Just Wondering

[juliehainsworth]

I was laid on the sofa during the wkend with my dog Ty and started thinking how he'll be affected when the baby arrives. I love just lying on the sofa/bed with him but have a feeling that I wont have much time come January/Feb. I was wondering how his temperment might change? Is there anyone out there who can let me know how their dogs have coped with the arrival of a new baby?

I have ideas of how to get Ty used to having a baby in the house etc but I just want to know in what ways his personality might be affected? Will he become withdrawn etc?

When my niece was born 6 years ago we had a jack russell who was pretty old so he wasnt overly bothered. And Ty when out isnt bothered by children and babies but I've never actually had him around them in the house and so he's used to having more or less all my attention. The reason why I'm concerned is because he's young and he's also very clumsy so I need to know what sort of things to be watching out for etc.....

 

[KathyM]

Hiya

Without him having lived with babies before, it's hard to say how he'll react. If it affects how much exercise he gets, he may become more energetic (and annoying with it *lol*), either way he might sulk a bit at first. It's sadly a case of wait and see. One thing to remember, which isn't as easy as it sounds is to remember no child should ever, ever be left alone with any dog, no matter how well you know them, or how much you trust them (dog or child) - not even for two minutes. It's hard for us parents to juggle, but it has to be done.

Another good tip is to set him up (if he hasn't already got this) a space that is his alone - where his bed is - somewhere he can escape to without being pestered if it all gets a bit much for him (if his bed's in a high traffic area, you might want to shift it to somewhere where the baby won't be, o make a "safe haven" for him). I wish they did those for mums too.

Take care and best of luck!

Kathy
xx

 

[catxx]

maybe you should start inviting round teams of mums and babies to get him used to the little people!
especially when they start toddling and tails and ears are great things to tug on...

 

[KathyM]

especially when they start toddling and tails and ears are great things to tug on...

This is not something I'd allow an child to do to any dog. That's asking for a serious bite, and it's unfair to expect any dog to put up with that kind of behaviour. Please don't try to get him "used" to that kind of thing, it's not something we should encourage our children to do, and it's not fair on him in any way.

 

[juliehainsworth]

Thats one thing so far we dont have a problem with and thats having someone tug on his tail or touch his ears, I'm forever touching his ears, especially when he's dozing off on my knee (I just love dogs ears they are so soft) and when were out walking for some reason I'd just take hold of his tail and hold it, he used to turn round as if to say "What on earth are you doing woman?" but now he just ignores me if my partner does it and pulls it a bit hard he'll turn round but he doesnt do anything except look at us in disguist (spelling)

One problem I'll have is creating him his own space as he doesnt have a bed (he kept destroying them) and he's taken to sleeping either at the bottom of the stairs or on the top step which is his latest place he keeps on getting up to see me when I go to the loo in the middle of the night, no idea why but he's getting to be a mummy's boy more now that its getting cold and wet out!

I'm not planning on leaving him alone with children although he does get left semi unaccompanied with my niece in that when she's about they both get to wander the house although there is normally one of us around in the next room and doors are always open and its normally just when they are touring the house. My niece is 6 now and has been around him since he was a puppy and at that point I was more concerned as he used to have a thing for biting her legs if she'd try and play with him (luckily he outgrew that stage)!

 

[catxx]

kathy, i wasn't implying that natsuko invites round the toddlers to hang on to her dogs tail to see what happens hehehe.

fortunately you know your dog won't whip round and growl at anyone who messes with ears or tail and thats good. sometimes you just can't predict what kids will do, and they will try it out at some point, even just the once, natural curiousity to see what happens over something you keep telling them not to do hehehe.

 

[morgan]

I have 2 adult children. When my first was born I had a 4 year old VERY snappy dog. I made sure that she had as much fuss as usual and if she wanted to sit by me while I gave the baby his bottle, I let her. I made sure my children and the dog were together (under constant supervision - very tiring but worth it). The result was the children never got bitten and the dog was happy too. After she died I got two small terriers and one of those was snappy. One day my son put his foot in her basket (by accident) while she was asleep and she snapped (understandably). I gave them both a very light smack A. to teach the dog not to snap and B to teach my son not to annoy the dog! I thought that was fair. When friends with children came round to visit I put my dog in the bedroom, it was the only safe thing to do. I understand how stressful it is thinking about it but I am sure you will cope. Don't forget your hormones are all over the place at the moment and things seem worse than they are. I was just the same! When we went on holiday with some friends who had a Labrador I was convinced it was going to eat my Westie!

 

[happyannie]

Never been in that situation but from what I've heard, it's mostly the jealousy factor after this new object of all your attention comes into the house. I guess you're supposed to keep them in the loop like you'd do if you had another small child and you were dropping a sibling into their world. Make sense? Just bear with the dog if they display symptoms of jealousy and don't lock them away and treat them like they're a pain in the --- in other words , don't shove them aside.
How is your dog about protecting its food? Maybe if it is you'd need to take some steps to prevent aggressive behavior when the child is crawling around. Stuff like that. Alot of dogs really take to kids especially when it's "theirs". When I was growing up we had one who was especially protective of me as I was the youngest in the family like I was her very own baby!!
Might be confusing to the animal at first as to what this creature is too. I'd say to spend time with the dog and baby together explaining things to the dog. I think many of them understand the general idea of what we're saying if we talk to them alot. You might have to do some correcting about staying down and not climbing up on the crib etc etc at first too.
Hope this is helpful to you. I'm sure there are books out on the subject too. Now I see why you have the images you have in your signature. Many congratulations to you and wish you all the best. I bet your mom is just thrilled.

 

[juliehainsworth]

Thanks Happyannie, actually my mum wasnt overly thrilled at first but she's come round alot now and is really looking forward to the new arrival. Luckily Ty isnt possesive over food or toys infact he'll more or less ignore his food until he's hungry but I can take stuff away from him, only possessiveness with toys is during play when he wont actually give it up but darts around like a mad animal but thats just his way of playing and he might smack with his paw but no growling or baring of teeth!

I'm hoping to get a travel cot so that I can put the baby down in that when not feeding etc and possibly at first get Ty to go out of the room when feeding and changing the nappy more because I have a feeling he might try and run off with the dirty nappy or if feeding try and get on my knee or just generally get in the way (he's pretty curious)! I know having strangers round will be a problem at first until he gets used to the strangers coming in and gets to know them. We havent had any new people come round in a while so not sure if he's calmed down about strangers yet, he's more interested in people when out than he used to be.

Between having the hormones charging round my body and having my mum saying that the dog will propbably cause problems (which doesnt help) which is why I'm trying to find out as much as I can about what sort of things I might encounter.

 

[starrynightxxi]

From your posts about him, Ty sounds like a very family-concientious dog and I think that if you introduce the baby to him carefully he should take to it fine. It may also help to introduce him to the baby's smell before you even bring it home (ie: worn clothes/blanket/etc.) so that way it isn't a complete stranger.

 

[vic]

I don't know about them doing any changing, but, they usually become pretty protective!
Cheers;

 

[happyannie]

I can tell your mum is an optimist the way mine was too.
It's very smart of you to do the upfront work and find out about this. I'd let the dog get some good whiffs of the baby and satisfy his curiosity so he doesn't have to sneak it in in little bits and snatches. Just wait it out and see how he acts about stuff and go by his behavior as to how you'll proceed with things.
It's a real good sign that he's not possesive with things.... He might just be crazy over the baby and try to help you all the way..!! Good luck with it! Hard to picture everything that will happen but it's good you're thinking about it now. Maybe amazon.com has some books on the subject which might provide some comfort to you. ?? then you'll have a reference at hand...

 

[juliehainsworth]

Thanks guys, it makes a nice change to have some people giving reassurance instead of it will be too difficult having a baby and dog get rid of the dog. Which is what alot of people are telling me To me Ty is a big part of the family (in fact he's my fav family member lol)

One thing I'm thinking of doing when coming home from hospital with the baby is perhaps to get a friend to take Ty for a walk and then greet him just as we get home (away from confined space of hallway if he gets too excited) The baby should be in a car seat/carry thing which no doubt my partner will be carrying so it will leave me free to fuss Ty. This is all great if it isnt freezing out or chucking it down but it's one plan that could work. Already planning on sending something home for Ty to sniff. It's going to be a big change. I just cant wait for the good weather to come so I can take Ty for long walks with the baby etc.. If I can handle dog and pushchair. I have a feeling its going to be a huge shock when this all comes round.

hmmm someone should come up with a manual of how to deal with dog and baby lol inc how to take them for walks together, I cant imagine trying to walk ty on the lead and push the pushchair (although could attach ty to pushchair and get him to pull it uphill lol ) Ty generally walks to heel which is good but I still cant picture it working with a pushchair. Perhaps I'm just thinking things too far in advance and in too much depth I should really wait and see how things go as anything can happen between now and then.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

it's really positive that your thinking this all through now to prepare yourself and be one step ahead. plenty of people have dogs and babies together with no issues so I'm sure you'll be fine as long as you prepare yourself

remember if your having problems and getting up tight we're all here to help

 

[juliehainsworth]

Thanks Miss Wiggle, I swear your ploting to run off with Ty lol.... Then again you'd soon send him back, what kind of dog have you got???