Mommies with dogs

I'm sure this has been posted before but I need some advice. I am being induced tonight and am not sure how to go about introducing the dogs to the baby. Any advice on how you handled this situation would be really appreciated. I have a 7 year old rottie mix and a 2 year old puggle. I really have no idea how they are going to react to a baby. What did you do? How did you enter the house? Did you have people over to distract the dogs? Did you let the dogs sniff the baby? Thanks!

Re: Mommies with dogs

we have a golden retriever, that are soo lovable but you can NOT trusy=t any dog especially big ones...we brought home a blanket the day before and let him have it...when we brought the baby home the dog was sniffing and licking him...all with good intention but they can be rought.....we kept him ont he leash for about a week or in the kitchen wich is gated....now hes great with him, lays with him.,...but again he can not be trusted...he would not hurt him on porpose but hes a big goony

Re: Mommies with dogs

one of the tips that i used was to have DH bring home a blanket that the baby was wrapped in and let the dogs sniff it and get used to the scent. then when we brought the baby home we allowed them to sniff but not lick him.

the first few days were tough because every time the baby cried one of our dogs got extremely anxious and would pace around the area where the baby was. but slowly both dogs got accustomed...

GOOD LUCK TONIGHT!!!!! and welcome to the parenting board

Re: Mommies with dogs

Same for us...DH brought ALL the swaddling blankets, some onesies, the hats DD wore home and let our dog smell them and he even put them in his crate at night so he could sleep with them.

Re: Mommies with dogs

I agree with all the PP. We also had someone else hold DD (my mom) while we walked in the door. We greeted Luna FIRST, gave her some lovin's, THEN, we let her sniff and kiss Maddie. Also, whenever I nursed DD, I allowed Luna in the room.

We always made sure to play with Luna WHILE DD was awake and in the room. So many people wait to put DC to sleep before playing with their dog. This teaches the dog that playtime begins when DC is not around (definitely the WRONG message to send). Now, Luna associates DD with lots of fun and playtime.

Re: Mommies with dogs

We did the blanket home to Maggie too. But the main thing was that DH carried the baby seat in and I went in and let Maggie out of her crate like I always did. She is fine, she loves DS. They are best buds.

I don't believe you can't trust dogs with kids. Although, my dog is only 17lbs and at 8 months DS is bigger than her, but that is just my opinion.

This was like our second day home



ETA: I agree with Amy about feeding DC with the dog in the room, I think including your dog really helps
And one more picture for good measure

Message edited 1/20/2008 3:04:24 PM.

Re: Mommies with dogs

my dad has a puggle and we live in my dads house, so we what we did is, the blanket they had around my dd i took and gave to my father. He brought it home and showed it to cody and let him sniff it. Then when we got home i slowly introduced him to stuff that was hers, that had her sent on it. He responded really well with her. Cody is soo cute with her, when he hears her crying he crys and if shes in her car seat, we put her on the floor and he sticks his head into the car seat if shes crying and gives her a look like "could i help you" its sooo cute.

Puggles in my experience was great with sammie. No experience witha rottie mix.. Good Luck!! and Congratulations.. I send you easy labor vibes

Re: Mommies with dogs

We did the blanket thing too. And when we came home from the hospital, I gave our dog attention as usual. We let her sniff the baby but she was more interested in me after being away for a few days.


Our dog is a rottie mix too.

Congrats and hope everything goes smoothly!!!

Re: Mommies with dogs

We did the blanket thing and I do think it helped. One mistake we made--when we got home with baby, we brought the baby in, then let the dog out of the kitchen (I may have gone ahead and greeted the dog first but we did not take the time to really exercise the dog). We usually leave him gated in the kitchen when we are out. I read that we should have tired him out a bit before introducing to the baby. He was very excited to meet the baby but that scared me. He is not a gentle dog. I have a friend who calls him Bruiser! Baby is 3 months now and I feel that we are still in the process of introducing them. We include the dog whenever possible but we really don't put the baby in a vulnerable position, like on the floor, when the dog is around. The dog has come up to the baby in the carrier, though.

Message edited 1/20/2008 4:49:54 PM.