What to do with dog during delivery?

Knottie59802221 · February 2016

So I know this is a really random question but I just saw someone's post about what to do with a LO during delivery and then it hit me... I have no plan for the dog! He has severe seperation anxiety and can't be left alone inside otherwise he panics so hard he hurts himself (and our house). He also can't be left alone outside because he gets cold super easily. We don't know anyone close by because we just moved here. What do other people do with their dogs when it's time?

2-Step · February 2016

Take him to a kennel. that is always the safest option for leaving a dog. if you find a good kennel they will have experience with separation anxiety and handle it. They will also make sure he doesn't hurt himself or run off.

flowerpower5838 · February 2016

We will be calling my mom as soon as I am admitted and she is going to start driving the 4 hours to our house (not the hospital) and will be taking care of our dogs.

Otherwise, we would have asked the neighbors to look in on them (feed them and let them out once or twice) and after LO makes his appearance, DH would have gone home for a little bit to take care of them as the hospital is about a 10-15 drive.

Sounds like you need to make plans with a kennel since you don't have the option of having someone stay with your pup.

katelin318 · February 2016

I vote for a kennel as well. If you've never used on in your new area, could you go visit a few before the big day gets too close? Or does your vet's office offer boarding? That is what we do, and it always makes me feel better b/c I know if something goes wrong he is already right there at the vet (although the "accommodations" are probably not as nice as some kennels). Our pup is not the most easy going little guy either, so figuring out what to do with him when I go into labor was really stressing me out. This is what we've settled on: If I go into labor during the day, DH will quickly run down to our vet/kennel with him where he will be boarded while we're at the hospital. If I go into labor at night and we have to leave for the hospital before the kennel opens, we've coordinated with friends to come to our place and take him to the kennel for us first thing in the morning. We chose three friends who live somewhat close to us and are roommates, so the odds were more likely that the timing/date would work for at least one of them. They are not super familiar with our dog (although they've met him a couple of times) but they have had dogs for years so I at least feel like they will be able to get him to the kennel without too much incident. I know I'll still be stressed about it if we can't take him to the vet ourselves, but it's about the best we can do. To make matters more complicated, we live in NYC, none of us have cars, and our vet is about a 30 minute walk from our apartment, so I'm just praying it's not raining or super cold on the day in question. Good luck, and hope that helps!

amaniupendo · February 2016

We are hopefully dropping ours off at a friend's house.

It's hard! if I were you, I'd look into a nice kennel. A reputable and caring one should be able to deal.

SarahJean1014 · February 2016

We are boarding our dog since all of our family lives on the east coast and we didn't want to bother our friends. Luckily our dog loves where we board him since he gets to play with other pups during the day.

If you you go the boarding route start researching places right away as most require an evaluation of your dog before they can stay.

kristakayyye · February 2016

I literally just thought of that the other day! My dog also has severe anxiety. Not that bad though, but we got him one of those thunder buddy vests and it really helps him out. We were thinking of a kennel just in case I end up being in labor for too long, we'd rather know he was being looked after than leave him here alone for over 15 hours

meg_2006 · February 2016

Am I correct in assuming your dog doesn't handle being in a crate very well?

We have a high energy puppy and she can't be trusted to roam the house (honestly I'll be surprised if she ever will be). But she's used to being in the crate while we're at work, so that's where she will be. The hospital is only a couple minutes away, so DH can stop in and give her breaks every now and then.

Knottie59802221 · February 2016

We called our vet and asked if they could take him, but they said they're too small a practice to do boarding. My only fear is if we have to leave for the hospital late at night what to do with him. I really don't want to be in the labor room and worrying about the dog.

And meg_2006, no, he doesn't do a crate AT ALL. He came from a bad situation and won't do crates, no matter how much we tried. He's a 120 pound great dane, so he's been pretty overwhelming in my last month.

I started looking at dog sitting after reading the suggestions and have an appointment with two places tomorrow. One place has experience with Great Danes so I'm hopeful!

meg_2006 · February 2016

Knottie59802221 said:

We called our vet and asked if they could take him, but they said they're too small a practice to do boarding. My only fear is if we have to leave for the hospital late at night what to do with him. I really don't want to be in the labor room and worrying about the dog.

And meg_2006, no, he doesn't do a crate AT ALL. He came from a bad situation and won't do crates, no matter how much we tried. He's a 120 pound great dane, so he's been pretty overwhelming in my last month.

I started looking at dog sitting after reading the suggestions and have an appointment with two places tomorrow. One place has experience with Great Danes so I'm hopeful!

I understand. We previously had adopted a dog with separation anxiety and he would chew off the metal bars in the crate. Tore his nose to pieces! I'm sure you'll be able to find a place to board him. GL!

tJaffe · February 2016

We gave our friend a key to the house last week. Wanted to make sure all bases were covered. Our girl doesn't have any issues (got her 8 weeks and proceeded to spoil the crap out of her)... So we can leave her over night, mid day, any time really, and just let our friend know that we're at the hospital and he'll feed her and play with her in the yard and house for a few hours each day. It's not the most ideal situation, since she'll be alone some until my parents arrive, but at least she'll be okay! My husband will come home with baby smelling blankets and play with her too. She really loves daddy so that'll make her happy.

Cowboycorgi · February 2016

Besides a kennel, you could look into a dog sitter in your town.
My groomer is also a dog/house sitter and only charges $25 a day.
We have a friend that does most of our dog/house sitting for us, but we use the groomer whenever we take a vacation with our friend. It is more comfortable for our 13 yr old corgi to stay home than to go to a kennel.

Knottie59802221 · February 2016

We actually got the problem solved! One of my super sweet in laws said to call her when I started labor and she'll come pick him up! She lives about an hour away but she said she'll come any time of night, and between her, her husband, her father, or her oldest son, she's got plenty of drivers so someone should be available anytime! I'm so very happy we found a solution! She's going to keep him for a few days until we get the baby settled.

jcarder13 · February 2016

My dogs knew something serious happened when we went to the hospital and had really awful separation anxiety even though my parents were staying at our house. Granted we were in the hospital for 2 weeks, but they were using our rugs as grass and throwing up all over. If your dog has really bad separation anxiety like that you may want to talk to your vet about getting a medication for your in law to use just in case.

LynseyAW7 · February 2016

We have 2 dogs and plan on having someone come and stay at our house with them. They don't have separation anxiety or anything but I know they will be out of sorts and keeping their routine as close to the same as possible is best for them. My husband will also be coming home with receiving blankets the baby has been in to get them used to the smell. We thought about a kennel to tire them out, but getting them there when I go into labour is the issue. I think things will change depending on when it actually happens!

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