Newborn and Pets

akj166 · December 2014

Hello Ladies-

I was a bit hesitant to post, having spent some time (not a much) in the community.

My husband and I are expecting our first LO and we have a 10 yr old tortie (cat) and a 9 yr old Viszla (dog). My concern is with our Viszla, who is a truly a great dog but is very attached to my husband. My husband has worked from home since we got her and she pretty much rules the house. She is very needy and has a lot of separation anxiety. If the cat goes near hubby, the dog flips out. She is not aggressive, but she stomps her feet and whines like a toddler, scaring the cat away. We thought about training (she had it when she was young) but thought she might be too old for it. I have done a lot of reading and have been implementing some techniques I thought might apply to our situation.

I have started spending 15 mins or so in the nursery every evening, turning on the swing and toys that make noise. She sniffs them but seems unbothered by them. I started sitting in the glider in the quiet (no noise) and she directly goes and sits/lays in a pet bed we put in there. It was suggested to get a baby doll, which we could use lotion on and have my husband spend time in the nursery with the doll, he is a bit unsure of that but willing to give it a try.

Does anyone have an experience with dogs specifically that could offer any suggestions?

Thanks in advance:)

wishiwaspreggo · December 2014

From my understanding dogs usually love new babies and grow protective of them and treat them like part of the family. It should be okay. You're doing a good thing by exposing him to the baby's toys, furniture, and letting him sniff things. Just make any changes to your house slowly so he adjusts and let him sniff the baby's blankets before you bring the baby into the house. I have a friend who played recordings of babies crying in front of her Great Dane and he loves the baby as much as the other kids in the household.

Pets and babies can, indeed, coexist I have a small, nervous, insecure mini-dachshund who is paralyzed but he's never bitten anyone or caused harm. He's really easy to contain so I'm not at all worried. We have a cat, too, and she's pretty chill. She can leave the room if she gets stressed but she adapts to changes easily enough.

Just be patient with the pets and try to still give them some love and attention after the baby's born.

Unknown · December 2014

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ngolimento · December 2014

Your dog is not too old for training, and from what you describe, needs it.

Take her to training, stop treating her like she's made of sugar glass. She's responding to your nerves when it comes to her. If you treat her like she's a delicate bundle of nerves when it comes to the baby, she'll do exactly what is expected of her, and become a neurotic bundle of nerves. Dogs are very good at reading their masters and reflecting what is expected.

BostonAlison · December 2014

Honestly your first problem here is " she pretty much rules the house. "

Humans rule the house, not dogs. She isn't too old to be trained. Get her some training.

Exposing her to the sights, sounds and smells of an infant isn't a bad idea. But it's doing nothing to solve the bigger problem.

lawsonellis · December 2014

One thing I might suggest is take your exposure a step further and have H in the nursery, interacting with the new toys and things, and NOT paying attn to dog. See how she reacts when she associates the things with H's attention?

From there you can see if you'll have a jealousy issue- and I agree with PPs in that she can always be re-trained.

Bostonchelle · December 2014

Others have given great suggestions. Training sounds like a great idea and needed. My dog ignored my first when she came home from the hospital- she is now 2 1/2 and they are great friends. I actually didn't do anything to get the dog ready for baby as I basically wanted him to ignore her which luckily he did. If your dog has issues being possessive- like with your husband, I would suggest getting the dog out of the nursery and especially dog's bed. You don't want the dog to become possessive of the baby either and go after people (or the cat) if they are near baby.

skatergrl · December 2014

It's so interesting that you asked this because my husband and I are dealing with a similar issue right now with our dog. We've made the mistake of letting her have too much control (she's 4 now) over the years. She's pretty well behaved so it hasn't been an issue until now. She has started pooping by the doors and smearing it on the doors and walls when we've left her for even short periods of time. Of course, we walk right into it when we get home. I immediately thought it was behavioral. My husband wondered if she was sick so we both took her to the vet just this past weekend.

My suspicions were correct. The vet said she was fine physically but said she is reacting to the changes and the fact that we have let her have too much control was also an issue. He actually said she can sense the hormone changes in me and can even possibly hear the baby's heartbeat. He said the problem is that she's sensing those things and noticing the changes in the house as well and feels her control slipping away so she's acting out.

A dog is never too old for training and we're getting her enrolled right now. I know she would never hurt the baby but I don't want this control issue to escalate once the baby is here. The vet felt confident that we have enough time before the baby comes to get this under control with her as long as we're diligent in the training. I hope this advice helps and good luck!

akj166 · December 2014

@skategrl- Sorry you are in a similar situation and good luck to you and H! I hope this thread is helpful to you as well:)

There has been multiple changes to our home (we just finished an addition) and she acted out for a couple weeks but subsided. We spoke to her "camp" (doggie daycare) and they do training, but every time I talk to them about it they tell me she is the most well behaved, loving dog and its such a pleasure when she goes. They dont think she will be a problem with LO and I have nothing to worry about. Sometimes I wonder if we are talking about the same dog???!!!

Tuliplover2010 · December 2014

Have your husband pet your cat sitting in the nursery. He has to completely ignore the dog. All the other things are just objects and the dog probably won't care. They can sense it. Just do a few minutes at first and build up to longer periods. After completely ignoring he can go and "reward" the dog with some attention. Only if it didn't try to get the cat out of there though haha. The dog will eventually get over it and learn how to share. My dog was possessive of me and went into a mild depression after me having the baby. Just make sure you give the dog some one on one time too so they don't feel secluded. Good Luck!

mamajack86 · December 2014

Our dog was our EVERYTHING before our son was born. He was so glued to us and protective (never aggressive). We worried a little about how he'd react because we never wanted to be put in the position where we'd have to find him a new home. There wasn't much prep work done on our part other than while we were in the hospital my mom (who was watching our dog) took home a receiving blanket that DS had been wrapped in and let our dog have it. Once we got home our dog wouldn't leave the baby's side, he automatically loved his baby brother. Now they are BFF's it's too cute.

ur_mom222 · December 2014

wishiwaspreggo said:
From my understanding dogs usually love new babies and grow protective of them and treat them like part of the family. It should be okay. You're doing a good thing by exposing him to the baby's toys, furniture, and letting him sniff things. Just make any changes to your house slowly so he adjusts and let him sniff the baby's blankets before you bring the baby into the house. I have a friend who played recordings of babies crying in front of her Great Dane and he loves the baby as much as the other kids in the household.

Pets and babies can, indeed, coexist I have a small, nervous, insecure mini-dachshund who is paralyzed but he's never bitten anyone or caused harm. He's really easy to contain so I'm not at all worried. We have a cat, too, and she's pretty chill. She can leave the room if she gets stressed but she adapts to changes easily enough.

Just be patient with the pets and try to still give them some love and attention after the baby's born.

I have a paralyzed mini dachshund too! It's a family dog so my mom takes care of him but that is awesome you decided to take on that task and not have him put down. It's a hard thing to take care of disabled pets. Made my day to hear this

KD32412 · December 2014

Hello! I have a JRT/Pitt mix, he's on the medium side (about 30 lbs). Previous to our first born, he was our spoiled furbaby - slept in our bed, went everywhere with us, sat on the couch, etc.
Once baby came, I let him know she was his "alpha". I still allowed him the freedoms he had previously, but he could understand that she wasn't something to mess with. He knew not to jump on her, kiss excessively, or nip at her. In the beginning, if he displayed an unwanted behavior, I would correct him immediately. I also praised good behavior - being calm, submissive, letting baby touch his fur, etc.
She's two now. He has NEVER shown any aggression towards her, and she's very sweet with. I trust him with her 100%. Hope that helps!

akj166 · December 2014

mamajack86 said:

Our dog was our EVERYTHING before our son was born. He was so glued to us and protective (never aggressive). We worried a little about how he'd react because we never wanted to be put in the position where we'd have to find him a new home. There wasn't much prep work done on our part other than while we were in the hospital my mom (who was watching our dog) took home a receiving blanket that DS had been wrapped in and let our dog have it. Once we got home our dog wouldn't leave the baby's side, he automatically loved his baby brother. Now they are BFF's it's too cute.

Thank you so much for posting this! You really put my mind at ease:)

Meggo01 · December 2014

One thing that we did was to have friends walk our dogs when we brought the baby home. That way it was like them entering the space where the baby was instead of the other way around. I was surprised that our dogs reacted well. I found the real time for training is once the baby starts bothering the dogs. Which really becomes about people training and less about dog training.

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