Baby on the way

[Rotthead]

Just found out that my wife and I will have a new addition to the pack in 9 months. This is our first baby. I am already catching the " the dogs have to stay outside when the baby comes! " I do not want that to happen so I need some tips on getting my dogs ready for the new child. My wife and others are worried about the dogs getting jealous and so forth. I really need some good info here because I do not want to give my buds the boot outside.

[Rott'n'Pit]

I was just there myself. the dogs love the baby, they will be very curious of it and want to smell it and lick it. You want to let them get close to the baby. If you punich your dogs for getting near the baby they coulg grow to resent it, or if you play with the baby and ignore the dogs the same could happen. what i did was this:

once she had the baby the day the baby was born I brought home on her bankets and let the dogs sniff it and smell it. I was sure to make them be very careful and gentle. i acted like the blanket was the baby; i wanted them to see it and be near it but they had to be very careful, if they got rough or rowdy i would stand up and walk away. Dogs hate to be ignored so by the third day of that they were very gentle and whent he real baby came home they were very gentle. now she is 6 months old and she kis starting to crawl and roll around the floor. the dogs are very sensative to her.

[Shaw_2112]

I'm in the same boat, My girlfreind is expecting in July. I did some searching around the net and came across some insteresting ideas.

1. For the month preceding your due date start carrying around a baby doll and letting your dog sniff it but make sure that he/she understands it's not another playtoy.

2. When the baby comes bring something home from the hospital that has your baby's scent on it. Once again let your dog sniff it but not let it become a playtoy.

3. When you do bring you baby home let your dog sniff or even lick your baby let them realize that your baby is another part of your pack.

These are abbreviated versions of these ideas and I would certainly like someone elses opinion before I actually try them.

[samanthac]

There is a very good book called Childproofing Your Dog: A Complete Guide to Preparing Your Dog for the Children in Your Life by Brian Kilcommons.

Perhaps you and your wife could read it together?

[Chantal]

I am due to have a baby in April, and been getting my dogs ready. I read the book, and also did several searches on the internet. I just typed in "getting dogs ready for a baby". My mom got me a crying a baby doll for christmas, and when i first took it out, they were very interested. after a few times though, now they don't even bother, to come over and try to lick or smell it. I've also started to put out some stuff like the playpen and things like that. we've also gone back to obedience school for a refresher, it's been several years.

[Rotthead]

I know that it is concern but I do not feel that my dogs will have a problem with this. I do undertsand that if we shut them out as far as attention and put all the attention on the baby then that might be a problem. Maybe my wife is just showing that motherly protection already. As far as the ideas I really like the baby doll idea.

[Birdie'sMom]

My baby will be 5 weeks old tomorrow and we have not had any problems at all. The only thing Birdie does is sniff and try to lick her. We make sure that Birdie still gets plenty of attention from whoever is not attending to the baby. And when we have visitors, we ask that they say hello to Birdie before they make a fuss over the baby. Birdie has adjusted wonderfully. My husband also brought one of the baby's blankets home from the hospital before we brought the baby home, for Birdie to sniff. Good luck and congratulations! :)

[Bruce Lanthier]

My daughter will be 3 in May. When she was born I had 2 dogs. Micky, an old mix that was about 10 and Buster a Rottweiler. He was 1 1/2. To prepare for bringing my baby home this is what I did. I made sure my dogs were trained and obedient. That's it. Then I brought the baby home and introduced everyone. If you have stable, obedient dogs they will not turn into baby eating nightmares when you bring a baby home. Why ANYONE would think so is beyond me. After a few sniffs and a lick or two the dogs could not care less about the baby. They WILL NOT get jealous. Jealousy is a human trait, not a dog trait. They WILL NOT feel ignored. If you are ignoring them they will have extra energy and may find new and destructive (chewing furniture NOT the baby) ways to burn it off but, if you maintain their current excercise and training level they will act no different. Unless, of course, YOU are acting different. Then they will respond to that. Before my baby was even a year old I added Miss Betti to the mix. Now I had an old girl, a 2 year old Rottweiler and a puppy Rottweiler. The baby, Carolyn, was in a walker by now. Actually she was before I got the puppy. She would be in her walker and the dogs would be laying around. As she approached them they would get up and move. Of course I was supervising ALL interaction between dogs and baby. I still do. I will continue to supervise interaction between child and dogs for a long time. Children and dogs do not belong ALONE together. That is probably the big secret to child/dog interaction. Never alone together. Anyway, then my old girl Micky had to go to the bridge so now I was back down to two dogs. A 3 yr old and 1 yr old Rottweilers. Now, in the beginning of January an old guy, 11 yr old Rottweiler Syd, joined our family. Back up to 3 dogs, ALL Rottweilers and an almost 3 yr old daughter that has been taught since she could learn that dogs are treated with respect. While Buster is not a "pettable" dog the other two, Betti and Syd, enjoy very much the love and attention my 2 1/2 yr old daughter will give them. Trained, obedient dogs and an educated family and children. THAT is "baby proofing" your dogs AND "dog proofing" your family.

I believe you do not "baby proof" dogs but you DO teach the humans about dog/child interactions. If your (anyone's) dogs are trained and obedient a new baby will not be in ANY danger from them. If you have rude, untrained and unruly dogs then more than a new baby are at risk. I did not get any "remarks" from any one in my family about my dogs and my baby. For one, they know me better than to insinuate I would risk my child and two they know my dogs. And, while I love them and value their opinions, it IS my house, my family, my child, my dogs, and my responsibility.

[rottcrazed]

Originally Posted by samanthac

There is a very good book called Childproofing Your Dog: A Complete Guide to Preparing Your Dog for the Children in Your Life by Brian Kilcommons.

Perhaps you and your wife could read it together?

I think that book is an excellent idea. We went through this 3 years ago when we had our triplets. It was never a thought for either of us to put the dogs outside, but we did think about what we were going to do.

One thing we made a decision to do right off the bat was NOT let the dogs' schedule change terribly drastically. Now, having said that, our kids were in the hospital for 3 months before they came home, so they saw less of me for those three months, but they continued daily walks and some training (although that did slow down). Their feeding schedules stayed the same. They were simply not allowed to go in the nursery. That has spilled over into today where none of the dogs go into the kids' bedrooms just out of habit, they don't need to be told. I would recommend setting up the room for the baby very soon (perhaps not with furniture and paint yet, but lets say just making it off limits to the dogs via baby gate).

We brought clothing pieces home from the hospital for the dogs' to sniff for a couple of months. We put other things into place too like a baby gate on our room and at the stairs. We put it on our room so that the dogs had a place to be where they can sleep away from the children.

When the kids came home, the dogs were right there on a down stay and were allowed to sniff them. We allowed our dogs as much exposure to the children as we thought was good. Our dogs never became jealous of the babies as we treated them as much the same as possible. They still got their loves and cuddles on the couch like before, but they learned that when the babies were eating, bathing or being changed they stayed out of the way. They had beds in the living room (still do) and that is where they would be when the babies were eating, etc...

I think the main thing to keep in mind here is that if your dogs have been a big part of your life before the baby, and all of a sudden, this little person comes home and their lives change drastically (they are forced outside away from their pack), the dogs could see this as the little person is causing their lives to change and become jealous. NOW, this is not to say your dogs are going to turn around and eat your baby, but you could see SERIOUS behavior changes like chewing (carpet, lino, drywall, shoes, etc...), digging, barking, peeing in the house, etc.... If the dogs are left to their own devices outside and they have not been outside dogs before, you are looking at a lot of trouble their too (like above, barking, digging, etc...).

Having dogs in the home with children is not a difficult thing to acheive, it takes some work and some consistency and BOTH you and your wife need to be on the same page as far as how the care of your dogs will be handled. If you are going to be working and your wife, after having the baby, just shoves the dogs outside all day, make sure the dogs are used to this before the baby comes home. MONTHS before the birth, start putting the dogs outside during the day so they are not thrust into this different lifestyle when the baby comes home. But, I recommend keeping their exercise, feeding and sleeping at night (in the house) the same as before or as close as possible.

Okay, that's my two cents. If you need any other help, I am more than happy to offer it as it has not been that long since we went through what you are going to be soon enough.

Kristi

[Rotthead]

Well put Bruce L. That is just how I feel. You have stated some very good points. Some people in my family feel like I am just going to lock the baby up with the dogs and let them do whatever. We have only known for a week and I am sure it is going to get worse. All the people that are saying this do not have dogs. As far as my wife goes she will calm down as soon as I show her all of these replies.

Birdie:

thanks for the congrats

[RAVENMOM]

There is not a more awesome sight than my friend and I walking our Rotties, together with her tandem stroller and an infant in a snuggle pack. The other day, I was visiting her with my dog when her M-I-L, hates Rotties, came. The very moment she came into the livingroom, my dog was nuzzling the baby as he sat in his walker. Brandon was cooing, gurgling and laughing.

Her jaw dropped, because here, right in front of her was ANOTHER Rottie that wasn't bringing any harm to her grandson. She had no words to say!

Relatives sometimes just have to bite their tongues, despite themselves, don't they? And even a few friends have been know to do the same.

Before M-I-L left both Rotties were laying on the floor one with the 5 year old using one for a pillow one the other with the 3 year old. I could see she was fit to be tied with nothing to complain about. (even the house was clean, 'cause I helped, not knowing she was coming...HA HA HA,HA!)

[rottcrazed]

Posted on Sun, Feb. 15, 2004





Study: A dog could be baby's best friend

By Jamie Talan

NEWSDAY


It's been accepted dogma for years that house pets were not good for children with asthma and allergies. But a newer theory, strengthened by the latest study, suggests otherwise.

The new study found that infants with certain forms of a gene that is a marker for immune function, who also have a dog, are much less likely to develop allergic skin rashes, a sign that their immune systems are stronger than those who have not had a dog in their lives.

And it may not be the dog, but the dirt that dogs track in.

"Having a dog was associated with a particular pattern of immune system development," said Dr. James E. Gern, a pediatric allergist at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

He and his colleagues tracked 285 children from birth to age 5 to better understand how environment and genetics work together to confer protection or trigger allergic reactions.

Those without a dog during the first year of life were twice as likely to have an unexplained skin rash as those with a dog.

The hygiene hypothesis suggests that dirt primes the immune system and helps infants develop a stronger immune response.

The findings appear this month in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

The Wisconsin study also provides the first evidence that certain genes could increase or decrease the risk for allergy and asthma -- and having a dog could influence the outcome.

In this study, they collaborated with Carole Ober of the University of Chicago to look at a marker of immune function, a gene called CD14.

Gern and his colleagues collected umbilical cord blood from 285 newborns to test their body's immune response and which of the three forms of CD14 the child inherited.

They also performed physicals during the first year of life. In all families, one parent had allergies or asthma.

Kids in houses with dogs had more immune system stimulation, measured by CD14, and less dermatitis, which many doctors believe is an early sign of allergy.

But only two varieties of CD14 (CD14-TT and CD14-CT) were associated with less risk of dermatitis if a dog were present. Those with the third form, CD14-CC, were not affected by the presence of a dog.

"This gives us clues," Gern said. "But we need a lot more work to figure this out."



Found this and thought you might find it interesting.

Kristi

[Sue]

Our son is adopted. We got a call on Thursday afternoon and brought him home from another part of the state on Tuesday. Consequently, we didn't have the option of bringing home a blanket with scent, or anything else really. Since you never know how long the wait will be we hadn't carried around a doll or anything. We brought him home to three males....a dobe/shep mix, and a lab (both 8 yo) and a 3 yo Rottie. We introduced him to the dogs and gave them lots of attention and treats, and we never had a problem. They would sniff him alot while we held him, but we would talk to them and pet them and they accepted him very well.

Good luck!

[samanthac]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lanthier

I believe you do not "baby proof" dogs but you DO teach the humans about dog/child interactions. If your (anyone's) dogs are trained and obedient a new baby will not be in ANY danger from them. If you have rude, untrained and unruly dogs then more than a new baby are at risk. I did not get any "remarks" from any one in my family about my dogs and my baby. For one, they know me better than to insinuate I would risk my child and two they know my dogs. And, while I love them and value their opinions, it IS my house, my family, my child, my dogs, and my responsibility.

What a beautifully eloquent and dead on the mark post, Bruce! :)

[Judy Chrusch]

Congratulations on your soon to be new addition. Some great advice has been given and IMO it's really no big deal. I've ALWAYS had rotties and kids and NEVER had even the slightest problem. If your dogs are trained properly and you let them know where there place is, and I don't mean outside ;) , then all will be fine. I hate when a dog is use to being an indoor dog, then when children come, people panick, then the dog spends the rest of his life outdoors, that saddens me :( . Your dogs will adjust and be a part of the family just like your children. It will all work out, IF you BOTH want the same thing.

Also, any uneasiness on your part, you and your wife, your dogs will pick up on that and that may cause a problem. Best of luck you and your wife. It will work out if that's your goal :) .

I took a baby blanket from the hospital home for mine to sniff and be around and as I said, I never had any issues. Too many times I've seen dogs in shelters simply bc the family was having a baby :( .

Judy