April 2016 Moms
jessEK8
member
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Mixing Big Hairy Dogs and Babies- Is the hair and germs actually hazardous to the baby?
jessEK8
member
The question: How bad is dog slobber and dog hair for babies?
So.... I need input and would love to vent.
I can barely stand it myself- but is the hair and germs actually hazardous to the baby?
The vent: My SO is more in love with his dog than anything in the world. Even his other dog. Or myself. She is his "baby." Enough so that even he has admitted that he can only hope he loves the baby as much. Literally. She, the dog, used to sleep every night wrapped around him like a feather boa. Until I moved in and made a fuss when I couldn't sleep for two labs in the bed. In an attempt to compromise, we now cover the entire bed with an over-sized sheet to try to keep the hair down to a minimum. (This came after I tried to sleep on the couch but couldn't and threatened to crowd the place with an air mattress. Notice, it wasn't that he didn't want me sleeping somewhere else, it was crowding the place with more stuff!) Anyway, the sheet doesn't protect from wet spots. Yes- wet spots! I swear I am not anti-dog, but I don't like the smell and the hair and the grit that comes along with it. YUCK! And forget being naked in it! I have to pick the dog hairs off of places there should never be dog hairs!
I sweep and dust and clean diligently without complaining, but the bed was a steady fight until I just stopped.
Yesterday we got a new couch. I actually thought how could sleep there if we can't fix the bed issue. It is a comfy micro-fiber beautiful couch. Or was. When I wake up today there are HUGE dark brown crispy spots from dog slobber and it is covered in hair. AAHHH!! Anyone know how to clean that?
I don't want to be on the bed or couch now, much less my poor little baby. Honestly, I can take it, am I just being a germaphobe? Or is this as gross and as bad for my LO as it seems? How do you combine sweet, but stinky, dogs and babies?
Re: Mixing Big Hairy Dogs and Babies- Is the hair and germs actually hazardous to the baby?
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Nov siggy challenge: animals eating Thanksgiving food
Rhys - born 04.17.2013
Harry - born 04.18.2016
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Nov siggy challenge: animals eating Thanksgiving food
Rhys - born 04.17.2013
Harry - born 04.18.2016
As for being bad for baby, I too have seen studies that it's actually good for baby's immune system. While it will get everywhere, like LO clothes and blankets, those need washed after one days use anyways so it wasnt a huge deal. One thing that helped us was we had a nursery for DD even though she didnt sleep in there until she was 6 months old. We put a baby gate up and took the door down and we never let the dogs in there so we always had a room that was hair and slobber free for he when she started rolling over and crawling. Do you guys have a room you could keep the dogs out of? Even if it's not a nursery it might help you some and could be a compromise. If so I would suggest doing it now so the dogs get use to the fact that they can no longer be in that room.
As a side note, a dry window squeegee is an easy way to get fur off of fabric couches.
I can sympathize. We've had two labs in the time since having our first child. One recently passed away and now we have a lab puppy (that's a whole different rant...). Old dog's shedding wasn't too horrendous, but the slobber struggle was real. I don't believe in any way that the dog hair and slobber is a significant health concern. As others have said, it may actually be good for the immune system, and outside of the occasional colds and ear infections my kids have been pretty healthy.
That said, I hate, Hate, HATE the added dirt, grime, and quite frankly, work of having a dog in the house. Especially a puppy (again, whole different rant). And dog in the bed is one of my top issues. If my husband had his way the dog would sleep with us every night. But I've apparently thrown enough tantrums about that for him to back off on that issue. Old dog slept in our room, and on the bed as often as he could get away with it (usually via a middle of the night sneak on). New dog is crated in the kitchen at night.
However, at the end of the day I think it's the best decision for my kids to have a dog, and learn to live with and love animals. So it's just one of many sacrifices I continue to make. Have I achieved sainthood yet?
Marriage: 12.18.04
DD1: 5.19.10
DD2: 4.11.12
If it's in your budget, the newer Roomba iRobot models can be set to auto vaccuum your house at a certain time every day to help with the hair as well, then go back to the charging station. They're expensive, but sometimes Craigslist has good used deals.
For the couch, what I have done is bought a giant baby gate to block off my living room and couch area. It's just an off-limits area for the dogs, though they are welcome to snuggle in the bed.
Edited bc I can't spell today
I put my foot down with the dogs sleeping on the bed when I moved in with my DH. They like to sleep ON OUR PILLOWS and I'm just NOT ok with that. Effin gross.
Now they sleep on the floor, or on their dog bed, in our bedroom at night. They don't sneak up at night, because they know they'd get a whoopin' (ok, not a whoopin', but they'd be in big trouble)
As for the furniture, they're not allowed on it unless we call them up, so we don't have to clean it so much.
I intend to buy a baby gate / fence, to keep the dogs away from baby and her toys when she's very little. When she's older and mobile, that's a different story.
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Nov siggy challenge: animals eating Thanksgiving food
Rhys - born 04.17.2013
Harry - born 04.18.2016