those with pets

Are you doing anything to prepare your dog/cat for the babies arrival? DH and I have a doll that cries. We try and walk around w/ it for a while every day. But I can tell even after a few weeks of having the doll, Reesie is very jealous of it. She is curious but also keeps pawing at us when we are holding it. Even after she sniffs it. Anyone have any other suggestions of what to do to prepare my baby for her new siblings???

Re: those with pets

I have 2 black labs. The only thing we are probably going to do is to bring something home with her odor on it. They have been around babies before and are very good. I'm not worried.

Re: those with pets

I have a jack russel, who has been my baby for the last 9 years and the center of my attention. We really do anything to prepare her. I did stop picking her up though and babying her.

We sent home the baby's hat from the hospital before we came home. When we got home, she was soo excited to see us, and wanted to sniff the baby. We let her sniff, and she went through a protective phase, where if the baby cried and anyone but my DH or I went to get her, she barked at them. And when the baby did cry she would run over to her pack n play and bark or spin in circles to tell us.

Now DD is 3 months old, my dog avoids her like the plague! She hides under my bed when the baby cries, she doesn't like it at all when the baby touches her, she runs away. She does get a little jealous sometimes, especially since I am bf'ing, when i feed the baby she always brings me a toy. After I feed I play with her, when Dh is home, if he's not busy he'll play with her while I feed.

Honestly I don't think there's anything you can do, it's all in the dog's temperment and your reaction to the dog when the baby comes.

We never pushed the dog away from DD, we didn't want her to form resentment. I think she adjusted okay, and hopefully one day they will be friends.
We would never tolerate not even once, a growl or snip of the baby. That dog would be out of my house so FAST!

Here is a pic of Cleo and the baby when she was 5 days old.

Message edited 7/29/2006 8:56:59 AM.

Re: those with pets

everytime i watch a Baby Story...I turn the volume up when the baby is crying so Tiger gets used to the noise.
The cat Im not worried about, he has been around screaming babies, and he just leaves the other room

Re: those with pets

we have a Rottweiler and a Puggle and I WANTED to send DH home with a blanket, but the hospital didn't give it to him.

They were so out of sorts because we were gone all day and DH didn't com home till midnight that night. Our dogsitter came by after work to stay with them till DH got home.

We came home the next day and they were excited to see me and wanted to know what we had brought home. They were very good with her from the very beginning.

I suggest when doing the nursery and changing the house to do it slowly. Animals know change and some are freaked out by it.

Re: those with pets

We really didn't do too much with Casey. Everything we bought into the house, gifts and stuff we let her check out and stuff like that - she liked laying in the room, so we let her, we didn't want her to think the room was off limits.

All we did do was after I had Ali, my DH bought home whatever he could from the hospital: blankets, shirts,I think even a poopie diaper. When he came home, he sat with her for a while and let Casey sniff him and all the stuff he brought home.
Also as another suggestion, since I wore clothes at the hospital (and not the hospital gowns), my DH had my dirty laundry . He let Casey sniff all of my clothes too, so she would know my smell and associate it with the new baby smell.

Re: those with pets

Re: those with pets

We're somewhat concerned about this issue since my dog is an eight year old puppy. She's still pretty hyper and she always hung out in the guest room, which is now the nursery. We let her go in te baby's room whenever she wants and we will bring home something from the hospital for her to sniff. I also heard that you should walk inot the house alone (with DH and baby outside) to give the dog some one-on-one attention before introducing the baby.

Re: those with pets

Our dog is pretty much blind and deaf, so I am not too worried. He probably won't even notice that there's someone else in the house! I don't know what to do about the cats, but as long as they are fed I think they will not care either.

Re: those with pets