Dogs and Babies

[Yvonne1]

Hi All,

Are there any mums out there that bought a baby home where they have a dog?

I have a brown lab and he really is our baby !! so now we are having one I wannt to think about ways of getting him ready so he accepts the baby well

Any advise?

Thxs

 

[MummyJade]

I got a 5 month old staffy and she is my other baby! So when i got her and i started buying baby stuff i showed her everything so she could sniff it out. she knows not to bite the babies teddy and is only allowed her own! my SIL (who breeds the staffy) got 4 kids and she said dont push the dog away from the baby let her sit on the sofa when you got the baby in your arms and let the dog sniff her out while praising her. also pay her the amount of attention as you did before the baby arrives xx

 

[lifeguard]

We have 2 dogs, a 8 year old german shephard & a 6 month old mutt (really don't have a clue what she is besides cute!).

The shephard we know will be just fine - she's been around babies/kids a lot over the years including our godson who often stayed with us. The puppy will probably be a little more interesting.

Any changes to the dog's schedule or rules should be done before the baby arrives. I've also heard about a million times that you should send something that smells like the baby home before the baby (assuming you're having a hospital birth) for the dog to smell & get acquainted with.

 

[ryder]

Labs are generally very calm, family type dogs...

We have a 7 year old yellow lab, total sweetheart. He loves children and has already been around babies and small children (our neices) so we are pretty sure he will do fine.

Plus he will LOVE having someone home with him all the time, im sure lol!

 

[DaisyDuke]

This is a great thread, i'm still waiting on a but i have an uber spoilt Lhasa Apso. My mum thinks we should kick her out the bedroom when we get pregnant but we can't bare that thought.

 

[marley2580]

I think the most important thing is to ensure that dogs and babies/children should NEVER be left alone together, even for a second. other than that, everything mentioned above really

 

[Younglutonmum]

We had a black labrador when my mum had Lewis & he was great with him.

Our dog was very curious when mum bought Lewis home so we let him sniff him as much as he wanted. I really think that helped

They ended up being the best of friends & partners in crime. Lewis used to hate sausages so Sam would sit under the dinner table when we were eating & Lewis would sneak his sausages to him. No wonder my dog looked obese

 

[Carley]

My dog has been left around babies and she's very over protective. It depends on your dog. I think get the dog used to the baby asap once they are home, other wise they will feel jealous!

 

[hypnorm]

As said before make any changes well in advance of the baby arriving.
Daisy our collie is not allowed upstairs at all, and certainly not on any of the furniture.
I think dogs need to know where they stand as they are pack animals they will often think that they are leader of the house and when a baby comes along, their status changes which can lead them to 'challenge' the 'intruder' i.e the baby, and they then want to reinforce their pack status.

I will introduce baby to Daisy soon after she is born hopefully as if our home birth goes ahead as planned we wont be able to bring smelly clothes or nappies home!

You can by cds of baby noises whoch can help nervous dogs.

Main thing is never leave your child with a dog for a second.. it only takes a second for a dog to turn no matter how friendly.

 

[xXDonnaXx]

I'm still at home with the parents. And when my mum had my youngest sister, our (fudge) a whippet/greyhound was 2yr old. She took to her fine, she was fascinated the noises my sister made when she was in her moses basket or pram. She would jump up at the basket & try to sniff her, but other than that, she was fine.

I'm still living with my parents,and we now have (fudge) the whippet, and a new puppy (terrier) She is very very active, so I'm kinda dreading bringing baby home. I just hope she calms down abit by december.

 

[Lu28]

This is a great thread! I have a collie and a lab and am hoping they'll be fine. The collie is extremely calm and not phased by anything so not worried about him at all. The lab is a bit nervous of babies and children and tends to run a mile when they're in the house first! After a while he gets his courage back and comes into the room and has a sniff when he thinks no-one is looking!! They are generally both very calm and well behaved and I'm not really worried about them at all. Having said that, I second what the others say and would never trust any dog around a child unsupervised, regardless of how friendly they are.

 

[Poloma]

When I got back from the hospital after having my first, I made a point of going into the house without the baby and making a fuss of my two girls (terrier and collie cross) I had a blanket that I had put in the cot with my son, which I had always intended to give to the dogs. I let them sniff it and put it in their bed.
Then my partner brought my son in and we all sat together and the dogs had a good sniff and investigated him really closely.
My big dog wasnt botherd at all and lost interest pretty quick! but the terrier decided that my baby was now hers! where ever he went, she went and she got really upset if he cried!
They have both been fantasic with the kids (now I have a daughter aswell) but we sadly lost the terrier a year ago.
They are/were never left alone together, all it takes is for baby to pull and ear/tail and any dog could snap back.

A little off topic but the day she died my son woke me up unusually early and would not go back to bed so we sat in the front room with both dogs. He wouldnt leave her side, just sat stroking her. Soon after she got up and walked a few paces then collapsed. She was in heart faliure (was having treatment) she died shortly after. If my son hadnt got me up when he did she would have gone alone.

 

[Lu28]

Oh Poloma, that's just had me in tears! We very nearly lost our collie a year ago and the thought of him passing alone still upsets me. Shows the connection children and animals can have