Plans for introducing pets to LO?

Briala · August 2014

So, I did a search and I didn't see any threads about preparing/introducing pets to LO in O14.So I figured I would start one. Do any of you ladies have specific plans to prepare your pets for the baby? Or, plan on introducing them to LO right away?

I have slowly started to set boundaries with our dogs in the last weeks letting them know which toys are theirs and aren't (which hasn't been totally successful) I am also trying to get them used to the new furniture and baby things that are off limits, I am so worried about them trying to get into the swing with the baby. I have heard some advice such as buckling the car seat in early so they know not to step on it and get used to seeing it in the car, playing baby sounds so they get used to hearing the crying. Also I have considered getting a doll and holding it so they get used to me holding something frequently and "nursing" it.

Our Shiba Inu is about 6 and our beagle is turns 2 in a few days. The beagle is very attached to me and is my current little one he is constantly in my lap and follows me everywhere! I love him like crazy and I hope I can provide him with a smooth transistion to brotherhood. The shiba is more attached to DH and is shy around children but he is not aggressive towards them he just hides. There was a three y/o that used to chase him and grab at his tail when he was a puppy.

Sorry for the long post just thought I'd share some of my thoughts on preparation and seeing what else pops up. Btw does anyone know how to get a siggy to show up? I thought I set it up but it isn't working.

Jbunny100 · August 2014

When we brought DS home we had 2 dogs (1 passed away earlier this year). One of the dogs was really attached to me. She had been my companion for 12 years (she was an Aussie). The other dog (Mastiff) was 2 when we had DS. Prior to bringing baby home we got them very used to the commands of "Leave It" and "Gentle". "Gentle" is really important for them to learn. My husband read up on what to do with introducing dogs to new babies. Here are some tips:

1. Bring a blanket home from the hospital prior to you bringing baby home. Have the dogs get used to the smell.
2. When you come home from the hospital, have DH bring the baby in since the Beagle is so attached to you. That will help with any jealousy. Since you other dog is more attached to DH, you can switch to have you bring in the baby when you introduce baby to the Shibu.

They are probably going to be very curios about the baby so make sure you know what the boundaries will be - can the dog come up and be right next to you when nursing, etc. I would recommend letting the dogs smell the carrier when the baby is in it.

Last note, if you are in the hospital for several days (I was in there for 5 days), your dogs are going to be super excited to see you. Our Mastiff was so eager to see us and play when we got home. This totally freaked me out, but then I realized what was going on with him. We gave him attention, but eventually booked him in doggie daycare/boarding for a couple days to help get his energy out while we got settled into the house.

Your Beagle may act like my Aussie. My Aussie followed me everywhere with the baby and would sleep in the nursery when I was nursing DS or putting him down for a nap. The Mastiff is closer to DH so he didn't follow me around as much. Once the newness wore off life was back to normal for the dogs.

Sorry for the long response.

Unknown · August 2014

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bennikki · August 2014

DH brought the receiving blanket DS was wrapped in for the first 24 hrs home for the dog to smell and get used to. Our dog ended up sleeping on it that night (I was still in the hospital with DS). Our dog was really used to small babies because he'd been around my nieces and nephew when they were newborns, and already knew "gentle" and "soft mouth" due to his hunting background. Probably the hardest thing to break him of, mostly because it wasn't something we anticipated was the fact that he loved to take a flying leap onto our bed in the morning, and that had to stop immediately because I often nursed on my side with DS in bed with us in the early morning.

He's really attached to me as well, so I was a little concerned that he would feel left out, but really the transition was easy. I spent the first several weeks doing pretty much nothing but nursing, sleeping, and cleaning the house (when I felt like it), so our dog would just cuddle up next to me. I will say he seemed to gain some weight, but that's more because he wasn't getting as much exercise than he had before the baby came. That changed once winter was over, and I could take DS out in the stroller.

Now DS and our dog are BFFs, and if my husband or I'm home with the dog and DS is gone, our dog just goes from room to room looking for him.

duckr · August 2014

I've read a lot on this and besides PP's suggestions I don't feel like there is a lot to do. I bought extra tall baby gates and plan to divide the house in half. Baby on one side, doggy on the other - until I feel comfortable with them in the same room (but never alone).

Jennifer18131 · August 2014

We set up a baby gate for the nursery and have been walking the stroller around the house. We're going to have someone bring baby's first blanket to the house so they know the smell. Other than that, I don't know what else we can do other than watch carefully. Our biggest concern is the barking but I'm not sure how to break that.

duckr · August 2014

Jennifer18131 said:

We set up a baby gate for the nursery and have been walking the stroller around the house. We're going to have someone bring baby's first blanket to the house so they know the smell. Other than that, I don't know what else we can do other than watch carefully. Our biggest concern is the barking but I'm not sure how to break that.

Barking is a concern of mine too. I'm told baby will be use to it from hearing it in the womb...we shall see...

SusieBW · August 2014

We did all the same things that @Jbunny100 said. Our dog is a hyper, anxiety and OCD-ridden mess of a fox terrier, but he has always been great with DD. It was a long road with training him, but she's right "leave it" and "easy" are two of the most important commands my dog knows, I think.

When DD was a tiny baby and I'd have her down for tummy time or playing on the floor, I generally tried to keep them apart, and I wouldn't leave the two of them alone together until I was comfortable that she had a handle on dealing with him (so maybe around the time she turned 2?).

My dog absolutely despises baby gates. We have a small one that I would put either in DD's doorway or in the hall to separate the two bedrooms from the rest of the house when DD and I would be in the bedrooms or in her room, and we have a big one to separate the kitchen from the living room. Every time I closed that big gate, the dog would flip, so we didn't use it all that often. Once DD was mobile, I would let them be on the floor together, but always where I was right there and could hold the dog if need be.

My dog also hated the swing we had. Someone gave us a portable swing, and we figured we would try that first and if DD liked it, buy a fancier one. DD liked it, but the dog hated it so much, we would up leaving it at my mom's house and just not using a swing at home.

Now that DD is older, feeding the dog is one of the chores that she always helps with, as well as being in charge of giving him his cookie whenever we leave the house. I think it's important to establish that she is also the boss of him, not the other way around, and controlling his food is a good way to teach him that.

DaniGrace89 · August 2014

Our pup is staying with family while we are at the hospital. Either DH will pick him up, or family will drop him off at our house. We DO NOT want anyone in our home when he comes home other than DH, our baby girl, and myself. We plan to have the baby in the room, but in a swing or infant carrier, but not being held by me. (We don't want the baby to represent a barrier between the dog and mommy) of course, if she is nursing, tough. I plan on playing with him and giving him lovin before we introduce him to his sister. Hopefully he doesn't get too excited and try to paw her face or something.

It will take time. Hopefully they integrate beautifully.

DaniGrace89 · August 2014

Jennifer18131 said:
We set up a baby gate for the nursery and have been walking the stroller around the house. We're going to have someone bring baby's first blanket to the house so they know the smell. Other than that, I don't know what else we can do other than watch carefully. Our biggest concern is the barking but I'm not sure how to break that.

My parents dog barked all of the time. We trained her in about 2 minutes by spraying her with a little squirt bottle filled with water when she barked. After about two squirts she only had to see the bottle to stop barking. Now it is extinguished completely. (Our dog loves water and finds it rewarding, so it doesn't work for every dog)

BreandMikewedding · August 2014

Dh brought home ds' s first hat that they put on him before his bath the first day after we had ds and then he would bring home an outfit or blanket that ds had used every day after that while we were still in the hospital. It got our dog used to his smell every day when dh came home. When I came home from the hospital we kept ds in his car seat so our dog could see me and then smell ds. It worked really well for us and our dog was very protective and motherly to ds. She would check on him if he cried and lay next to him on the floor when he slept.

SusieBW · August 2014

duckr said:

Jennifer18131 said:

We set up a baby gate for the nursery and have been walking the stroller around the house. We're going to have someone bring baby's first blanket to the house so they know the smell. Other than that, I don't know what else we can do other than watch carefully. Our biggest concern is the barking but I'm not sure how to break that.

Barking is a concern of mine too. I'm told baby will be use to it from hearing it in the womb...we shall see...

I think there is something to this. My dog is a barky mcbarkerson, and DH and I have always joked that DD was never phased by it as a baby or now because she heard it so much while she was still an inside baby. But I've heard a lot of people say the same thing, so I'm not really sure how much of a joke it is. My DD will sleep through ANYTHING and always has.

Rickaroo922 · August 2014

When I had my son, my German Shepherd stayed with my parents while we were in the hospital. She is definitely MY dog and doesnt have an aggressive bone in her body. I was more worried about her destroying things bc she was pissed about me spending so muxh time with the baby. i had my parents bring his hat home.She sniffed it but wasnt terribly impressed. When we got home and settled DH left to go get the dog. When they got home he walked her around the block to calm her down a bit. I put DS in the carseat.(mostly so i could close the shade if she got into his face.) I greeted her first then showed her the baby. She barely sniffed him before walking away. It was very anti climatic. She just ignored him for the most part. Sometimes she would sniff his feet while i fed him, but that was about it. I would sit on the couch with him and she would lay on my feet. He loves her so much now, and she is fantastic with him.
The one thing that helped was learning to walk the dog with the stroller. Before ds was born we practiced. I wanted to make sure I wouldnt lose control of the stroller with a newborn in it. I also didnt want her to get tangled. We mastered it and i walked them both daily.

mkw1013 · August 2014

Our dog will be in doggy daycare while we are at the hospital so i know he will come home tired which is good. I am worried about the dog with her toys. Once we got some from the shower i made sure to put everything out in the open and tell him constantly "leave it" when ever he goes up to smell them followed by praise.

We have also actually put diapers all over the house. He goes nuts for tissues and paper towels and im worried a diaper is going to fall into that family. I want him to get to know the smell of them.

We plan on bringing her smell home as everyone says but we also plan to not hold him back from meeting his new sister. We want to put the carseat down and let him really feel her out and sniff everything he needs to sniff.

He will be fine with the baby but im more worried about everyone else that will visit because of the baby. He is just so strong (80lb lab mix) and get soooo excited to see new people. He also leans against you which is fine for us but not so fine for grandparents. Also bring them home some toys or bones.

mkw1013 · August 2014

We have also started turning on all the thing that have music on them. He went crazy when we turned on the music for the bassinet. It took us a few minutes to teach him not to bark at it but it certainly made us laugh and be happy we didnt wait until LO was in it or with us.

Briala · August 2014

Thanks for the thoughtful replies! I like the idea of bringing home a blanket LO was wrapped in so they can smell it first, I know the beagle will recognize the smell. Luckily they haven't reacted much to me playing the music on the PnP or sounds of a baby crying.

I love the idea of practicing to walk with a stroller both dogs tend to pull a little so I know it will take some practice to walk them and the baby together. I probably won't do it much though until next spring. We have early winters here in AK and I expect to see snow on the ground before LO is born.

As far as the barking is concerned I do know that babies learn the parents voices from in the womb albeit a muffled version of our voices. They also towards then of pregnancy can recognize songs that are played frequently. So I had assumed it would work the same way with a dogs howl or bark.

I can't wait to get pictures of DS and my beagle baby cuddling and playing!

Jbunny100 · August 2014

As for walking the dogs and baby - I found it was easier to just load the DS into a carrier and walk the dogs that way. Seeing that our Mastiff is 130+ lbs, I was worried he would take off with the stroller and me. I found once DS was around 5 or 6 months I could easily walk 2 dogs and the DS in the carrier.

hbelle331 · August 2014

I have two huskies, one is so gentle and such a big baby he is a year and a half and the other one...well she's crazy energetic but she is also still a pup, she'll be one in October (didn't know I was pregnant when we adopted another dog lol).

We plan to have my husband bring things such as the blanket that smells like baby to the dogs first and have them check it out. One of them is really good with not jumping up but I'm nervous about the other one jumping. Doggie daycare is a good idea to get their energy out, maybe I'll try that!

Other than that I guess it's just a roll with the punches kinda thing, I would never leave baby alone with the dogs though that's for sure, no matter how much I trust them!

Good luck to everyone!

Emerald27 · August 2014

We have no plans whatsoever for introducing the cats to LO. They've done this baby thing before. I fully expect to be hated for the foreseeable future, but they'll get over it. :P I think they suspect something since we pulled the infant seat out of the closet and set up the changing table in our bedroom.

My poor kitties.

SweetMandyB12 · August 2014

Cat owners unite!! My cat is 11mos old today, so still a batshit crazy kitty that has more energy and attitude than I know what to do with ( and I love him to pieces). He has moved on from his toys to LOs. We are leaving the nursery door open for now, because if it's shut and off limits, it'll entice him to go into it even more once she is born. I set up her bookshelf yesterday and came home to find these casualties of war under her crib. Poor stuffed animals will now reside in a drawer for the foreseeable future.

My main concerns: 1) he is a nibbler. The jerk bites, and it hurts! Teething or not, he's an oral cat and I swear if he tries to bite my baby!!!...

2) jumping in the crib

3) sneaking into her room and me not catching him and shutting the door...

Amandac909 · August 2014

Well will probably bring a blanket home from the hospital for the dogs to smell. I feel bad for my dog as he is my "baby" now and I don't know how he will react. I think the boxer will be just fine, she's a big lover. I'm hoping for a smooth transition but we will see. Good luck to you all!

RedBaramid · September 2014

S14 Lurking through (I'm due 9/28.)

Cat owners FTW! We have two monster cats, one who is laid back and sweet, and a stressed out space case. They are both way more attached to DH than me right now, they keep tabs on me, but they don't like the kicking and movement in my belly and get offended when they get booted by the baby (because it's all my fault.. sure..)

We've got the nursery door wide open because the closed door will only make it more exciting. So far only one has hopped into the crib and I immediately threw him out. He's only done it the one time. I read that if it becomes a problem that laying some tin foil down in the crib might deter them, but I get the feeling he's learned already. The biggest thing I've been reading is that they need to get use to the noises, so I've been occasionally playing baby crying noises and making all of the babies noisy toys/swing go off so they are use to the sounds. DH plans on bringing home a blanket or a hat and putting it by their food dish so they catch the smell. We've also stocked up on their favorite treats and have a hidden stash of surprise kitty toys to reward good behavior after we bring the baby home. Other than that I'm basically ready to be exiled until they forgive us for bringing home their flesh sister.

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