Guest NatesmomPA Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 Hi everyone. For almost five years, we have been proud parents to a male Grey who is now 9 1/2 years old. Full disclosure - he had some aggression issues when we first brought him home but has really mellowed over the years. I just found out that I'm pregnant with twins who will be arriving in a few months. Does anyone have any advice on helping my furry kid get along with the babies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BootsyCollins Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 Congratulations! There are people here who actually know what they're doing who can give you real advice, but my advice is to just take it one day at a time, make sure everyone respect's your dog's space, especially when he's lying down / eating, and never leave babies & dog together unsupervised. There are some books that have been recommended also - hopefully someone can point out one or two that worked for them. I think one is called Living with Kids and Dogs. Good luck and enjoy every minute!! Get lots of sleep now while you can. Quote Christie and Bootsy (Turt McGurt and Gil too) Loving and missing Argos & Likky, forever and ever. ~Old age means realizing you will never own all the dogs you wanted to. ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gecko_foot Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 Hi everyone. For almost five years, we have been proud parents to a male Grey who is now 9 1/2 years old. Full disclosure - he had some aggression issues when we first brought him home but has really mellowed over the years. I just found out that I'm pregnant with twins who will be arriving in a few months. Does anyone have any advice on helping my furry kid get along with the babies? I can't give any advice on this situation, but I wanted to say congrats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest embarkguru Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 Congratulations!! I don't have twins, but mine are 12 months apart. So, I kind of feel like I had twins. We had my Greys prior to our children's arrival. Its a learning process. Our first Grey was very mellow and laid back, but we adopted a Senior right before I found out I was pregnant...she could barely tolerate herself. She was a very old and grouchy old lady. Let your dog have his space and make sure when he thinks things are too much for him (when they start crawling) that he has a space he, and only he, can go to. We turned a futon in our guest room into sanctuary. Never leave your babies alone in same room as the dogs. And, when everyone gets treats...EVERYONE should get one. I gave a little blanket that our first daughter had been bundled for the Greys to sniff and lay with. Those two dogs are on the other side on the rainbow now, and we have two other souls that live with us now. One is a overly friendly five year old and the other is a very spooky three year old. They both have figured out that is they follow the girls they will get treats. Unfortunately, my daughters have not figured out how to keep their treats to themselves. My children are five and six. Here is another great tip that I would have never thought about, but put a top lock at an adults head level so no little hands can open the door and LET THE DOGS OUT BEFORE YOU GET THEM ON A LEASH!! I'm a firm believer of baby gates. We recently just took our last baby gate down. I still have one that is on our outside porch. Good luck! I know there are some wonderful books out there that specialize in this. We did not know that when we have our Grey and babies together. Lesa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest burgerandfrey Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 Hi everyone. For almost five years, we have been proud parents to a male Grey who is now 9 1/2 years old. Full disclosure - he had some aggression issues when we first brought him home but has really mellowed over the years. I just found out that I'm pregnant with twins who will be arriving in a few months. Does anyone have any advice on helping my furry kid get along with the babies? Congratulations! We are expecting our first baby this Summer, and we have two greyhounds: A six-year-old by named Zeke and a 3-year-old girl named Lola. We adopted both of them last Summer and had another greyhound for ten years before that. Our current greyhounds have had a lot of interaction with my nieces (7 and 12), and at the park they often get attention from children who are much younger. We take some comfort in the fact that both of our dogs are comfortable around people of all ages, and they both seem to like children...especially Lola. Nonetheless we know that it will require a lot of vigilance on our part to make sure that our baby respects our dogs' space when she starts crawling. We will also need to make sure our dogs respect our baby. One of the things I've seen repeated on this forum quite often is to never leave the baby and the dogs along together... which makes sense. Another thing I've read is to make sure you don't ignore your dog's needs after the baby arrives. Include your dog in your family activities as much as you can. There are a few books out there about socializing dogs and babies/children, but I haven't purchased one yet. Sean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NatesmomPA Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Thanks everyone for all the advice! We're going to pick up some books and start getting the pup ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest spider9174 Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Hi everyone. For almost five years, we have been proud parents to a male Grey who is now 9 1/2 years old. Full disclosure - he had some aggression issues when we first brought him home but has really mellowed over the years. I just found out that I'm pregnant with twins who will be arriving in a few months. Does anyone have any advice on helping my furry kid get along with the babies? get the following books Living with Kids and dogs by Colleen Pelar Childproofing your dog by Brain Killcommons Leader of the Pack by Nancy Baer these are great starting points on what to do with kids and babies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Harry702 Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Hi everyone. For almost five years, we have been proud parents to a male Grey who is now 9 1/2 years old. Full disclosure - he had some aggression issues when we first brought him home but has really mellowed over the years. I just found out that I'm pregnant with twins who will be arriving in a few months. Does anyone have any advice on helping my furry kid get along with the babies? get the following books Living with Kids and dogs by Colleen Pelar Childproofing your dog by Brain Killcommons Leader of the Pack by Nancy Baer these are great starting points on what to do with kids and babies. Our little girl is due in about a month, and we've been working through this issue with our 6 year-old grey, Harry. We adopted him two years ago, we're well aware of his personality quirks, and have been doing what we can to prepare him (and us) for living with a baby and a dog. I think the key is to know your dog, know his/her limits, know the signs he/she gives you indicating that things aren't okay. I'd also second the baby = treats idea. We went out and bought simple glass fido jars for all the major rooms in the house and keep them stocked with training treats. That way, no matter where we are or what we're doing, there are treats immediately available to hand out. Of the books mentioned above, I've read all and can tell you that Living With Kids and Dogs Without Loosing Your Mind by Colleen Pelar is by far my favorite. I'd even go so far as to warn you away from the Killcommons book. His approach, as the title suggests, centers on the dog as an "issue," rather than focusing on how everyone interacts with each other (as in the Pelar book). It wasn't awful, but his attitude that the dog causes the problems in the relationship, and his advice on how to deal with some of the "issues"... both turned me off. Congrats on the twins and best of luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest burgerandfrey Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Of the books mentioned above, I've read all and can tell you that Living With Kids and Dogs Without Loosing Your Mind by Colleen Pelar is by far my favorite. I'd even go so far as to warn you away from the Killcommons book. His approach, as the title suggests, centers on the dog as an "issue," rather than focusing on how everyone interacts with each other (as in the Pelar book). It wasn't awful, but his attitude that the dog causes the problems in the relationship, and his advice on how to deal with some of the "issues"... both turned me off. Congrats on the twins and best of luck! Thank you for the advice on the books. I was wondering which would be the most useful, and now I'm definitely starting with the Pelar book. Sean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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