Pets and babies?

jigsaw07

Hi guys,

My wife and myself are due our first baby on 21 may, we have a 14 month old male boxer and we are both worried as to how he will take to the new arrival, we did condider re-homeing him but in the end we said we would end up regretting it

So im basically writing this thread in the hope that i will get some good advice or even some similar experiences???

cowzerp

There will be no problems as long as your responsible and dont leave the pet alone with the baby ever! the odds are that they will be fine but dont take chances as far as leaving them alone.

please dont dump the dog out as it has done no wrong but just be aware of been a responsible pet owner.. As the child grows it will be great for hi/her to have a little playmate..

jarvis

Hi Jigsaw

My wife and I were in a similar position. We had 2 six year olr yorkies who live in the house and were living the high life.
Some of thing we did:

I brought home a blanket from the hospital on the first night after our daughters birth. She had been wrapped in the blankek all day. I put the blanket in the dogs bed to get them used to the baby smell.

On the day we broght the baby home we made sure my wife did not carry the baby into the house and she went straight to the dining room to say hello and give treats to the dogs while I carried the baby into the living room. My wife spent 5 mins alone with them and then brought them into see the baby. Obviously they were very curious so we let them sniff at the baby etc.... a book told us to do this. It basically said that they are like children and to treat them similarly. Be careful not to shout at him etc when he gets close to the baby as he will associate the new arrival as the cause of your turning on him.
Don't leave them alone if you're unsure about safety but when you there let him explore safely.

Our daughter is 2 now and she adores the dogs they are best buddies and it's great.


good luck with it. Congrats on the baby too.

anniehoo

Good advice from Jarvis there. The main thing is to not to make the baby a thing of mystery to the dog. He'll naturally be curious on the new arrival and will want to have a nose to see whats going on. Just praise and fuss over the dog when the babys in the room and never scold him as he'll jsut associate the baby with a negative atmosphere. Act naturally and never (obvious enough) leave him on his own with the new arrival. You should have no problems and when the baby gets older he/she'll have a great little playmate. Good luck!

Lorrs33

My poor dog always gets yelled at when my nephew comes over coz she keeps licking his face. When my niece was small, the dog knocked her over twice, just wanting to jump up on her. Dogs are naturally curious and they just want to be friendly. I love seeing couples out with their buggies and dogs at the same time

jigsaw07

thanks a million guys got some good pointers there, i forgot to mention as our dog is a boxer we are especially worried as they are generally very playfull and very energetic so we are wondering is getting him neutered an option for him or not, he does get jealous from time to time to, like for example when the missus and myself are all cuddled up on the couch watchin tv he always jumps in between as if he is trying to say "hey im here to you know"!! its just little things like that..

anniehoo

jigsaw07 wrote: »

is getting him neutered an option for him or not,

Sure its an option but its not by any means a magic solution to a boisterous personality..only obedience classes will help you with that and consistency from you. If you're allowing him to jump up on the sofa for example now, thats not going to stop once the baby arrives or if you neuter him, that needs to be learned and can only be taught by you.

Lauragoesmad

jigsaw07 wrote: »

thanks a million guys got some good pointers there, i forgot to mention as our dog is a boxer we are especially worried as they are generally very playfull and very energetic so we are wondering is getting him neutered an option for him or not, he does get jealous from time to time to, like for example when the missus and myself are all cuddled up on the couch watchin tv he always jumps in between as if he is trying to say "hey im here to you know"!! its just little things like that..

Hey Jigsaw07,
First off, CONGRATS!!

I am all for getting dogs neutered but there is one rare side effect with boxers. They can lose their hair in small patches as their testosterone levels drop. Usually around their hind legs or backs. Have a chat to your vet and see if he/she knows how often this occurs. On the otherhand, there are many other health benefits if you do decide to get him neutered.

One way to help your dog get used to the new arrival is to give him a small treat whenever the baby is around. This inforces in the dogs head that the baby is a good thing in his life too. Make sure to tell visitors to say hello to the dog and not to ignore him. You and your wife could have all these rules set in stone and it could just take a someone visiting who doesn't realise to undo all your good work. This is a big change in his life too.

Good Luck with everything!!:)

jigsaw07

Lauragoesmad wrote: »

Hey Jigsaw07,
First off, CONGRATS!!

I am all for getting dogs neutered but there is one rare side effect with boxers. They can lose their hair in small patches as their testosterone levels drop. Usually around their hind legs or backs. Have a chat to your vet and see if he/she knows how often this occurs. On the otherhand, there are many other health benefits if you do decide to get him neutered.

One way to help your dog get used to the new arrival is to give him a small treat whenever the baby is around. This inforces in the dogs head that the baby is a good thing in his life too. Make sure to tell visitors to say hello to the dog and not to ignore him. You and your wife could have all these rules set in stone and it could just take a someone visiting who doesn't realise to undo all your good work. This is a big change in his life too.

Good Luck with everything!!:)

Wow did not know that!!!! ive heard that they are prone to putting on a lot of weight too and you have to watch their diet and walk them more to keep the weight off them, he has got classes in obdience already and it seems to have changed him slightly. as i was writing this post my wife said that she would be worried when i would be holding the baby as i would be his favourite, for example he follows me everywhere around the house, even when i go to the shop he come with me in the car, and everytime im gone to work or whatever and its just himself and the wife, he whines like crazy and just stares out the window till i come back!!!

but thanks to everyone for all the advice and pointers.

Beth

Congrats

There's a few threads floating about recently on neutering and spaying - they might help you out on making that decision.

With the whining when you're gone, it sounds to me like separation anxiety. You've a while yet to go before baba arrives, so gives you plenty of time to knock the separation anxiety on the head - getting him used to being without you in the room for periods of time, coz i'm sure that once baba arrives, ye would like to be able to have a little time for ye'reselves while the baby is asleep, without the dog climbing up between ye.

There's loads of information on the internet about how to handle it, what the signs are, and how to recondition the dog. Dogs dont show all the signs though, so even if there are few symptoms, and going from what you said in your latest post, its a big possiblity that the dog is suffering separation anxiety.

These might help you out for a start. How to handle Canine Separation Anxiety and 5 Signs Of Canine Separation Anxiety And What To Do

jigsaw07

thanks beth.

Big Mig

Firstly - congrats with the impending arrival...

I hope you dont mind but a couple of things spring to mind...

You would be better not to not let the dog on the sofa - a dog is a pack animal and he needs to know that he is at the bottom of the pack. If he is on the sofa then in his mind he is at the same "level" in the pack as you. When the baby comes along and is on the sofa too then he is at the same "level" in the pack as the baby... (I hope you get what I am trying to say!)

Another thing is to be careful when he is fed - basically he should be fed after you guys have had your dinner...

Another small thing is that you should go out of a door in front of him...you are higher in the pack!!

Basically, when the baby comes the baby will automatically be higher in the "pack" than him. He needs now to understand that he is lower in the pack than yourselves...

We have a dog to which this applied - once we realised this he became a different dog....(he thought he was higher up the pack than our kids!)

ps - this is just our experience though...:)

Skillie

Big Mig wrote: »

Firstly - congrats with the impending arrival...

I hope you dont mind but a couple of things spring to mind...

You would be better not to not let the dog on the sofa - a dog is a pack animal and he needs to know that he is at the bottom of the pack. If he is on the sofa then in his mind he is at the same "level" in the pack as you. When the baby comes along and is on the sofa too then he is at the same "level" in the pack as the baby... (I hope you get what I am trying to say!)

Another thing is to be careful when he is fed - basically he should be fed after you guys have had your dinner...

Another small thing is that you should go out of a door in front of him...you are higher in the pack!!

Basically, when the baby comes the baby will automatically be higher in the "pack" than him. He needs now to understand that he is lower in the pack than yourselves...

We have a dog to which this applied - once we realised this he became a different dog....(he thought he was higher up the pack than our kids!)

ps - this is just our experience though...:)

Oh dear god!! DO NOT listen to this person they learned all they know from the dog whisperer and it is complete nonsense. Please read some modern educated articles from reputible sources such as Ian Dunbar. These ideas of dogs plotting to take over your life because they go out the door ahead of you are so antiquated and far out of whack from modern canine behavioural thought is its untrue. the advice previously given about the introduction to the baby and the positive reinforcement were good. If you want you dog on the couch let your dog on the couch hes there cos its comfy and likes being around you not cos he wants to take over as head of the household. One of ours used to like being on the couch, the couch got changed for a leather one, she didn't like that so she doesn't go on it anymore. not very complicated to figure out her agenda there, warm and cosy?? Dogs recognise that we are not dogs they are not in competition with us why would they be they've trained us brilliantly to provide them with everything they need!!

Skillie

not a million miles away from the good advice already given

http://dogs.about.com/cs/childrenanddogs/a/aa112002a.htm

so cute

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYl8SYNuaKQ

jigsaw07

once again guys thanks for all your good advice have gotton loads of good ideas for you all.

thanks again

Big Mig

Skillie, sorry that I seem to have offended you? I have never read the dog whisperer book and was only speaking from my own experience.

seanybiker

animals rule. Rehome the baby

Skillie

Big Mig wrote: »

Skillie, sorry that I seem to have offended you? I have never read the dog whisperer book and was only speaking from my own experience.

You didn't offend me Big Mig it just makes me sad/angry to see these old fashioned and incorrect methods used against dogs. Maybe you didn't pick them up from the dog whisperer either the show or the books but you didn't make them up you picked them up from someone with the same misguided ideas of packs order, dominance, alfa males etc. I've watched the show and read the books and used to be a fan till i started to think to myself that a lot of what he was saying was a bit well eh insane!! i started to read alternative views till i discovered the professional dog word couldn't agree less with him. he is doinga lot of damage because he is perpetuating bad methods. he is no doubt very good with dogs and i think his heart is in the right place and he believes in what he does but he is just about half a century behind what modern experts know. His show is all drama and well constructed TV. I won't prattle on about him as you said you didn't hear this stuff from him so thats fair enough. i would just encourage you to read some articles and books by more learned, modern thinking dog psychologists and stop thinking of dogs as having to be dominated in order to be well balanced. I don't blame you for being misinformed but i just couldn't allow bad advice to go into action without countering it. Couple of quotes from Eisenhower that are pertinent:

"You don't lead by hitting people over the head - that's assault, not leadership." (not saying anyone hits their dogs its a metaphor)

"Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it."

clairem

Skillie wrote: »

Oh dear god!! DO NOT listen to this person they learned all they know from the dog whisperer and it is complete nonsense. Please read some modern educated articles from reputible sources such as Ian Dunbar. These ideas of dogs plotting to take over your life because they go out the door ahead of you are so antiquated and far out of whack from modern canine behavioural thought is its untrue.

That's a bit harsh!!! When we were having problems with one of our dogs last year we were referred to a veterinary behaviourist (one of the best qualified in Ireland) and she gave us similar advice to what BigMig is suggesting. Our dog's behaviour improved significantly after following her advice and he's now a much happier chap. You're right though in saying that positive training methods are very important

Skillie

clairem wrote: »

That's a bit harsh!!! When we were having problems with one of our dogs last year we were referred to a veterinary behaviourist (one of the best qualified in Ireland) and she gave us similar advice to what BigMig is suggesting. Our dog's behaviour improved significantly after following her advice and he's now a much happier chap. You're right though in saying that positive training methods are very important

maybe but i'm just trying to make the point these methods are outdated and there are better more modern ways of raising your dog. just do some research on the topics and you will find rafts of books and articles which counter the older ideas of pack order and being your dogs alfa etc and notions that if you are not the alfa the dog will try to be. Even the guy who was largely responsible for the wolf pack hierarchy beliefs has recently written books about how he was wrong and wolves don't in the wild fight their way to being the supreme leader of the pack. Not meaning to sound harsh just asking people to take the most modern and positive approach with their dogs

please read this

http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/man-who-cried-alpha