting your fur-babies ready

Magheeta · September 2013

Thank you for posting this article. I think some people forget about their pets when a baby is on the way. I'm glad y'all are also looking into an obedience class! We did that with our puppy, and I think it's going to be really beneficial. Also, my BIL took a blanket to the hospital to get the baby's scent on it once it was born, and brought it home before baby to let the dogs check it out and get treated. That could be another thing to do once baby gets here.

rebecca1198 · September 2013

gurleymomma said:

Try not to worry too much most dogs get along really well after the baby comes home.unfortunatly in personal experience with dd when we got home from the hospital i no more walked in the door with dd and my cat we have had for five years literaly 2 seconds laters she hissed,growled and attacked with dd in my arms.my husband had to come after her and lock her in the laundry room because after i threw her off she tried attacking again right away.i was tore up on my arms and bruised for weeks but at least she never got to the baby.thank god.just a warning to those with cats, daisy had never been aggressive ever and had been around children before with no problems.we never saw it coming.broke our hearts but we at least found her another home.

So let me get this straight: you didn't prep your cat for a major change and then were surprised when she reacted negatively? And then you rehomed her instead of working with her? My goodness. It sounds like she's better off in a new home anyway.

OP, thanks very much for posting an informative and helpful article!

tinytriggy · September 2013

Even though my two dogs have been great with babies and children and are generally pretty well-behaved, my husband and I have started working with a trainer for them just so I'm 100% confident that they will be ready for the baby- especially on their walks. I really can't have them getting excited when we see cats, squirrels, other dogs, etc if I'm trying to push the stroller. Plus he's been really great about going over our daily routine and pointing out things that might be a problem once we have a LO

gurleymomma · September 2013

We constantly brought our cat around the babys things to get her accoustomed to the smells and the new items.my husband even brought home the baby blankets and onsies to get the accoustomed to her smell when he came home during breaks at the hospital.we had a dog and a cat.theyd smell them and she'd rub on them and meow happily.we were even planning on introducing them gently so they could get comfortable together.we never got the chance when we got home.she was fine with the clothes and items with dd smell.but literally the second we came in the door she attacked.theres nothing we could done differently in my mind.any other suggestions id love to here.but of course we tried prepping her for dd arrival.

gurleymomma · September 2013

I never said we didnt prep our cat.we tried and in our case it didnt work out.not every situation is the same i' m only suggesting be very watchful,with dogs as well as cats.and yes we tried bringing her back in under supervision but that only led to more hissing and yes i rehomed her to some good friends who would take care of her and love her.i love my pets but i love dd more.she was worked with ever since we found out we were pregnant.my husband even would bring her blanket and onsie home to let them smell and get used to.

christieep · September 2013

I think the wonderful thing about bringing a newborn into the house with dogs is he or she isn't all over the place right away. The baby gradually increases his or her mobility and interaction with the dogs so the dogs can gradually adjust.

Kellymries · September 2013

Thanks for sharing! I have two crazy, jumping dogs, and one incredibly crazy cat. I'm not worried about the 1 year old lab mix. She'll take to the baby right away. My car on the other hand, he has been known to attack anyone that enters our home. Hopefully these tips work.

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