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Baby and Dog!

Hi All

just wanted to know about those who have had a baby and already have a dog!  how did you introduce them and did you have any issues

I have a 5 year old westie who lives with my parents and is a complete spoilt brat! he can be quite aggressive at times!  he is extremly protective over my parents and i am worried about how he will be when they bring him to my house! they live to far away to leave him on his own when they come to visit and like it or lump it he needs to get used to having a baby here!

if you have any tips or advice i would appreciate it!

Replies

  • we have a 3 yr old lab, and we were advised to leave baby stuff out and around for her to get used to , also once baby is born maybe you can send your mum and dad home with a baby grown or teddy etc something that smells like baby, that they can give to the dog, so he gets used to the babies scent ?

    we leave out the car seat and bouncer etc every now and then and she doesnt even notice it any more

  • Ooh, we have a dog (obviously!), and it's something I've been thinking about.  If the dog lived with you it wouldn't be so tricky, as it wouldn't take too long to associate baby with being a member of the pack.  With a dog who will only occasionally visit and is already known for being aggressive at times, I would suggest keeping the dog in a different room, unless it's around quite often.  How often will the dog be around?  Having it get used to the baby's smell by sending babygro might be enough, but actually spending a prolonged period near baby would be better, slowly building up the time the spend near each other.  It's a tough one.

    My brother and SIL have a rescue who has bitten handsy children in her family, and they had their first son when they lived in the UK and the dog was in Canada at my mom's.  When the dog came to join them Henry was about 8 months old and the dog would growl at him whenever food was around and they had to keep them entirely separate unless Henry was in his high chair or a jumper.  Now the dog knows he's family, but will still be protective of her food and water and toys, so there's a lot of supervision when they're in the same room together.

    My other brother and SIL just had a baby about 14 weeks ago and they have two very friendly dogs, and they have both been fine around baby since day one.  The older dog especially mothers baby, sleeps at the foot of her bouncer, gives her forehead a lick when she walks by, etc.  it's really very sweet to see.  What's obvious to me is that the breed of dog and the dogs experiences and personality will really effect the outcome, and no two dogs will be the same with a baby added to the family.

  • We have a black lab who was 3yo when we had aaron..they are best friends and weve never had a problem. She cuddled in from the moment we brought him home.

    Never had any agression etc before hand though, just be extra careful i guess

  • I have two dogs. One is 15 and just ignores F most of the time. The other is dying to get playing with him. I have never had a problem with them being aggressive even when F managed to grab her ear and hurt her. I am very cautious and it does make life harder but thankfully there have been no issues.



    I agree with Wispa about it being different when it is someone else's dog and I thinknin these circumstances I would keep them apart if possible.
  • We did the baby grow thing with our dog and he was fine. My mum was very wortied about her big lab as he used to be reallt frightened of screaming kids. But he has been a star and all 4 grandkids pull him and climb on him and he doesn't bat an eye lid.

    I would probably make sure that the dog doesn't feel left out. He'll be curious of this new little person. Let himhave a sniff and don't shut him out. It all then becomes a big deal amd could make him edgy round the baby.

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