QOTD, (someone said they missed it, so I thought I'd attempt to bring it back)

If you are trying to conceive #1, and you have a pet, how do you think you/they will adjust to the new addition. The pet was here first, so they "own" the territory

Basically, my dog is my and my dh's child and we love him to death. There was a lot of drama recently on the Pets board about people wanting to give up their pets bc of the addition, and NOT to stir the pot I'm seriously just curious because WTH knows what's going to happen when a bambino comes into the picture!

I have 2 friends who have LO and dogs...the dogs are CRANKY. They still love the dog, but it's a lot of work to try to blend. I'm willing to do it, but I'm a crazy animal lady who bought lobsters from the supermarket just to release them

Message edited 1/5/2012 11:25:50 AM.

Re: QOTD, (someone said they missed it, so I thought I'd attempt to bring it back)

Good question! This is my first time answering a QOTD!

I have 2 dogs, 3 and 8 years old, and a kitten, 8 months old. The older dog used to be my aunt's, and I know he loved her 2 daughters. The younger dog - he is very attention seeking and gets very jealous if someone is petting the other dog and not him. So, I honestly am a little nervous about how he'll react to a baby stealing all of the time and attention. I think DH and I will just have to make a conscious effort to still walk them every day, play with them, and give them as much attention as we can to keep them happy.
As for the kitten....she spends most of her time alone anyway, so I don't think she'll be a problem!

Re: QOTD, (someone said they missed it, so I thought I'd attempt to bring it back)

i actually cant wait to have kids of our own to see how our dog is with them, he is already SO good with my nephews i cant wait for our kids to experience the love

seriously.. how cute?!:

Re: QOTD, (someone said they missed it, so I thought I'd attempt to bring it back)

I don't think it will be a problem. I know we will have to learn to balance our time to make sure we give proper attention and care to our dog and cats as well, but it's not like they're that much work to begin with. I'm assuming the cats won't be very interested in a baby, but we will keep them away from the baby's room because we've heard they can find their way into the crib. Our dog is very sweet and curious so she'll probably be interested in the baby, but I don't think she'll be bothered by it. We don't let her on any of the furniture to begin with, so it's not like she'll feel that the baby is taking over her space. The only time I think it might be somewhat challenging is when the baby starts to crawl. I'll want to mop A LOT more often to make sure the floors are clean from all the dirty paw prints.

Re: QOTD, (someone said they missed it, so I thought I'd attempt to bring it back)

quinn and ava are like our children too and they RUN the show here
quinn was here 1st and was NOT happy when we got ava... but he adjusted and tends to just get out of her way, bc she is a little bully. so i think that while he can be very cranky sometimes (he does NOT like anyone he doesn't know approaching us, coming to the house etc) i think he will take the same approach he did with ava - and just know his role when there is a baby. plus, he has a different personality around my friend's daughter or my nieces and nephew. like he knows their kids so he doesn't get mad at them.
ava is just the biggest mush ever and you can do anything to her - i think she'll be jealous bc she wants attention all the time... but i also think she will just want to be all over a baby. she "hugs" us so i think we will have to make sure she doesn't "hug" our child and accidently smother it! also, i think she will eat all it's toys

Re: QOTD, (someone said they missed it, so I thought I'd attempt to bring it back)

IMHO I think its harder when pets are treated like humans. When people devote all of their attention to their animals, it almost can create a "sibling rivalry" and the dog may try to put the baby as a lower status in their pack. That's what causes problems. We treat our dog like a dog. She's our pet and we love her dearly but she has rules and boudaries and she knows we're the ones in charge.

Also, my dog is old and not well. Even if we do get pg this month, I sincerely doubt she'd make it to Sept. That being said, if she does I think we would have to introduce her to the baby by bringing home some stuff with the baby's smell on it from the hospital but I'm fairly confident that the dog would just accept the baby as part of the family and act accordingly.

Re: QOTD, (someone said they missed it, so I thought I'd attempt to bring it back)

Posted by LadyGIGI

i actually cant wait to have kids of our own to see how our dog is with them, he is already SO good with my nephews i cant wait for our kids to experience the love

seriously.. how cute?!:
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Re: QOTD

I personally can't wait for Linus to meet my baby to be! He's still a puppy right now so it would be difficult if it was soon, but in 9 months he would be almost 2. I do see some concern with different breeds. My brother had to give his pit away when he had his daughter. Mostly because noone could come to his house because he became super protective of the baby. He was a very temperamental pit. I know other Pit Bulls that are great with kids!

Oh, and if treating your dog as a human makes it more difficult, then I am in trouble! Linus is my son, he sleeps with us and is treated like part of the family. Oh well, I love him! I even got him a shirt to wear when I get a BFP, it said only child which is crossed out in a crayon type font and Big Brother is scribbled underneath! I'm going to use it to tell DH!

Re: QOTD, (someone said they missed it, so I thought I'd attempt to bring it back)

Re: QOTD, (someone said they missed it, so I thought I'd attempt to bring it back)

Re: QOTD, (someone said they missed it, so I thought I'd attempt to bring it back)

I have 2 Cats both are a few months apart from one another. They are both jealous of each other. If I started to talk to one the other comes and looks at me. I think they will be very Jealous of a new baby in the house. They are not used to all the noise since it's very quiet in our home now. It's just me and DH. I hope they will adapt very quickly...now at my parents house they have a lab does not like kids. They have to put him away at halloween for trick or treaters. It's crazy! So that makes me a little nervous brining a newborn over there..I'm hoping as my dog sees the baby and watch it grow up it will be okay. Kinda like trial and error here!!!

Re: QOTD, (someone said they missed it, so I thought I'd attempt to bring it back)

I would NEVER give my dog away.........never. I don't care what the situation is. It ain't happening

Re: QOTD, (someone said they missed it, so I thought I'd attempt to bring it back)

I took my dog to the dog park in Sayville. She didn't play with any dogs, she played with the children instead. I think we are good to go!!