Dog/Baby Interaction

[G-Diddy]

My wife and I recently found out that we are expecting our first child in October (yeah for us). I am looking for suggestions that people may have that will make the new baby/dog dynamic as easy as possible. I am not expecting any problems but is there anything I should be doing over the next 7-8 months?

I know people are gonna ask for dog info so here it comes . Gracie will be be about 2 yrs and 5 months when the baby arrives. She is a German Sheperd dog. She is one of the best natured dogs I've ever been around and loves people. She adores children. In fact her biggest problem that we are currently working on is that she is a bit over-enthusiastic when greeting people. We've broken the jumping and are just working on a more "dignified" greeting.

She has been through puppy kindergarten and basic obedience. When she was young we had some MAJOR dominance issues but we've gotten through that. She continually will do little tests (one paw in a room she's not allowed, then two, etc) but nothing major. I'm not at all worried about aggression, "jealousy," or anything like that. The biggest forseeable problem will probably be too much puppy kissing on the baby and a high-degree of toy theft.

With that being said, are there any issues that I am not seeing that I should be preparing for? Are there any suggestions for things that I should be doing with Gracie the next 7-8 months? Any helpful experiences? Like I said, I'm really not very worried at all, but it never hurts to be proactive!

[skpaw]

If possible, have her around some other babies soon so she knows they cry and smell funny. When your new baby comes have husband hold baby and you tell her how good she is. Let her smell baby things. Don't yell if she comes to see new baby. I let Trixie smell baby's foot. I had to nurse my baby on the couch so Trixie could sit beside us. As long as they know they are still important, most dogs do fine.

[micki76]

You may also want to find a recording of a baby crying (all different cries-happy, mad, giggling) and play it at different times. It'll help Gracie get used to the sounds so they won't be a shock.
Too much puppy kissing? Is there even such a thing??? I think after the novelty wears off and she's used to the baby there won't be as much kissy-poo.
Toy theft... you're on your own on that one!
Oh, and BTW, congratulations on the skin-baby!!

[Dixieland Dancer]

First - Congratulations on the upcoming baby! Second - why are you so confident you will not have jealousy issues or aggression issues. My warning signal was that you mentioned you had MAJOR dominance issues but that you got through that. However you mentioned she still tried to TEST the waters.

You are wise to think of what could be issues later down the road. Don't be fooled into thinking everything will work itself out when the baby comes. I do not want to frighten you in any way but want you to be aware of one major issue that I can possible see happening.

Ask numerous people (even some from this board) what happens when they add another dog or perhaps a third dog. Then you have the territiorial issue of who is the alpha to deal with. There have been posts of blood shed and aggression to the point of having to rehome a dog for it's safety.

Things may be fine with the aggression between you and your wife and your dog but add a baby into the mix and you could have problems. I am not saying it will happen. I am only saying you are wise to think about it before hand.

Socialization with the dog in environments with other dogs or children is a great idea. When the baby comes there will be an adjustment period. Most of your wifes waking time will be tending to the baby. If you make the dog a part of it from the get go then you should be ok. If you make the dog lay down and never get to be a part of the new routine then the jealousy might show its ugly head and you can end up with a dog who resents the baby coming into your world.

I guess I am just trying to play devils advocate and get you to think about these things in a concrete way and not to just assume these MAJOR issues are completely behind you. I applaud you for the great work you have done so far. Just be prepared to do more of it!

[G-Diddy]

Thanks for the input, and I do appreciate the Devil's advocate statements. That's seriously what I was looking for.

Perhaps I overstated the severity of the dominance issues. We never had any food issues (I've always been able to walk right up to her food and take it w/o so much as a side-ways look), never been growled at, and never even close to being bitten (mouthing not withstanding). She plays well with other dogs in our yard/house and other people's yards. We have friends who have a cockapoo that constantly fear snaps at her (whole 'nother story) When she gets snapped the worst she does is a warning growl and pinning until the cockapoo's owners pick it-up and move it (I know, I know). My point is even when snapped at, she hasn't made an attempt at physical harm.

However, when we were setting boundaries such as what was off-limits it took forever to break. The record was a 45 minute marathon of Gracie jumping on the couch, going through the discipline steps followed by her jumping right back up. Our instructors always talked about her supreme confidence and strongly recommended we stay on top of things. She was described as a "make-me dog." Gracie's the type of dog who used to jump on the couch just to get a reaction and then take off running the second she saw you looking.

Here's a question. We live in a 70-yr old Cape Cod. The only things upstairs are an office/guestroom and another guestroom that is soon to be the baby's room. We spend little time up there and currently Gracie is not allowed up there for three reasons:
1) When she was little she used to run up the stairs and lay down to watch us. We were told this "lording over" us from an elevated spot was a top-dog privilege so we gated the steps off
2) We wanted the guest bedrooms to be dog-free as we have several friends who are allergic to dogs or uncomfortable with them.
3 (the big reason) The stairs are very narrow and EXTREMELY steep. They are small enough that I have to walk sideways down them. When you go down, you go onto a hard-wood floor. Given GSD hip/elbow problems we didn't want her dealing with the stairs esp. in light of her going down onto a slick surface. They are steep enough that she's somewhat uncomfortable with them, but she doesn't mind stairs at all in other houses.

Would you recommend contuning this to be a dog-free zone (esp. after the baby) or do you guys feel Gracie should be allowed up there? I appreciate all input.

[Karen]

My brother had a pound-pup very bouncy Lab/Dalmatian who was about two years old when their baby came home. Lady and Marilyn Jean have gotten along fabulously from the minute they brought the baby home - Lady became a self-appointed diaper monitor (when the dog suddenly starts sniffing at the diaper too hard, you know it's time for a change of diapers!) There has been, and still is negotiation on both sides as per toy ownership. Marilyn is almost 18 months old now, and the rule is "Lady doesn't chew on Marilyn's toys, so Marilyn can't chew on Lady's toys, either!" This is ALWAYS supervised, mind you ...

The biggest frustration they had was that when the baby cried, Lady would "bug" them - as Jenn put it "Ma, the baby's broken and squeaking! Fix it!" which required some reassurances at times that all was indeed well, and sometimes babies just cry!

So having Gracie around infants to get used to them, and remembering to let her know you love her even when the baby comes, are two good steps!

[rizzy]

congrats on the new child,
I have a book and in there is some info on kids and dogs here is some helpful tips
* de-spoil your dog--move its bed out of the bedroom
* take your dog to obediance classes
* get a good dogsitter and encourage your dog to be less dependant on you
* keep deworming and flea control treatments very regular
* banish bones to the garden
* when you return home pass baby to grandma and greet your dog
* let the dot sniff the baby and satisfy his curiosity
* don't show alarm when your baby cries-- your stress will upset the dog
* always make time to show your dog you still care about him
I hope these help you
rizzy

[lovemyshiba]

Being newly married and not having a child yet, I don't have much advice to offer, however I just wanted to offer my congratulations on the baby, and to let you know we would love to see pictures of the dog, and the baby, when the time comes!!

[Dixieland Dancer]

If your dog is use to being banished from the upstairs then this way of living should be continued. You do not want to change the way she thinks. It would be regressing in an issue you already established.

I think the bottom line is if you continue to pay attention to Gracie and let her near the baby without punishing her or telling her all the time to go lay down, etc... she should be fine. It will work out if you a diligent in the beginning especially to pay her continued attention.

I was just wondering.... from the sounds of it your bedroom is not upstairs? If this is accurate will you be relocating your room to be closer to the baby? Does your dog sleep in your room downstairs?

[G-Diddy]

Correct. My wife and my bedroom is downstairs. (This house has been added on to/changed so much in the past 70 yrs. that it has a "unique" floorplan). We will not be re-locating our bedroom upstaris once the baby comes. At least we don't currently plan on it.

Gracie does not sleep in our bedroom. She has a spot in the breezeway and a spot in the living room she much prefers. We've put beds in both spots. The three of us will be watching TV in the living room and at almost exactly 10:00 every night she gets up, "says" good night to each of us and migrates out to the breezeway. She crashes out there until we get up for work. The exception of course is the weekend when approximately 45 minutes after our weekday wake-up time we are reminded to get up by a wet nose.

I really plan on working hard to make-sure Gracie and the baby get to grow up together. I have no intention of relegating Gracie to an afterthought or putting the kid off limits. I've had a dog as part of my life since I was born and I want my kids to have the same experience.

[micki76]

3 (the big reason) The stairs are very narrow and EXTREMELY steep. They are small enough that I have to walk sideways down them. When you go down, you go onto a hard-wood floor. Given GSD hip/elbow problems we didn't want her dealing with the stairs esp. in light of her going down onto a slick surface. They are steep enough that she's somewhat uncomfortable with them, but she doesn't mind stairs at all in other houses.

A word of caution- If the stairs are that steep and narrow, I would reconsider using one of those rooms for the baby. My sister had a 2 story and the babies rooms were upstairs. Then she fell carrying her daughter. This nearly happened several times to all of us (even my strong & agile husband). No one cationed her against it beforehand and luckily no one was severly injured. They put their house on the market and moved to a single story home. Not suggesting that you should do that, but they had no choice as all the bedrooms were upstairs and they have twins.

[jdsadjk]

First of all good for you for thinking and planning ahead. There are many ways to prepare well ahead of time. I recommend several books. Your baby and Bowser, Childproofing your dog. and for the doggie behavior "pack" oriented stuff I really like the Dog Listener.
I would be happy to send you the hand outs we use for our Preparing your pup for the stork workshops. You can email me privately if you are interested.

[Cookiebaker]

I don't have much to offer...but first congratulations on the new baby!! That's very exciting.

Something I once heard I thought was cool. The mother had the baby in the hospital...and the night before she was to come home, the husband brought the blanket that the baby had been sleeping on home, and gave it to the pup. That way when the baby came home, the pup recognized the smells, and was a little more used to it. I hope that makes sense...