So, we have begun to train the dogs for the arrival of the new baby by introducing them to baby clothing and putting a baby blanket and toy down for them to not tread on.... But I would love any advice those of you who are fellow dog owners might have for preparation of the pooches.
This picture is so cute! I obviously have no advice on this situation, but will be sure to ask your advice in the future.
ReplyDeleteDo your dogs know the leave it command? Ours do and we just tell them to "leave it" when we get a new toy, etc and they don't seem to bother it. We've done this since we first got them to train them not to play with the cat toys and it worked for that and all the baby stuff we're accumulating. Actually they seem totally uninterested in any of Riley's things. Another tip I've heard but haven't done yet (prob should since I'm quickly running out of time!) is to get a recording of a baby making different sounds like cooing, screaming, crying, etc. and play it at different times and in different places that way they're used to the sounds that the baby makes. Another tip I've heard is to pretend feed a doll and while you're doing it give them treats when they lay quietly and don't try to claim your attention when you're 'feeding' the baby. I would think this would be more beneficial for a dog that's used to being the only 'baby' but if one of yours is an attention hog it may help train them to share the attention.
ReplyDeleteBekah
I guess my one suggestion would be to make sure they are at least used to the baby gear (some dogs are deathly scared of strollers) and the noises the toys make before the baby comes. The baby swing was the one thing I remember Indigo balking at a little bit. Other than that your baby is going to smell completely different to them then those clean clothes. If they are already into textiles they are going to want to eat anything the baby wears. Our dogs knew the difference between the baby toys and their toys and really would only eat things when they wanted attention. Indigo really liked the wooden blocks and Savannah would always go for Gretchen's favorite toy (luckily that seemed to be a phase until she got more attention). I've heard of people bringing home a blanket from the baby from the hospital but as far as I'm concerned nothing really could have prepped our dogs for the real thing (but then again we didn't do anything to prepare them). Indigo was deathly scared of her and barked at her and wouldn't go in the same room as her, he calmed down from that within a few weeks. And Savannah wanted to lick her all the time and lick people who were holding her, she still hasn't gotten over that. Other than that our dogs treat Gretchen completely different then us, it's almost like they know she's fragile. No issues with them stepping on her when she was on the ground and now that's she's older they let her pull their hair and chase them and climb all over them which was something I was concerned about with Indigo because he always (and still does) growl at us when we pull on his hair, even lightly. Gretchen has ripped whole clumps out and he all he does is take the next oppurtunity to get away. Usually when they get frisky they still manage to avoid her when running around like crazy which amazes me since they run into furniture when frisky. They do knock her down every now and then but that is usually in close quarters situations and it's the butt or tail that gets her. Obviously our dogs were a little older when we had Gretchen Indigo was over 3 and Savannah was 7 so they weren't really "teenage" dogs and I think that makes a difference. Expect jealously issues, changes in behavior, or they might not even miss a beat. They might become highly protective or just not want anything to do with the baby and not really care. They'll care when the baby can start chasing them...hehe. And obviously, don't ever leave them in the room alone with the baby, but you'll be so nervous to leave your baby alone period it won't matter. Oh and one more suggestion...we tried to limit the dogs traffic in the baby's room as much as possible. Keeping the pet dander down in the baby's sleeping area can/can not help with pet allergies (who knows right?) but it was way easy for our dogs, they wouldn't jump over even a laundry basket in the doorway. At the beginning I was SUPER worried about her eating dog hair...but she lived so I don't think I'll be as nervous this time around. I see her eat dog hair daily...hehe, we all do, it's part of our diet.
ReplyDeleteyou've already gotten tons of great advice!! a few things i wish we would've done is...we put the pack n play n our room for him to sleep in and it was up weeks before he came- then the first night home we brought the blanket in that he laid on after birth... bella didn't really even sniff it- she was oblivious, but we brought him in and let her sniff him inthe car seat and check him out- obviously standing right next to her to make sure she wasn't aggressive- which she wasn't- she just wanted to lick him to death! haaha but then that night since the pack n play was up for so long (bella wasn't used to hearing any noises come from it) so when he would make a noise she would growl! haha and when he cries she comes running! so i think i would get some cry music and play it so they get used to the sound... i don't know that it would prevent or solve anything, but worth a try... after the first night she was fine adn now just runs over when he makes noises- its adorable!
ReplyDeleteshe was very alert and would run anytime i'd get up with him and that lasted a couple days, now she's back to resting like normal...
other thing someone told us was to make sure whatever they're allowed to do now, don't change it once baby comes b/c thats when they get resentment toward the baby- so if you're going to change anything, start now...if they're allowed on the couch now, still let them when baby comes, etc AND make sure you give them mommy time too b/c you will be so busy with baby (esp if you're nursing) let ross take care of the pups but make sure you give them puppy time alone too so they don't hate the baby :)
that's my 2 cents :) hopefully it helps! but if you have even tempered dogs they'll do great- bella loves her lil bro- she whines when he's crying now- its really cute :) good luck!
ashley
Not sure if it was mentioned up above or not...but we always heard (and tried to abide by) bringing 1 of the hospital blankets home that the baby was swaddled in b/f you and your sweet baby are actually discharged. That way, the pups are able to smell the actual smell of the baby and "recognize" their smell when you introduce them to each other. We always started by cracking the back door and letting our dogs sniff both of our children as newborns for the first meet. That way it was a quicker ("get used to the idea") type of meet & greet, and the dogs didn't have a chance to jump even if they wanted to. They'll probably surprise you w/ just HOW great they'll be around the baby!
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