Making time for furkids with the new baby here, tips? As far as my Terrier What am I

[iluvterriers]

My biggest concern is she growled at me last night when I got down to play with her, she doesn't do that with anyone and has never growled at me, it broke my heart and then she went to my husband and was happy to play with him after the baby was asleep. And she is my dog.

And if I have been that neglectful of her that she now doesnt even view me as her master, I have failed her, I have let her down

[Pawsitive Thinking]

My biggest concern is she growled at me last night when I got down to play with her, she doesn't do that with anyone and has never growled at me

Would advise you to take her lead on this one - if she does growl then leave her be. Talk to her like you normally would and give her space until she is ready to come to you or instead of getting down on the floor with her do something else like throw a toy for a game of fetch. If she wants to play she will - there is just a change in the dynamics of your relationship with your terrier

[Pawsitive Thinking]

My biggest concern is she growled at me last night when I got down to play with her, she doesn't do that with anyone and has never growled at me, it broke my heart and then she went to my husband and was happy to play with him after the baby was asleep. And she is my dog.

And if I have been that neglectful of her that she now doesnt even view me as her master, I have failed her, I have let her down

She isn't "your dog" - she is part of a pack (family) and seems very happy with all the members. Would you rather she clung to you all the time and was possessive - surely its better that she is happy to play with other people. As Karen said "relax" - be happy that your little dog isn't displaying any traits of jealousy towards the baby.

I think you have done a great job in raising a rather well adjusted little dog and you should be proud of her (and yourself)

[Cataholic]

I feel I can weigh in here, though my forte is cats, not dogs. 5.5 years ago, I brought home my first and only skinkid. At the time, I had 7 or 9 cats, LOL, I can't remember and don't want to spend the time figuring it out. To top it off, I was and remain, a single parent. Throw in a full time job, and well, nothing was like it was before.

Remove your 2 dogs, and my many cats, and it was/is still a tremendous transition. In the most intact of homes, with a live in nanny, things are VERY different when a baby comes along. Throw in the sleep deprivation and hormones....and life can be tense and stressful.

Fast forward (and boy was it fast) 5.5 years and we totally are united in our household. I am at 8 cats, having lost some and gained some, and a beautiful son that is about 2% helpful (LOL, he tries!) with the cats. We foster dogs on a regular basis, and all is good.

The inbetween times required time, patience, relaxation, a new way of thinking, and 100%-in your heart- commitment to both your child AND your pets. I had more than one person tell me I had to/would need to/how couldn't I get rid of my pets. In my life- this was non-negotiable. I knew it would all work out, and it did. But, I needed to adjust to the situation.

I am not sure why you can't have your two dogs 'under foot' with a child in your house. I grew up with many, many, many dogs (up to 5 large breeds) as a child. Our cats have snuggled with us, even when J was a little baby, slept in his room, scratched him, hissed at him, etc. Life happens, even with cats, and J can usually see his part in things when it goes as he doesn't expect. He has worked super hard to build a relationship with my two of my males, Dakky and Gus- somewhat of a timid boy and an ultra timid boy, and is proud of it. From day 1, J knew his place in the herd. I tolerated no negative behaviour on his part, and worked with the cats on some of theirs.

I wouldn't keep the dogs separate from the baby. I mean, if the baby is playing on the floor, I might not let the dogs trample him, LOL, but short of that? I see a disservice and a compounding of the problems, by separating them.

Truly, the first 6 months to a year can be super stressful. You could be suffering from a little PPD, simply hormonal, over anxious, etc. I would relax and let the dogs be dogs and the baby be a baby. Life will unfold.

[iluvterriers]

i guess I'm just dissapointed because I waited so long to be able to snuggle with my Terrier again, you know just let her sit on my lap and pet her and brush her.. I waited so long to take her on our special walks again. I waited so long to just be able to get down and play with her again.

I was put on bedrest 16 weeks into the pregnancy and then at 20 weeks I was moved to limited activity and I wasn't able to really do much with the dogs and so my husband had to take over. Feeding, walking, playing, grooming. All of it.

Now I've started taking back over...today is honestly the first day both dogs have been loose at the same time while I've been home just me, the baby, and them. I've started feeding them again. Right now though the only time I walk them is on the weekends...still too cold for baby to be outside. So my husband still walks them during the week.

Its one thing when my husband is home, there is two of us. It helps to have an extra set of hands. And he isn't as scatterbrained as i am. honestly up until a few days ago it was just too much stress having both dogs loose. (Our poodle likes to pick fights with our Terrier and its just so hard to take care of a crying baby and keep two dogs from killing each other...though its only escalated to a real fight once)

And I have always seen her as my dog, we always had a good bond. My husband got her as a gift for me (though I picked her out and told him she is what I want for my birthday) we hit it off the moment we met.

And now its like we are two strangers

I guess is mostly dissappointment....then again we haven't had a whole lot of interaction in a long time...other than just laying in bed or watching tv together

[Cataholic]

^^ I didn't recognize who you were, so I searched your posts. I can tell from your other posts, you are totally in a different place now then you will be in 6 months. The majority of your posts are about the stressors of a new baby/pets in the mix. Take it from someone that has been there- this will CHANGE! You are in such a transition right now. Today is not tomorrow is not next month. Don't make today a forever situation. It isn't.

And, unless you live in the artic, it is not too cold to take an appropriately clad infant outside for 30 minutes. My son and I were taking walks in 2 feet of snow when he was 3 months old. We would have done it sooner had I not broken a bone in my pelvis at birth.

Trust me, trust the other posters....this is a temporary situation. Temporary, and really, it sounds a teeny, tiny, weenie, itsy bitsy, overly dramatic for what it really is. This is just more indication it is a hormonal, new mommy, overly anxious, loss of control, not sleeping, my baby is colicky situation.

Totally normal...but you need to ride it out. In 3 months, I bet you will pull up these posts and laugh. I know I did when I was going through what I went through.

[iluvterriers]

^^ And, unless you live in the artic, it is not too cold to take an appropriately clad infant outside for 30 minutes. My son and I were taking walks in 2 feet of snow when he was 3 months old. We would have done it sooner had I not broken a bone in my pelvis at birth.

Trust me, trust the other posters....this is a temporary situation. Temporary, and really, it sounds a teeny, tiny, weenie, itsy bitsy, overly dramatic for what it really is. This is just more indication it is a hormonal, new mommy, overly anxious, loss of control, not sleeping, my baby is colicky situation.
.

I don't really appreciate this...I mean you are treating a very serious situation as if its just homones...I'm just the crazy lady recovering from having a new baby. These dogs have been my life for nearly 3 years, so excuse me for being concerned. Its not the hormones...oh and nice slipping in there things like ppd

"You could be suffering from a little PPD, simply hormonal, over anxious, etc"

I'm very well adjusted in my life, all i wanted was to be a mom. Our poodle (husbands dog) has adjusted to this just great and i am amazed.

The only issue here is my dog wants nothing to do with me and I would like to figure out why.

[Cataholic]

How unfortunate that not only I, but others, too, write to RELIEVE your anxieties, and all you take away from it is that I mentioned PPD? A very real, very common condition?

If you prefer, stress away. Stress to the point where your baby is stressed. Stress to the point where you give up your two dogs. Stress to the point where you cry all day long. Stress about allergies, stress about your neighbor's dogs barking....go on a pure stress fess!

If you prefer, I will tell you that what you post is so rare and uncommon, that I have never heard of it, and you should go- at once- to the doctor. Something is so seriously wrong.

As I mentioned, you will look at these posts and laugh in 3 months time. Truly, it is a better way to look at it. But, please, stress away. It makes no never mind to me.