any other mommies to be with dogs?

We LOVE our 3 dogs to death! To the point where they have nicknames...all 3 sleep in the bed..eat beter then me..the list goes on LOL.
My question is this....when you bring your baby home do you plan on letting hte dogs around them right away?We got a gate for the twin's nursery just to keep them out of their rom and keep dog hair out also although I am lucky and have almost none around the house!...I plan on haivng DH bring home blankets with their scent but still can't imagine it makes up for them atually seeing the real thing. I know they are all AMAZING with kids...both of our older ones (4 and 2) have been around alot of kids and are very gentle...our little girl (dog LOL) has been around a few kids and loves them also...so at least I am not worried about aggression. Just not sure if we should maybe kennel them for a few days.....

Re: any other mommies to be with dogs?

DH is more of the nervous one, he doesn't want the dog around her that quickly, she's a big girl....
We're doing the blanket thing and are training her now to not go into the nursery unattended....so I think we're going to see as we go along...she hasn't been around that many kids bc we dont have that many in our family...

Re: any other mommies to be with dogs?

I have two small crazy dogs. I just had my baby a few weeks ago. I was worried, esp my one dog, b/c he gets nuts and can be rough.

What we did was take home blankets and tshirts the baby was wearing while I was in the hospital. They sniffed them alot. DH spent each night home with them while I was in the hospital.

When we came home I came in first, spent a few mins with them so they could be all over me. Then we brought baby in the carseat in the house. We let them sniff the carseat, they were like sharks circling the carseat, so interested and VERY curious!

We left everything normal, they still were sleeping in our bed, and we have baby in our room in her basinett. We just keep it far enough away from the bed that our dogs can't fall or jump into it. We allow them in the nursery, from day one while we were decorating. We encourage them to come in so they don;t feel replaced or left out. After all, by the time baby is up and moving around on her own, the dogs will have had a year or so to get to know her and get used to her presence in our home. So we see no need to ban them from baby's room.'

When we first took DD home, my male dog would bark like crazy if she cried or if i burped her, as he watched. But we NEVER pushed them aside or kept them too far. Once or twice if Iwas alone I would just gate them right outside of hte room I was in, but they were right there watching what I was doing, about 2 feet from me and baby.

I would NOT kennel them b.c then when they come home, baby will be there and I think they should be here when baby comes home to feel most normal and adjusted. My dogs now don't really bark or show much interest when baby cries or I feed my DD. They have amazingly adjusted (and I was worried!!!) to her being here, and I am so happy that I didn't have to change their world too much, by still letting them do whatever they used to do such as sleep in our bed, sleep on our couch, etc.

Yes, I do have to watch them, esp my male. I never leave baby alone with them and when baby is at their reach, such as in the swing, I put a big gate around her so they can't reach her feet. I am afraid they will grab her blanket and then her foot, b./c they like to play with blankets, etc.

But if my dogs who are nuts and would BARK and get crazy when they would hear a baby or child cry, or go nuts to chase running little kids...can do it, then any dog can do it with the right guidance. I will probably have to watch for a LONG time, but that's ok. I love my dogs and would be devastated if they were unhappy or weren't with us anymore.

Message edited 12/18/2008 2:42:19 PM.

Re: any other mommies to be with dogs?

I have two pugs----1 who is 4 and one who is 10 months. I think the older one is going to have a harder time because he sleeps in our bed now. The younger sleeps in a crate still and is very rambunctious. I am confident they will be able to adjust though. We'll just need to keep an eye out. We also have 2 cats who already pretty much keep to themselves so I am not too worried about them.

Re: any other mommies to be with dogs?

we ARE NOT kenneling our dog when I'm out of the hospital. Chevy will be kenneled the day of birth (because DH will be at the hospital with me all day) but that's it.

We plan on having my DH bring home a dirty diaper, blanket, etc to get Chevy acclimated with the baby's scent. Then, we'll let Chevy sniff the baby when we first bring him home.

We're not too concerned. We'll keep everything as normal. Its better for the transition. Chevy sleeps in our room and will continue to do so even after baby dodge comes home.

Re: any other mommies to be with dogs?

Message edited 12/18/2008 2:46:53 PM.

Re: any other mommies to be with dogs?

I am also really glad now that I am off from work until the baby comes so I have a lot of time to give them attention until the baby arrives.


My parents are staying at our house starting this weekend, and DH won't be staying overnight at the hospital with me, so I think things will be as normal as possible for them.

We never kennel them anyways.

Re: any other mommies to be with dogs?

I live in my fathers house who has a dog. We had my father take home with him my dds baby blanket from hospital and introduced that to him before baby came home. Then once the baby came home he was around her but didnt touch her b/c even tho none of us have animal allergies.. I just wanted to make sure she didnt. Now at almost 15m old they are the best of buddies.. She climbs all over him and he loves it.

Re: any other mommies to be with dogs?

Posted by Goobster

Posted by kerrycec03

we ARE NOT kenneling our dog when I'm out of the hospital. Chevy will be kenneled the day of birth (because DH will be at the hospital with me all day) but that's it.

We plan on having my DH bring home a dirty diaper, blanket, etc to get Chevy acclimated with the baby's scent. Then, we'll let Chevy sniff the baby when we first bring him home.

We're not too concerned. We'll keep everything as normal. Its better for the transition. Chevy sleeps in our room and will continue to do so even after baby dodge comes home.

We know keeping things most normal helped our dogs to adjust so quickly and not feel replaced. I think you have a good plan.

ETA - As I type htis my male dog is sleeping IN MY LAP as DD is in her swing right next to us. It makes me feel so great knowing my doggies know I love them just as much now as I did before DD.

Re: any other mommies to be with dogs?

Re: any other mommies to be with dogs?

DH brought home a blanket, but the dog wasn’t over interested in it.
The day we brought DS home we put him in his carrier on the coffee table and played with Lucy. She sniffed him but didn’t really pay much attention. We didn’t do much out of the ordinary, just went about our daily lives and DS just became a part of Lucy’s world as he did ours.

For the first 9 months she didn’t pay too much attention, she would check him out if he cried, sniff him etc. Now that he is walking the two of them are always together. DS loves to pet (aka hit) lucy while she eats…poor dog can’t get a moment’s peace anymore!

ETA: DS squeals with delight every time he sees Lucy! Its so fun to watch them grow together (lucy is 4)

Message edited 12/18/2008 3:41:11 PM.

Re: any other mommies to be with dogs?

Honestly, Think about how crazed dogs are when they come home from a kennel. I wouldn't want them to be that excited and then walk into a baby. I think the most natural thing is to introduce the baby on the first day. I think most dogs sense the pregnancy anyway.

Re: any other mommies to be with dogs?

We have a dog and a cat and I think they will both be great with her. No doubt they will be very curious (dh will bring home the receiving blanket while i'm still in the hospital). My dog is 7 pounds, he cannot jump into the bassinette, which is good...
DH is not sleeping at the hospital with me, so I think they will be fine. Animals can always sense something is different, but I am not worried.

Re: any other mommies to be with dogs?

Posted by sfp0701

Honestly, Think about how crazed dogs are when they come home from a kennel. I wouldn't want them to be that excited and then walk into a baby. I think the most natural thing is to introduce the baby on the first day. I think most dogs sense the pregnancy anyway.

Re: any other mommies to be with dogs?

my dogs have never been kenneled either thats why I originally posted..out of allt he labor related things this was bothering me the most lately LOL my poor dogs..thanks for the advice..we will jsut keep things normal and take it form there.....they are good dogs so things should be fine..i konw our little boston terrier will be spiteful and pee on things ..gotta love pets LOL....

p.s...as i type this my great dane mix sits on my couch with me all cuddled up....someone better tell him hesa bout to be booooted

Re: any other mommies to be with dogs?

We had our dog Sophie meet the baby as soon as we brought her home. We wanted her to get use to Emerson right from the get go. She's been amazing with the baby. She is gentle and sweet with her, no jealousy or aggression at all. To Sophie the baby is just another person in the house now and she is just as good with Emerson as she is with us.

Re: any other mommies to be with dogs?

We do all we can to allow DS to grow up with our dog, but we don't have the most trustworthy dog. Our dog loves kids but he manages to get into trouble a lot! I think it is better for us to know that everyone is safe and that we are giving both dog and baby the best life we can, given this dog's temperament. I just want to advise you to make your plans, but be flexible. We have to separate dog and baby a lot but I think that kenneling him for the first few days would have made matters worse. When I came home and realized how tiny the baby was compared to the dog, I changed some of my plans. The dog was in the house but we limited his exposure. DS loves the dog now but their time together is very controlled.

Message edited 12/18/2008 10:56:24 PM.