Parents and pets

NickD

When did we as a society become so ridiculous? I, along with 99% of the population, was raised with pets. We had dogs, cat, birds and fish. There was never a question of allergies or the dogs being 'a danger.' They were just part and parcel of the family. There was a neighbour's dog that was a bit mad but we were told not to go near him and they kept an eye on him. That was the height of it. People need to cop on to themselves.

Whispered

NickD wrote: »

When did we as a society become so ridiculous? I, along with 99% of the population, was raised with pets. We had dogs, cat, birds and fish. There was never a question of allergies or the dogs being 'a danger.' They were just part and parcel of the family. There was a neighbour's dog that was a bit mad but we were told not to go near him and they kept an eye on him. That was the height of it. People need to cop on to themselves.

Nick I was brought up in the same way. I remember being very young and sitting in the kennel with a lurcher, we were told how to treat the dogs and that was that. It's a lovely way to be brought up. Maybe now with instant online news we are hearing so many more bad stories, about all walks of life, people are becoming more paranoid.

In saying that, while a bit of dog hair won't bother me when the baby is born, and I don't think I will ever have to wash a foodie baby face (Joking..........kinda) I will very closely monitor every interaction between baby and dogs, but it will be as much for my dogs well being as for the babies.

NickD

Whispered wrote: »

Nick I was brought up in the same way. I remember being very young and sitting in the kennel with a lurcher, we were told how to treat the dogs and that was that. It's a lovely way to be brought up. Maybe now with instant online news we are hearing so many more bad stories, about all walks of life, people are becoming more paranoid.

In saying that, while a bit of dog hair won't bother me when the baby is born, and I don't think I will ever have to wash a foodie baby face (Joking..........kinda) I will very closely monitor every interaction between baby and dogs, but it will be as much for my dogs well being as for the babies.

Exactly, it is just monitoring both the kiddies and the dogs. I have three kiddies and two dogs and they are best buddies. They all know exactly what behaviour is expected by them and I have never had an ounce of trouble with any of them.

That said I saw a mother the other day who's 2 year old was knocking the head off their dog ( a staff) she said 'Oh he (the kid) is just so rough, and the dog doesn't mind, he does it all the time.'

Poor dog.

iguana

I think it depends on the dog. I was quite surprised with my dogs that when we first brought S home as it was quickly obvious that they thought he was an extremely interesting new toy that we had brought home but were keeping from them. It hadn't occurred to me that they wouldn't realise he was a small person but in hindsight we often gave them moving, mewling toys so why wouldn't they think that the moving, mewling bundle we'd just brought home was for them. They were at first excited and then upset at not been given this new toy and they would keep sitting very intently (as they have been trained to sit before getting food/a treat/ a toy) then quivering with anticipation before Toby would yelp with frustration to be given the new toy. Thankfully a few weeks before we stocked up on lots of new toys for them as we'd anticipated them being bored while we adjusted to the baby so we were able to occupy them with those.

Over the next few days, we very carefully let them see and smell S so they could figure out what he was. We always did this with one dog at a time in the room and several adults about, so one dog wouldn't over-excite the other and so we could quickly separate dog and baby if necessary, though it was never necessary. We also made sure not to dress S in anything that made him look more like a toy, so no furry Tigger/teddy suits in the early weeks. (At 6 weeks old after the dogs had stopped thinking of him as a toy, he was in a Tigger suit on my husband's shoulder when Dougal walked into the room and went to jump for him. He realised mid-jump that he was going for S and ran straight into his bed looking very worried but it really goes to show that those suits are a liability around teddy loving dogs.) And we spent as much time as possible all in the same room together, as I think that made it easier for the dogs to accept him as an everyday part of our lives, rather than the mysterious creature in the other room. They quite quickly realised he wasn't a toy, Toby became bored of him and Dougal developed an urge to 'mother' him, always nudging me to get him if he cried and trying to groom him every chance he got(which I had a thread about last year).

S is 20 months old now and the dogs are one of his favourite things in the world, the first word he understood, apart from his own name, was doggy. His first proper word was doggy. He has never laughed so much in his life as the first time he watched me play fetch with the dogs. I'm trying to teach him now, that not all doggies are the same. As my parents have a very nervous rescue dog who does not experience the happiness my two do at S's attempts to throw a ball for him. I think it's a bit early for him to understand this point but it's never too early for me to start saying it, as it's a really important thing for a child who loves dogs to understand.

Whispered

I love that post

Some great points too - thank you.

Raminahobbin

NickD wrote: »

When did we as a society become so ridiculous? I, along with 99% of the population, was raised with pets. We had dogs, cat, birds and fish. There was never a question of allergies or the dogs being 'a danger.' They were just part and parcel of the family. There was a neighbour's dog that was a bit mad but we were told not to go near him and they kept an eye on him. That was the height of it. People need to cop on to themselves.

So true! I didn't have any pets until we got my first dog at 7, but I was ALWAYS out playing with the dogs that were let loose around the estate. They were 'mine' and we got on great. Even down at my nanny's farm, they had a bunch of dogs that I used to run around with every summer since I was a toddler- if I ever got knocked down, or bitten (never anything serious, usually just play) I was told not to annoy the dog. I don't recall them EVER being blamed for any little accidents that used to occur, it was always either my fault, or just 'one of those things'.

ShaShaBear

Whispered wrote: »

What would be the main things for a dog owning first time parent to consider during pregnancy?

We've made sure that the dog has somewhere special to go where he will not be bothered by us or by the baby. It's dark, warm, comfortable and away from anywhere the baby would likely be for more than a minute, while still being inside the house and also not being somewhere he wouldn't normally go of his own volition.

We've made sure that he is comfortable with, and recognises the sound of a baby laughing, crying, whinging and even screaming. We know none of these noises startle, upset or aggravate him when they don't continue for an extraordinary amount of time (in which case he goes to his special place).

We've ensured that none of the more "permanent" baby furniture (eg cot) directly prevents him from doing something he would normally do (eg we didn't go and put it right on the part of the floor that he always sleeps).

We've made sure that we can still provide him with the same level of attention when the baby is here as we did before, and if there is something we cannot provide at the same level or quantity, we've slowly reduced it/changed it now so that he doesn't get shocked or upset by a sudden change (eg the time of day he is walked, we've edged it to a more suitable time in the evening so he doesn't get ratty all day thinking he won't get a walk now ).

We've also taken the time to get him used to not climbing onto either of us or demanding physical attention from us when we have a "bundle" in our hands. The bundle is just a baby blanket with a bit of baby powder and sudocrem rubbed onto it (the closest we could make it to smelling like a baby) with a doll in it, but he knows that when we hold it that he cant sit on your knee or "nose" your hand for a pet/rub. We always give him a treat when the bundle goes away, so he doesn't feel left out, and knows that when we don't have the bundle, he still gets attention

Millem

Whispered wrote: »

What would be the main things for a dog owning first time parent to consider during pregnancy?

Congrats whispered we welcomed our bundle in January dogs are soooo amazing they got me through my pregnancy when I was so sick I will never ever forget it. They would literally lie outside the bathroom door and even though the knew it was past dinner time they didn't do their usual "river dance" or they would just curl up beside me in the bed all day. When I was in labour they didn't come near me! We made any changes that we wanted to implement very early on in the pregnancy eg not allowed on couch in front room, dog gates on kitchen door which they had to stay there if visitors came or we went out etc I trained them to walk together on the lead so I had one hand free (for buggy!). We set up everything and put them in place from 30ish weeks so our blind dog could get used to it. I came out of hospital a few hours after the birth and none of them batted an eyelid! To this day one dog pays absolutely no attention to him, the eldest loves him but is blind so we be careful when buying our baby products! The youngest loves him, the other one has no interest in him at all, in fact when he tries to move towards her she just gets up and walks away! It's weird they just "know" not to be rowdy (jump) etc near high chair. My dogs are obsessed with food (they are labs) we are talking puddles of drool and they never ever go near him when he is eating. We do have a rule in our house that they must go to their beds if anyone is eating though
He never bats an eyelid if he hears barking but I suppose he was so used to it!