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Hi
I've got a dog who's 9 years old and I've had him from about 6 weeks old so he's always been no 1 and he's a real human sort of dog, he loves people and is not always too keen on other dogs but he's not used to babies or children at all. My daughter is 13 weeks old now and I never leave them alone, I have to keep shoving the dog outside all the time, which is a right pain but I would never risk leaving him alone with her just in case. I just wondered how other people have got on with having a baby after having a dog for a long time? He has licked her hand 2 or 3 times, (I've washed them afterwards btw!), I think a couple of times when I've been holding her and then he licked her hand the other day after a blood test so I guess he could smell the blood as she'd got a bit of cotton wool on it. Do you think the licking is affection or something else? I normally know my dog really well but I couldn't suss out why he licked her. He's not really a licky sort of dog although sometimes he will lick mine or hubby's feet or something and that is always affectionately but I just can't tell with my LO. I will never risk leaving him alone with her but I was just interested what people think. I do get a bit nervous with him and I find myself getting annoyed with him for making my life more difficult by having to watch him all the time but I know it's not his fault, bless him, he doesn't understand.
Thanks

Replies

  • G/C from pregnancy.

    I am due in a few days and we have a nervous rescue dog- gentle as anything but she loves routine, so obviously we've been seeking advice about introducing our newborn to her.

    I found this article very useful for advice;

    http://www.my-dog.info/getting-a-dog/newborns_and_dogs.asp

    Like you, we will never, ever leave the 2 alone in a room, I just would feel better if I knew there was never a risk.

    Dogs often lick things they don't recognize, they use their tongues to explore the world, so I would not worry as long as you wash babys hand.

    Hope the article helps

    Good luck
    MG
    38+6
  • G/C

    My little one is now 18 months old with another one on the way. I have 2 dogs one small breed one medium.. both spoilt to death before we had kids.

    You will learn to relax.. dont worry. Obviously they are never left alone together but the 3 of them are the best of friends! They play together, she feeds them but they know to only take food from her if she says its ok, she cuddles them and strokes them and tells them off when they bark lol.

    They put up with her really well! We have had no problems.... when she was tiny it use to annoy me when they would sniff and lick her or go near her toys but honestly i think its good for the babys immune systems!! My little girl has never been ill... the worst she has had is 1 ear infection, shes never had a tummy bug and at 18 months old considering she has 2 dogs licking her who when she often gives a biscuit to them and then takes it off them and eats it when its already been in there mouth its very good :lol:

    You will stop getting annoyed with him ... honestly i felt the same but once your little one loves the doggy you will see how workable it is image My daughters first giggle was because of the dogs! image xx
  • PS we took some advice from Dogs trust and were told NOT to force the dog outside as this means the dog associates baby with bad things. Instead we were told to get the dog to go to bed and then reward her there, so she only associates baby with nice things. Might be worth trying

  • Hi we have a 3 year old shih tzu (had her since she was 8wks old) & she has always been our princess (well more mine than H2Bs) & we were slightly worried how she would react to someone else getting our attention more. when we brough Jack how we left him in his car seat & let her sniff him for a few minutes & told her "good girl", gave her a cuddle & buscuit etc. Everytime she came near him & was good she got the same treatment. I believe that if we stopped her or put her outside she would associate Jack with being bad & then one day she might turn on him. Dont worry I understand she could still do this at some point. But we dont leave them alone together either unless Jack is in his cot, but Millie (the dog) usually follows us out the room anyway. She has licked Jack a few times & we reward that as well. We want them to be the best of friends as Jack grows up but obviously we wont force the situtation on either of them. we will let them bond in there own time.

    Just take it one day at a time

    xxx
  • I think that you're dog was just licking her hand because of the blood really. Dogs like to lick cuts and apparently a dogs tongue is antiseptic so it won't do it any harm.

    We have a 2 year old yorkie who is absolutely fab with Riley. I never left them alone when he was a tiny baby but I do now. She's such a softy, she even sleeps in our bed with us! She goes up to Riley and licks him and he couldn't really do much about it when he was younger but now he'll pull her fur and she's so soft she just takes it! We try to tell him not to though, but now she tends to keep out of the way especially when he's in his walker cuz he goes straight for her!

    I think you'll relax a little as lo gets older but I think you should try not to treat the dog any differently. We treat ours the same as we always had really and they get on really well. x
  • I think the same as xkelx - it was because of the blood, licking wounds and a dogs saliva being antiseptic. I wouldn't read anything malicious into it or worry. If anything your dog was trying to care for your baby image

    I have a 10yr old dog who dotes on us & vice versa. We've still fussed her as usual so she doesn't see our baby as competition. She doesn't particularly bother with him at all and only approaches him if we're with him. I don't force my baby on her trying to make her be friends, I let her go at her own pace. She sometimes licks his hands or the top of his head and my LO giggles. I don't let my dog get too close as my LO now grabs at things. I don't think she would bite but I don't want to put her in a situation where he's suddenly gripped her fur by surprise. I must add I don't leave them alone either. I think it is possible for babies/kids and dogs to co-habit but I also believe supervision is necessary.
    I've worked with dogs for over 10yrs now and I would never 100% trust any dog. They cannot communicate fully or tell you how they feel. It's just too risky, especially where a baby is concerned.

    I personally think it's good for children to interact with animals. I believe it can help their development plus I've heard that kids brought up with animals are less likely to have allergies. Yay!

    Shell xx
  • i have a 5 month son and a 7 year old son and a 2 year old german shepherd. She is very good with kids but is very licky at the baby. I have always seen it as her putting some of her scent on him and that she;s treating him as a puppy. I might be wrong but that how it looks to me. I let her lick his hand but not his face and let her sniff him. i wouldn't leave them alone as she is a young dog herself and i wouldn't want her put in a position where she might nip.
  • I have a 3year old son, a 3 month old son and 3 dogs - a german shepperd, a border collie and a cockerpoo. They have always been very good and are protective of both of them. I never leave them alone with baby. They are not allowed in the nursery and sleep downstairs now. I don't put them outside when he is on the floor but they know they are not allowed to lay next to him. I am hoping that it is true about not having allergies cos at the moment my baby seems to get runny eyes/sneeze itch etc if he comes into contact with fur from dogs or the cat. So they are not akkowed to touch him and we have to wash our hands after fussing them.
  • They did a study a while ago (can't remember where I read it) which said that children from farms who grew up with animals where more often sick in the first four years of their lives. (colds and such) after that they were significantly less sick than the children who grew up in the city and without animals around them.

    They concluded that they had far less allergies because their body actually had something to fight, rather than to attack itself and cause allergies. Becase of that reason I am not stopping our cats interacting with our lo. (they run when he gets to close) I also don't stop him from getting close to the dogs of PIL. The dogs do lick his hands and try to lick his face, but they also do that to me, so not much going I am worried about. I do keep an eye out though and never leave them alone. (one of them sometimes starts to nibble rather than just lick)
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