Dogs and babies

happy924 · December 2014

Hi- is anyone worried or have any experience with a new baby and their dog? I am so worried how my 14 year old maltipoo will be around the baby. I have had her since she was 12 weeks old and she is definitely the princess of the family and is very attached to me. I have had her around my nephew who is 3 and she growls whenever he comes near her. She also threw up in every room in the house when he stayed with us. Yet she was perfectly fine the very next day when he left. Any suggestions? I can't stop thinking about it.

tinyjoys · December 2014

It's different when the baby is theirs. We have a beagle mix that was 5 when we brought our son home and we were worried. She hated kids previously and we kept her away from them. She's never so much as growled at him and he's 3.5.

brittburck · December 2014

I'm a little worried too. We have a 2 year old cattle dog that's very high energy. She hates toddlers/older children but I'm hoping that introducing her to the baby will be ok since the baby won't be mobile for quite some time, giving her a chance to get used to it. I'm trying to set boundaries now-no jumping on the couch or bed, spending time in the nursery without playing,etc. she is also really attached to me so I'm trying to distance myself a bit and have my husband give her more attention. I heard you should have someone bring home a blanket or something with the baby's smell on it and let the dog smell it before you go home w/baby so they can be familiar with the scent.

emu0013 · December 2014

Our dog did really good, I did buy this baby sounds CD for pets that had crying etc prior to having DD so she was used to the noises. The only issue we had at first was she was instantly very protective and did not like people she wasn't used to holding DD. Once right after she was born the UPS guy came to the door and I answered it with DD in my arms and he handed me a package and I seriously thought my dog was going to take his arm off the way she growled and showed teeth, we had never seen her growle before.

happy924 · December 2014

tinyjoys said:
It's different when the baby is theirs. We have a beagle mix that was 5 when we brought our son home and we were worried. She hated kids previously and we kept her away from them. She's never so much as growled at him and he's 3.5.

Thank you. I really hope this is what happens.

PutMeintheZoo · December 2014

We have a Yorkie Poo and she did fine around my son when he was born. You could tell she was stressed out and upset that we weren't spending as much time with her, though.

Things got more complicated when my DS could crawl / walk and would pull on her ears and fur. Our dog would also take some of his small toys and chew on them. To make sure she wouldn't nip at him, we crate trained her more and would have her spend time in her crate in our family room. It gave her her own space where she could feel more comfortable. We also worked with a dog trainer to help with the toy issue... They get along pretty well now!

crarnberg · December 2014

When we brought DD home our dog was only a year old and is very jumpy. He loves attention and wants it all. It was like love at first site when we brought Everleigh home. He is so protective of her, is careful around her and just loves on her ALL THE TIME.

Here is a picture of our first afternoon home! So much love!

lauranicole91 · December 2014

My dog has a lot of health problems and all her issues make her pretty irritable and jumpy and clingy to me. She's aggressive towards guests and has bitten people before. I was so nervous about bringing home my daughter. We were totally prepared to keep them separated 24/7. But my dog blew us out of the water. Like PP said, it's different when it's "their" baby. They can sense they are a part of you. My daughter and my dog are BFFs. We've never had any incidents and she's almost 3.

happy924 · December 2014

Oh wow. Such great stories. I really hope to have a similar situation.

My_Matt · December 2014

I agree with all the PP's. Here are a few links to help you and your pooch. We are in the process of starting with our dogs as well.

https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/introducing-your-dog-your-new-baby

https://www.cesarsway.com/tips/yournewdog/introduce-your-dog-to-your-baby

https://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/pets_babies.html

happy924 · December 2014

My_Matt said:
I agree with all the PP's. Here are a few links to help you and your pooch. We are in the process of starting with our dogs as well.

https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/introducing-your-dog-your-new-baby

https://www.cesarsway.com/tips/yournewdog/introduce-your-dog-to-your-baby

https://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/pets_babies.html

Thank you!! I will read these later today!

willadieselstm · December 2014

Our 7 year old (at the time) husky was OK with the baby. He was very very excited to see my DH and I after almost of week of being away and after that settled down he was very interested in sniffing DS. Once DS started moving and crawling, Diesel (the dog) ha, really just stayed away. Now that DS is almost three, Diesel and him are best of friends. DS loves to hug and love on him, and we actually got a second dog about 5 months ago, who DS is also in love with, and she is in love with him. So far we have never had any issues, aside from the dogs running and bumping into DS. Which normally results in DS yelling at them. Ha. But other than that... its been a very easy transition.

EDIT: To add that Diesel did stop eating for about a week and having accidents in the house again, when we brought DS home, just out of stress, but soon resumed to his normal behaviors... he did the same thing when we brought home our second dog. So don't be alarmed if for a short time the dog regresses in some way.

MAdams728 · December 2014

One of my dogs would have nothing to do with me when we came home from the hospital. It was odd, she had always been so loving, but she acted like we were both invisible. This lasted until she died, when DD was about 10 months old. The others were fine, though.

PsMomma718 · December 2014

We had the same concerns with DD, but I agree with PP that it's different when it's their baby and part of the family. Our dogs loved to smell DD's blankets and would just sit and watch her as she slept. They both became protective over her, and to this day are besties (DD is 5 now), and they let her hug on them and carry them around - they're both pretty small terrier-mix mutts. We jokingly call DD Elmyra when she plays with them.

MrsPDX · December 2014

I am very worried! I have two hyper dogs, both pug mixes. Both are around 2-3 years old. One is a rescue dog, and special needs. She hates kids, strangers, people in general, shadows....I am worried she won't like the baby, or be aggressive. My other dog has been spoiled rotten since birth, we call him "Prince Barney", so I am worried he will either play too rough with the baby or act out in jealousy.

I read to bring baby clothes home from the hospital early to familiarize them with the smell. Besides that I am hoping for the best, and going to take it one day at a time...

Sunshine4020 · December 2014

We have three dogs, a boxer, a pit and a pomeranian... CANNOT wait for them to all be big brothers. They are going to do fantastic.

The only one that might really hate the lack of attention is the Pomeranian who is 13 years old and has been my baby... But he is a good dog.

wlrtimes2 · December 2014

@brittburck I have a cattle dog too! Cattle dogs for the win.

I am also super worried about how she is going to handle a baby. We stayed with family over Thanksgiving and she snapped at their 2 year old!! I could have died. She has never been aggressive, but she has also never been around kids for longer than a few hours. I am hoping that she will learn to love and protect the baby while the baby is little and doesn't do much. Then hopefully by the time the baby is mobile enough to annoy her, she won't mind.

brittburck · December 2014

@maebybaeby‌ they're such great dogs! We call her Velcro because she follows us everywhere. Our dog violet loves 'her' people and is wary of all strangers. She seems to know who is important to us though (family and friends) so I'm hoping she'll sense the baby is her people too!

BrittianyM · December 2014

We worried to about our dog when we had our daughter. We started training her and getting prepared for when our daughter arrived. We would play baby noises so she would get use to the sounds. Then when we were still at the hospital after delivering we sent home a blanket that smelled like our daughter home so the dog could get use to her smell. It worked really well. Our dog was such a good big doggie sister to our daughter. We will be doing all that again with this one.

VeganOnTuesdays · December 2014

NariaDreaming said:

Just a friendly reminder- don't punish the dog for growling at LO, especially once LO becomes mobile. A growl is a way of your dog saying "I'm uncomfortable with this situation, something needs to be done"

That "something" is not hushing the dog or punishing it for warning you. If you punish away the warning system, don't be surprised when the dog ends up biting "out of nowhere with no warning"

THIS. It is so important to pay attention to your dog's body language. A growl is actually something that in your mind should be PRAISED because they had enough patience to give a warning first. My hubby and I also talked about making a point to not shoo the dog away from the baby, or get annoyed when he is curious. I don't want any negative association between the baby and dog.

jraeohyeaaa · December 2014

NariaDreaming said:
Just a friendly reminder- don't punish the dog for growling at LO, especially once LO becomes mobile. A growl is a way of your dog saying "I'm uncomfortable with this situation, something needs to be done"

That "something" is not hushing the dog or punishing it for warning you. If you punish away the warning system, don't be surprised when the dog ends up biting "out of nowhere with no warning"

YES. This is the most important thing I have heard from dog-mommies with babies. We have also tried to give Chewy (1.5yr old shih tzu) chances to be around babies and toddlers. We have praised him for exploring with his nose and not his paws.

So far so good--we will see what happens in May when his own baby comes home!

MrsPDX · December 2014

For those who have introduced dog and baby before, after your dog growled at baby, what did you do to create a positive experience for the dog?

I feel like my gut reaction would be to take the dog away, but then they would never get to know each other.

icajesica82 · December 2014

Something else that might be helpful is after LO comes before you go home (assuming you are delivering in a hospital) is have DH bring a blanket home with baby's smell on it so your dog can know the smell before LO gets there. We did that with my dog. He pretty much ignored my daughter until she started moving around. I tried to lay her on the ground a lot so he would get used to her too.

alexoath · December 2014

I have a German Shepherd, a Doberman Pinscher, and a Great Dane all three did amazing with my first born. We took a blanket home first and we're careful to set up boundaries. They are all inseparable to my DS and have been since day one. They will guard him to their death now and also very important is to teach your child once they start getting mobile and curious to respect the dog. My son learned very quickly we do not pull ears or tails or go up and pet the dogs when they're eating, etc. We've never had a problem but at the same time they are never left alone with him.

Here is my son at about 2.5 years old and his big Dane sister, Bella, best buds.

willadieselstm · December 2014

@MrsPDX‌ When our DS started getting mobile our dog did growl a few times. In that situation I removed DS not that dog. And let him have some time alone. He just became more tolerant over time.

MrsPDX · December 2014

willadieselstm!

kby721 · December 2014

I am a little worried also. We have a one year old golden retriever who is so gentle and loving but does not know his size. He thinks he is a lap dog which is our fault for not training him better but I love the snuggles. I'm afraid he is going to plop down on baby out of pure affection. I'm also worried he will eat toys, blankets, etc. I plan to put baby items together and leave them out as we get them to get him used to the idea of new things in the house and will be talking to our vet to see if she has any suggestions.

SassyPants150 · December 2014

My Yorkie was fine when baby was born and not so much when she got older and mobile. He was not aggressive but started destroying our home. He started peeing all over everything and chewing up anything and everything. He is now living with my parents and back to normal!

fragile1000 · December 2014

Good on you for asking BEFORE bub arrives!! When I was pregnant with my first child, Sara I used a book called Tell Your Dog You're Pregnant: An essential guide for dog owners who are expecting a baby. It was really helpful and came with a baby sounds and toy noises. Max (my fur child!) took some time to get used to the sounds but the book helped on how to do it. It gave me advice on what changes will occur and how to prepare my Max for them. It also talked about the causes for aggression and why it might occur and how to avoid it. It is written by a vet behaviorist too so it cover health issues as well - I got it from www.babyandpet.com.au or Amazon too i guess - mayb that will help you too!

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