Anyone have advice on getting pets to adjust to first time baby?

sparksfly22 · August 2014

My family keeps telling me I need to get rid of my dogs once baby is born. They say it's unhealthy because of the fur they shed and in case they try to hurt the newborn. However, I consider my dogs to be part of my family and it seems awfully dramatic to make a choice like this when plenty of families with kids and babies have puppies and dogs (which are already trained). I know it will be hard work since I will be home alone most of the time unless my mom or in laws are in town so I get that cleaning and managing a baby will be difficult but certainly not impossible. Am I making the right choice though? Is there really a reason to change my lifestyle with my pets after baby is born?

Does anyone have any thoughts or experience with pregnancy/post pregnancy with pets??

mshepherd20 · August 2014

We talked to our vet (a family friend) about this when we were pregnant with our first. She said to have my husband bring home a blanket that we used for the baby while in the hospital. He brought the blanket home the day our son was born and let the dog sniff it and lay with it. When we went home he following day, the dog was curious but not overwhelmed.

motherboy · August 2014

Have baby stuff set up already, swing, cosleeper, etc so dog gets used to them in the room and used to maneuvering around them. Try to keep the dogs on a similar routine as before.

We babied our dog so much before kids and everyone thought he would be jealous of the baby and that we'd have to give him away. He did wonderfully. He is now very protective of him and takes the toddler abuse without even growling. I worry more about my toddler hurting the dog than the other way around.

KJsbabe · August 2014

There have been numerous studies done that show that children who grow up with pets in the home in the first two years of life are far less likely to develop allergies later on. There is absolutely no need to rehome your pets! I get so annoyed when people say you will need to just because you had a baby!

Before we brought DD home, we had all the baby gear set up well ahead of time so our dogs and cats (we have two of each) could get used to it all. The things that made noises or played music, I made sure to turn them on a couple times a day so they could get used to the sounds. When DD was born DH brought home one of her blankets do everyone could sniff it and get used to her sent.

The only issue we had with the dogs was every time DD cried they would bark for the first couple weeks. They eventually got over it. With the cats, they liked to lay in the swing and pack n play. I was worried they would also want to lay on top of DD when she was in them, so I put tin foil on them and that helped to deter the cats.

jennyhatt · August 2014

In addition to what other people said, we also "presented" our daughters bum to oscar to let him sniff her when we got home. He chewed max two of her toys at the beginning (stuffed- and really his toys were our only stuffed toys previously in the house so can't blame him). We kept his life the same- walks, attention, still goes in the car with us. Also when I came home from the hospital I gave him so much attention and let my hubby take her in the house.

He actually didn't really care much about her. She pulls his tail, grabs his bone, moves his food and he just stands there and waits for her to stop.
His biggest adjustment was learning to walk beside the stroller- took a few weeks.

LadyXaverian · August 2014

I think everyone else covered it. You absolutely do NOT need to get rid of your dogs-- you just need to use some common sense. It will be fine.

With our 3 dogs (who my ILs were terrified would eat the baby lol), we knew some of their routines would be changing, so we made that shift months before she was born so they didn't associate the change with the baby. For example, we were moving their beds to a different spot in the house and we were putting up baby gates. We did that I think in January when she was due in April.

My husband did take baby clothes and blankets home for them to sniff as well.

And like someone else said, we also introduced the baby to each dog one at a time when we brought her home.

AW a picture? I'd love to!

LuckyPenny1231 · August 2014

I have small dogs and one was totally attached to me. She was always following me around and sitting on my lap. I was worried how she would adjust to a baby because she was so protective and jealous over me.

But then the baby came and somehow she just understood that baby came before her. We had absolutely no issues at all. She pretty much stayed away from the baby entirely because she wasn't a fan of the new crying, smelly person.

Shortstack06 · August 2014

The same day we announced I was pregnant my sister offered to take our dog because "I just won't want him with a baby." I went a little nutty. I have a german shepherd who will be 3 when baby comes. We went on vacation this year and I had to leave him at a kennel, I cried the entire way home. I am completely attached to him as much as he is to me. He sheds like crazy but my husband is bothered more than I am. A lot of our friends have had children in the last year and he did awesome with them. When he was a puppy and would eat, I played with his food, pet him, and fed him from my hands so it wouldn't bother him later when we did have kids. My biggest concern is if someone comes to our house and tries to hold the baby, he will be overly possessive of the baby.

sparksfly22 · August 2014

That's a great idea! Thanks for the input we will definitely try that so our dogs don't feel scared/jealous/overly curious.

Milagros315 · August 2014

Your family is being ridiculous. I'm sure there a special exceptions that may require re-homing, but it general it is not necessary to "get rid of" your pets when you have children.

Of course having pets and a newborn will be more work and yes, you absolutely have to be careful when you have even the sweetest most well-trained pet around a baby. However, millions of people with children and pets manage just fine.

There are tons of resources available to help you transition. Just do a google search to find lots of tips, articles or books on this topic and try to figure out what the best methods might be for you and your pets.

id012 · August 2014

People til me to get rid of our dog too my response was always hell no.

I had the nursery and all the gear set up and in place about 3 weeka or so before the baby was born. The car seat was hang in out in dinning room so she could get used to stuff and sniff around. Also had dhe come hkmr with a blanket from the hospital ds was wrapped up in so she could sniff it.

When we brought ds home our dog was fine with the baby. Was always curious when he cried but other then that led ds alone.

mmooki · August 2014

PPs gave great advice. I sent dh home with blankets with her scent on them. They were curious at first. But when she started crying they hightailed it out of there! My female cat had been attached to me throughout the pregnancy and she loves all the baby stuff. Loves to sit in it, but never did when baby was actually in it. My cats are older (9 now, 7 when dd was born) and pretty chill. Now that she is a toddler, she loves them! Loves to touch and pet them. When she gets too rough, they get up and leave. They both have their claws and have never scratched anyone.

Babytime1778 · August 2014

I'm concerned as well people tell me all the time because my dog is so attached to me and has separation anxiety (which we are working on) that he is going to be jealous of the baby. He is sweet and mellow and loves my friends daughter but she is 6 now but I've never really had him around a baby.

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