Introducing pets

[ahcigar1]

So I was wondering. I see so many people saying that they plan on taking home a blanket of baby's scent on it so the pets can get used to it before actually bringing baby home. My question is why not use something that is a bit cheaper like a bib or something. If it were me I wouldn't want to have my dogs slobbering, wet noses, teet, paws and god only knows what all over the blanket then even washed afterward I wouldn't be able to get my mind past the gross factor and would then need to throw the blanket out. I see everyone doing it this way and just keep thinking, why? Blankets cost a lot more money than a bib and I wouldn't want that money wasted. I plan on taking an extra bib with me that I don't care about rubbing it all over the baby, maybe wrapping it up with baby in side her blanket then sending that bib home and the dogs can do what they please with it and I won't feel like wasting a bunch of money and a very good blanket to just be thrown in the trash. And it works just as well, just is smaller. Am I the only one who thinks this?

 

[vintage67]

I think the idea is letting the pets sniff the blanket, not giving it to them as a chew toy. I'm strangely puzzled that you think your pets so unsanitary that even after washing a blanket they had come in contact with that it would have be thrown away.

 

[K2785]

With my first I didnt do anything until we got home with the baby and we let our dog in to smell little ones feet and it worked a treat. My little girl is now three and my dog magnum is 5 and they are inseparable xx

 

[olivetree83]

The only thing I've heard of is taking one of the burp clothes or one of the blankets that you receive at the hospital. so not necessarily something that you've purchased and want to actually use-just something that's given to you from the hospital and available in order for your husband to bring home before yours and baby's arrival.

I'm sure it doesn't matter what it is, as long as it has baby's scent you should get the job done.

 

[olivetree83]

I've also heard it's a good idea in the days or weeks leading up to your due date to have a doll handy and wrap it in a blanket and start teaching the pups now that when you're holding the "little bundle" they can't jump up or be on your lap etc.

I plan on doing this as my mini dachshunds thrive on just laying on me snuggling and sleeping on me. I'll still do this with them just when I don't have the baby in my arms. So you can get them used to not pouncing on or being too invasive with whatever is in a little bundle in your arms. Then do the scent thing after baby arrives.

I want my daughter and my pets do be very close and I don't mind them being at all curious-but she will come first.

 

[ahcigar1]

I've also heard it's a good idea in the days or weeks leading up to your due date to have a doll handy and wrap it in a blanket and start teaching the pups now that when you're holding the "little bundle" they can't jump up or be on your lap etc.

I plan on doing this as my mini dachshunds thrive on just laying on me snuggling and sleeping on me. I'll still do this with them just when I don't have the baby in my arms. So you can get them used to not pouncing on or being too invasive with whatever is in a little bundle in your arms. Then do the scent thing after baby arrives.

I want my daughter and my pets do be very close and I don't mind them being at all curious-but she will come first.

Luckily my healer is VERY well trained that all I have to do is give him a look or a stance and he follows my command often times don't even need to say anything. And he is very mellow, doesn't jump, bark, nothing. Sometimes he can get slightly needy and want to lay really close to me but all I have to do is say ahah and he backs off immediately. Our mini Schnauzer on the other hand needs some serious work. Typically she knows to stay away from me in general cause she has gotten yelled at enough times, but she still loves to push the boundaries, has selective hearing, and in general is annoying and spoiled as all get out. She is my one and only main cause for concern just because of her attitude in general. My husband and I are still very much on the fence as to what to do with her.

 

[ahcigar1]

I think the idea is letting the pets sniff the blanket, not giving it to them as a chew toy. I'm strangely puzzled that you think your pets so unsanitary that even after washing a blanket they had come in contact with that it would have be thrown away.

It's just the thought of having their noses on it and if they lick it or anything like that just gross and it bothers me and I wouldn't be able to get that out of my mind and wouldn't ever be able to put back on my baby. I'm just that type of person, many things don't bother me but some really do and this is one of them. I am constantly going around house cleaning and sterilizing things. I'm really OCD about things like this.

 

[tlh97990]

i was told to bring home the hat the hospital puts on the baby's head and let the dog sniff that. usually they're not really nice hats or anything like that and the hospital just throws them away if you don't bring them home with you. I plan on having my OH bring the hat home for the dogs to sniff but honestly i dont think it matters if they sniff something before the baby comes home or not cuz im sure theyre still going to be just as curious when they see a little person in the house

 

[aley28]

I think the idea is letting the pets sniff the blanket, not giving it to them as a chew toy. I'm strangely puzzled that you think your pets so unsanitary that even after washing a blanket they had come in contact with that it would have be thrown away.

It's just the thought of having their noses on it and if they lick it or anything like that just gross and it bothers me and I wouldn't be able to get that out of my mind and wouldn't ever be able to put back on my baby. I'm just that type of person, many things don't bother me but some really do and this is one of them. I am constantly going around house cleaning and sterilizing things. I'm really OCD about things like this.

You can use whatever you want to that has the baby's smell on it... the hat, like mentioned, a bib, some socks... snitch a receiving blanket from the hospital and have the dogs smell that?

Honestly though... we didn't do anything like that at all when my son was born. We brought him into the house and they were fine. They know that he's a "human puppy" and were very wary around him. They also could see that we were very protective of him. We let them have a good smell of his feet and blankets and stuff when we got home, and then they spent the next few weeks adjusting to him, just like they would have to even if they smelt him before he came home. We'll be doing it the same way this time!

The way I figure it... its not safe to leave your baby alone with your pets anyway, so I fail to see how "introducing" them to the smell beforehand is going to make a difference. So long as you never set baby in the bouncer or on the playmat on the floor or whatever and then walk away while your dogs are capable of getting to the baby, then it shouldn't matter. Our dogs were only allowed around the baby when we were holding him, and they never tried to lick him or anything (and we have VERY lick-y dogs). I would carry him with me, set him in the bassinet or in his bouncy chair, close the bathroom door behind me, pee, and go back out.

If, for whatever reason, (say, he was sleeping in his swing and I needed a bathroom break), I'd take the dogs with me and make them sit in the bathroom with me. I'd lock them in the room with me while I was on the elliptical so that he could nap in his swing. They're never going to attack the baby while you're holding it, so its perfectly safe to introduce them while you're holding the baby. Everything else seems like an unneeded extra step to me.

 

[xBabyGoose]

can you do the sniffy thing with cats??

 

[Zooy]

can you do the sniffy thing with cats??

Every single baby item we've brought into our house, our cats have sniffed and checked out. Mine are very territorial about things and if there is another scent they get freaked out.

I would assume that it would work with kitties.