Introducing A New Baby

[Guest maggiemay]

Well after enjoying the #1 spot for the past 3 years poor Maggie is in for a rude awakening. Our first baby is due in about six weeks time, so I am starting to think about how to prepare Maggie for this.

 

Mags looooves babies and kids and she has spent lots of time around them with no problems. She is very tolerant and patient with them and will just walk away if she has had enough. She has zero sleep/space aggression issues. The foster family she stayed with had a 1 year old and a 3 year old and she was fantastic with them, which was a big part of why we chose her.

 

We knew when we got Mags that we wanted a family one day so we have always had certain rules, including:

 

No bedroom access

No sofa

No begging for human food

And generally practicing NILIF

 

The kid will not be allowed to walk around with food, and will be taught to respect the dog's sleeping space. We will make sure that Mags always has a safe place to go and hide. And of course we won't be leaving dog and baby unattended together just in case.

 

Maggie is a creature of habit and would protest if she wasn't walked first thing every morning, so I have been trying to mix up her routine in case I am unable to walk her every day when the baby comes (DH won't be able to help out much as he has very early starts). This has worked really well, she is happy when she gets a walk but doesn't mind if she misses out occasionally.

 

I feel pretty confident that all will be well but recognize that this is a huge transition for the whole family so I would love to hear any suggestions from GTers who have dogs and small kids on what else I can do to keep everyone happy and safe. Thanks!

 

[JAJ2010]

i have no experience since i dont have kids but i grew up with dogs. just include her in everything with the baby and she will be fine. dont try to hide the baby from her

[Guest Harry702]

We're expecting our first in April, so we're working on this situation, too. I've done a bunch of reading and talked to people with dogs and new babies and this is what we're doing:

 

Now:

We have a few recordings of baby noises (crying, cooing, etc.) that we'll play at random times to get him used to the noises that babies make. It's best to start our on a very low volume, and slowly work up to louder, more realistic levels.

We take Harry to places where there are lots of kid noises (the park, a local elementary school at recess) and feed him treats for good behavior.

We taught him the commands "bed" and "kennel up" so that we can direct him to either his nearest dog bed or his crate if we need him out from underfoot.

We don't have much of the baby's stuff yet, and don't have the nursery put together... but once we do, he's welcome to investigate if he's interested.

 

At the hospital:

Hopefully, we'll be able to take some of the baby's stuff home to Harry so he can sniff before the baby actually gets home.

 

At home:

Harry can sniff if he's interested (I've talked to a few new parents with greys, and most dogs are a little wary of the new addition at first, and cautious about sniffing... so I figured we'd let him do that at his own pace.) He's welcome in the baby's room as long as one of us is in there, too.

No unsupervised interaction. Ever.

Baby will learn as soon as possible that Harry's crate and his dog beds are HIS domain, and he is not to be disturbed while on or in either.

 

I think the plan you've outlined is good. I agree that you shouldn't shield them from each other.. each is a member of the family and should be treated as such. The biggest concern is leaving baby and kid alone unsupervised. I imagine it's easy to get complacent about that one... particularly if they seem good together. Keep in mind that it's rarely the dog that "starts" a negative interaction... it's usually the baby.

[Burpdog]

I suggest reading the book Child Proofing Your Dog. There is another I'll have to find the title for.

 

Congratulations to both of you

 

edited to add: NEVER leave them alone unattended.

Edited December 4, 2009 by Burpdog

[Guest greyhound_bug]

Our son arrived 5 1/2wks early so to say we were very unprepared for his early arrival would be an understatement .

In our 6yrs of having our "boys", I had NEVER left them overnight so that was a huge shock to them. When I first came home, they were almost upset with me but happy to see me at the same time.

I had to stay in the hospital for 5 days and our son was there for 3wks in the NICU. Every time that we came home from the hospital, we brought home something with our son's scent on it whether it was a pair of jammies he had worn, a blanket that he slept with or even just the scent of him on our clothing and we would let the boys sniff it until their hearts content and encouraged them to do so. We weren't sure when our son would be able to come home so I started buying things like diapers, wipes, baby soap etc right away and let them sniff all of that stuff whenever we brought it in the house so that they would get used to those smells as well.

 

As we started to prepare our son's room, we encouraged the boys to be in there and be apart of it . We figured the more involved we allowed them to be, the less upset about the "situation" they would be. After all, they had been the only "babies" for 6yrs.

 

When we were able to bring our son home (3wks later), I came in the house alone first so that the boys wouldn't be upset with me for leaving them again and then coming home with a "mini-me" (I was able to stay at the hospital caring for my son the last week he was there). After I was in the house for 5 or so mins., my husband came in with baby and let the boys go to him right away. We made sure that they went slow and were gentle but wanted to make sure that they were apart of baby's home coming and didn't want them to feel left out. They were VERY good right away and DH and I actually got a huge surprise. Joe who is our very self centered boy embraced the role of being a big brother in a stride. Baby's bassinet was more or less in Joe's bed and whenever Joe would go to bed, he'd check the bassinet for his little brother. If baby wasn't there, Joe would look in our bed to make sure that baby was there and then lay down. For Joe being the one that we figured would pee on everything baby, he is the best "babysitter" that we could ask for .

 

Every hound is different so they all need different ways to prepare/adjust. With our boys, I think if we prepared them more than we did before baby arrived, they would have been more out of sorts and might not have adjusted to the change so quick. We are VERY lucky that all of our boys love their little (now 8mos old) brother and he really loves them too!

 

Good Luck and Congrats!

[Guest dobiegrey]

I think your plan is already very good, and what the others have advised is great too!! My only advice from experience is what ever you do, do not leave her out of ANYTHING!!! If someone else has a problem with that (like grandparents) tell THEM to get over it! The new baby must be thought of as "Maggie's baby" and she will be fine and care for him/her deeply. Babies will not melt or get sick from big sloppy dog kisses or even little gentle ones..trust me I know, my Grandson was kissed a lot by his big sloppy Bassett Hound and is now a very healthy 20 month old who absolutely adores dogs of all kind. Good Luck and Congrats!!

 

Lou

[Guest queenme2]

I think your plan is already very good, and what the others have advised is great too!! My only advice from experience is what ever you do, do not leave her out of ANYTHING!!! If someone else has a problem with that (like grandparents) tell THEM to get over it! The new baby must be thought of as "Maggie's baby" and she will be fine and care for him/her deeply. Babies will not melt or get sick from big sloppy dog kisses or even little gentle ones..trust me I know, my Grandson was kissed a lot by his big sloppy Bassett Hound and is now a very healthy 20 month old who absolutely adores dogs of all kind. Good Luck and Congrats!!

 

Lou

 

 

I can see my Mother in Law totally flipping out if Nina were to give kisses to our up coming baby. I can imagine her running for the hills. Already in the last month since we adopted Nina she swears that at any moment our lazy hound will turn on us.

 

She says the fact that Nina's ears stay tucked back is a sign of previous abuse( as if she is an expert) So I can only hope Nina makes her pop put of her head like HUGE saucers at the sight of some doggy love

 

[Guest dobiegrey]

I think your plan is already very good, and what the others have advised is great too!! My only advice from experience is what ever you do, do not leave her out of ANYTHING!!! If someone else has a problem with that (like grandparents) tell THEM to get over it! The new baby must be thought of as "Maggie's baby" and she will be fine and care for him/her deeply. Babies will not melt or get sick from big sloppy dog kisses or even little gentle ones..trust me I know, my Grandson was kissed a lot by his big sloppy Bassett Hound and is now a very healthy 20 month old who absolutely adores dogs of all kind. Good Luck and Congrats!!

 

Lou

 

 

I can see my Mother in Law totally flipping out if Nina were to give kisses to our up coming baby. I can imagine her running for the hills. Already in the last month since we adopted Nina she swears that at any moment our lazy hound will turn on us.

 

She says the fact that Nina's ears stay tucked back is a sign of previous abuse( as if she is an expert) So I can only hope Nina makes her pop put of her head like HUGE saucers at the sight of some doggy love

 

Have you told her that most of our hounds hold there ears next to their heads most of the time, unless they are on alert?!?! We could do one of those tshirts with the different expressions of a Grey and most would have their ears held tight even when VERY happy!!! Just show her some of the great pictures on this sight!! Oh I hate it when people THINK they are experts! You just let Nina sniff and kiss your new baby and be around all the time and she will be fine and your Mom in law will just have to live with it!!! I too am a Mom in law AND a Grammy and my son and daughter in laws set the rules!!! Not me and I don't want to be one of those that they don't want around because I open my mouth, so just say you are letting Nina be a big part to make sure the future is bright for HER Grandbaby's and Nina's relationship!!!! I got my education about animals from my sons pediatrician and allergists!!! When my son was about 6 we adopted a wonderful beagle girl and he started right after that having allergy problems so I asked his doctor to test for dog, he asked me if I found out he was allergic what was I going to do and I said well I guess I will have to find her a new home so he said Nope he wouldn't test him because he said my sons needed a dog in their life and we could treat the symptoms. And their pediatrian said that children "NEED" animals in their life!!!

Didn't mean to highjack your thread!!! Maggie's Mom

 

Lou

Edited December 4, 2009 by dobiegrey

[Guest ctgreylover]

I think its great that you are thinking now about how to transition. Some people forget that kids need to grow up learning how to treat an animal as much as its important to train the animal. I knew as a child that when my dog ate, I was not to go near her or risk injury. and my mother couldn't care less if I forgot that rule - not really, but you get the point! As the baby moves around more, the dogs and the baby will learn who owns what toy and who's space is whos!

Good luck!

[inugrey]

I suggest reading the book Child Proofing Your Dog. There is another I'll have to find the title for.

 

Congratulations to both of you

 

edited to add: NEVER leave them alone unattended.

Living with kids an Dogs it's more positive reinforcement. I just found this website while googling the book. Looks like this site has resources as well as sale of the book.

[Guest maggiemay]

Thank you all for your excellent suggestions! I will try to order the suggested titles and get DH to read them too.

 

I agree it would be very easy to slip into complacency especially with such a gentle dog, we will have to remind ourselves to be vigilant.

 

As the baby moves around more, the dogs and the baby will learn who owns what toy and who's space is whos!

Good luck!

 

Toy ownership is definitely going to be an issue, most of Maggie's fave toys have been "borrowed" from our nephews

[Guest DarkHorse]

Thank you all for your excellent suggestions! I will try to order the suggested titles and get DH to read them too.

 

I agree it would be very easy to slip into complacency especially with such a gentle dog, we will have to remind ourselves to be vigilant.

 

As the baby moves around more, the dogs and the baby will learn who owns what toy and who's space is whos!

Good luck!

 

Toy ownership is definitely going to be an issue, most of Maggie's fave toys have been "borrowed" from our nephews

 

I know this problem; Araley LOOOOOVES DBF's niece's toys (she's 10mos). The best thing to do is to try to keep at least the soft toys in the baby's room, as you've already said you've trained her to stay out of it. I'm not sure how Maggie is with hard plastic toys; Araley doesn't like them so they're not a concern.

 

The other "concern" we've had with our two and Lily is keeping them from poking her too hard with their noses. We restrained them a little when they first met her and whenever they got really pushy, they were tugged away and told no. They adapted quickly and now know that saying hi has to be done gently.

 

Good luck!

[RobinM]

Congrats to you and your DH. I think you are doing a greyt job before the baby comes to prepare and therefore will have it under control when the baby comes home. You've gotten excellent advice.

 

The only baby we have here is my now, almost 2 year old who I just NEVER leave alone with any of my dogs even for 3 seconds.

[Guest rachelee]

Exciting!

 

Before Holden was born, we walked around with a doll that made crying sounds. After Holden was born, we sent home blankets with the baby's smell and left them on Bistro's bed.

 

When we first came home, I came in alone and my husband brought the baby in. We had him smell the baby and gave him some hot dog (high value treat) any time he sniffed the baby in a nice way.

 

Bistro doesn't go on furniture at all, so we need to teach Holden to leave Bistro's beds alone. Bistro is very gentle, but I was still worried how it would go. I am happy to report that it has gone better than I ever expected. Our cats are much more trouble when it comes to the baby because they feel their lap time has been compromised!

 

I walk with Holden and Bistro each afternoon with few exceptions. I do recommend using a baby carrier (like a Baby Bjorn or an Ergo) instead of a stroller because I find I have much more control of the dog this way. The stroller is a pain to have while walking the dog, in my opinion. Once Holden gets older, I'll probably have to change, but I hope not for a while! When he gets even bigger I plan on strapping Holden on my back when we go on walks.

 

Good luck and it sounds like you have a good plan in place!

[BootsyCollins]

Congratulations to all of you!

 

We didn't read any books, so I can't really advise on those. Didn't read pregnancy or child rearing books either (a pediatrician friend told me early on to throw out the books and make my own mistakes). When Lucas was born, we had Argos, who was a pretty chill dog, and we have lots of nieces and nephews, so we just figured it would all work out. Unfortunately, Argos died a month after Lucas was born, but we adopted another hound - Bootsy the handful - just 2 months later. The good thing is baby doesn't do anything for a few months, so there is plenty of time for the dog to get used to the new routine before he has to deal with a crawling baby getting all up in his business. Lucas is a year old now, and our rules are:

 

1. Dog and baby are never alone together.

2. Crate is Bootsy's safe spot and Lucas is not allowed to mess with him in there.

3. There is ONE WAY to pet a dog, and that is with an open hand and a soft touch. In other words, no hitting while saying "dog" "dog" "dog"

4. No bothering Lucas while Lucas is eating, and no bothering Bootsy while Bootsy is eating. After Lucas is finished eating, the high chair is fair game, though.

5. Whoever picks up the toy first gets to keep it. I refuse to keep track of what stuffy toys belong to which kid.

 

This is what works for us. Everyone has to do what they are comfortable with. Best wishes for a speedy delivery, a healthy baby, and a peaceful home!

 

I walk with Holden and Bistro each afternoon with few exceptions. I do recommend using a baby carrier (like a Baby Bjorn or an Ergo) instead of a stroller because I find I have much more control of the dog this way. The stroller is a pain to have while walking the dog, in my opinion. Once Holden gets older, I'll probably have to change, but I hope not for a while! When he gets even bigger I plan on strapping Holden on my back when we go on walks.

 

The ergo will hold a very big kid. I have the Beco baby and it holds my gigantic monstrous 30 pounder - front or back. I really like it for walks, although he has discovered hair pulling.

[Guest Whistle]

You have been given great advice and it sounds like you are very well prepared. The only thing I would add is to make sure your hound has a "safe" place to go to get away from it all. As wonderful as it is bringing a new life into the world and bringing a baby home, it can also be very stressful for people and hounds. My hounds had a spot in the house they could go that was out of the way and they were not bothered, and they chose to spend a lot of time there those first couple of months.

 

Best of luck!

[Guest maggiemay]

UPDATE:

 

Baby Arlo arrived safely on Xmas eve (2 1/2 weeks early). We had some health issues in the first few weeks which meant Maggie had to stay with the inlaws until Arlo was 4 weeks old. She had a blanket with Arlo's and my scent on it. When she came home we made a huge fuss of her, lots of treats etc. We encouraged her to sniff everything including Arlo. She also got a new stuffie which unfortunately only survived the first two weeks!!

 

Anyway as expected Maggie lurves her new skin-pup so far. Arlo gets lots of gentle sniffs and the occasional sneaky lick, and if he cries Maggie sometimes goes to him

 

She hangs in the living room until I put Arlo down for sleep in his/our room and then moves to the bathroom next to the bedroom. Makes me think she would have made a great brood mama.

 

Having said that I am still vigilant and will continue to be as Arlo becomes more mobile. I have seen too many disturbing posts on GT to be otherwise!!

 

Thanks to everyone who posted advice.

[RobinM]

Congrats on your baby. Glad everything is working well. There will be a lot of different transitions as Arlo gets mobile as you know, but you sound very creative and willing to do what it takes to make it work for Maggie and your little family.

 

Now, we need pictures, please!

[Guest spider9174]

I'm in a similar boat.

 

I would recommend a few books:

 

Childproofing your Dog

by Brian Kilcommons

 

and

 

Living with Kids and Dogs without Losing Your Mind

Colleen Pelar

also: http://www.livingwithkidsanddogs.com/