Pets & New Babies

Ok, we have a 10 month old puppy. We are expecting (about 6 weeks). Our little puppy loves to play with toys, etc. Those who had either puppies or kittens, how did your pets do with the new baby in the house? Was there an adjustment? Keep in mind, we treat our puppy like a human (DH is far worse than me)

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My friends suggested that once the baby is born, have DH bring home a blanket or something with the baby's scent for the pet to smell. This way the pet is used to the scent. We plan on trying this with out cat.

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I also agree with having the dog go for a walk when you come home and then bring him into the house when the baby has arrived so they know they are entering the babies house not the other way around.

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I have three dogs...my advice..is stop ASAP treating the dog like a human. I know its hard, but once the baby comes it will be harder on you and the dog b/c its accustomed to being treated a certain way. (I'm telling you this, b/c we used to do it as well)

We will be setting boundaries for our dogs...we have already started not letting them on our couch and bed and they will not be allowed in the baby's room.
I think they will be good with the baby, b/c they are great with our friends' son, but I've been told to bring a blanket to them and let them smell it and become used to the scent.

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Hi Ladies!!
A suggestion a friend made to me (which we'll do too) is to bring a dirty diaper home from the hospital and leave it on the doggie's bed (YAY DH finally gets a gross job!!!) for her to sniff and get familiar with. Our doggie is 2 and I've spent HUNDREDS of hours walking her and teaching her how to behave around kiddies of all ages, but we know it will be different when the is here with us!! I also plan to use a TONNNNNN of treats to reward good behaviors: Sitting nicely, sniffing GENTLY, all around RELAXING around the baby, etc.
We'll take it slow and plan to watch Sophie like a hawk, she's quite the "princess"

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Can you talk to your Vet - we have two older cats who are our furbabies and our vet was great and gave us a bunch of things we can do before and when the baby arrives to help transition them.

We do keep her bedroom door closed at night to keep the cats out of her room and her crib. I know one thing that was suggested was to bring in her items - pack n play, bouncer, toys etc in advance and let the pets become use to them and teach them not to touch them before the baby arrives. When the baby is born we were told to bring home a blanket or something that smells of the baby to prepare them. Also, when you come home try to spend a few minutes alone with your pet so they don't feel replaced - and we were told to never leave the pets alone even for a minute with the baby b.c you just never know.

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Our two dogs are great with DD. Here are a few things we did while I was PG and when we brought her home.

While PG:
* More consistent discipline.
* Made the nursery an off limits area.
* Brought a baby doll that cried and put some baby scents on it, formula, lotion diaper cream. Carried the baby around the house and pretended to be caring for it.
* Took them for walks with an empty stroller.

When she was born/came home:
* DH brought a dirty diaper and burp cloth home from the hospital to have them smell. However, we did not let them get too close (dogs have a strong sense of smell and do not need to be right up to something to smell it)
* I came in first and greeted them and DH came in after with DD.
* Did not let them get too close for the first two weeks.
* Made sure to spend time with them separate from DD and with her as well.

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these are all great suggestions. I also bought a CD of baby sounds to start getting my 2 yr old doggie used it. He was looking around and freaking out the first time I put it on but now he's getting used to it.

sounds of baby

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We have 2 pugs and 2 cats. (Our newest pug is only a couple months old!). It's definitely going to be interesting around here soon enough.

My one pug is like my "son" and while he is great with the new pug, he did go through a jealously patch in the beginning. Nothing major, just not eating as much, following me constantly, etc.

Our cats pretty much keep to themselves. My DH wants to make them outdoor cats before the baby comes as he is super nervous about them around the baby.

They don't really go outside too much though so I don't think that would go over too well!

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before having my son DH attending a babies and pets seminar that they offered at BRU for our cats. I think dealing with cats is different than dogs. All the suggestions above are great ideas (bring home blanket, get used to baby items, nursery off limits, discipline). One suggestion that they said for dogs was that like AP said, go in first and greet the dog before bringing the baby in. Let them sniff you for a few minutes. Then she said something about how dogs like to operate in a herd. So take the dog back outside with you on a leash (or not if your dog won't run away) and then as a family (with the dog, baby, dh and whoever else might be with you) enter the house so that the dog feels like he is part of the group.

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We have 4 cats (one of whom we got 3 days before I found out I was pg). The kitten is the only one who pays any attention to DD but that's only b/c she wants attention. We had DH bring home a blanket from the hospital the 1st night I was in the hospital so that the cats could sniff it. I have also heard that you can also get crying dolls so they get used to the sound. I think your puppy will be young enough that he will probably adjust, but will also probably still be at an age that he is playful so you should be careful around the baby.

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I think I have a good breed that is child-friendly. Everyone I know who has pugs and kids say they are a good match!

Plus my older pug loves when my friends kids come over---he runs and plays with them. I will just have to be extra careful when the baby is young.

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we did this i have 2 dogs, and they are young once the baby is born, have DH bring home a blanket or something with the baby's scent for the pet to smell and let them smell before the baby comes home

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Thanks all, you've given me a great deal of advice. Yesterday I broke the news to DH that we have to start treating our puppy like a puppy and not a human. He was sad, no surprise.

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Our dog was a 2 1/2 year old rescue dog when we brought DS home. She was very much spoiled because we rescued her and wanted to make up for the few years she had when she didn't have a home. Well needless to say, she is still spoiled and she loves the baby. If he is fussing at night and she hears him over the monitor she jumps up on DH's side of the bed to wake him up. We have always made sure to give her the attention that she needed even after the baby was born. We trained her not to get to close to his face and she has behaved very well.