Guest iLoveLucie Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Friends of ours had a BBQ and invited our newest family member, 2.5 year old brindle Lucie, who has been living with us for about a month now. Our friends have 2 rag-doll cats; since Lucie tested "cat friendly" we planned to come over early and try an intro. When we got there, we learned other friends would be coming and bringing their 5 month old twin boys. Our dog has been exposed briefly to some young children in the neighborhood while out for walks. She does GREAT even when the kids don't follow the rules. But Lucie has not been up close to any babies yet, only passed by some in stollers. We switched up the game plan to make sure she'd be OK with the babies. Our friends kept their cats closed off in another room, we put on Lucie's muzzle and kept her leash on and basically followed our plan that we had for Lucie to meet the cats. Side question - She kept rubbing her muzzle against our legs and the carpet to try to get it off. We have not muzzled her much since we've had her - is it possible for Greyhounds to grow to dislike their racing muzzles? Back to the intro: I sat with Lucie on the floor and had her sit/lay down. Our friend sat across from us, maybe about 5 feet away, on the couch holding one baby. The boys were quiet, never crying once. Lucie seemed OK but I did notice she NEVER took her eyes off the little guy. Then they laid out a blanket on the floor, a few feet away from us and put the baby on the blanket. At this point Lucie sprang up to stand; she didn't jump, but she was pulling super hard to go check out the baby. I couldn't get her to sit/lay down so I got up to walk her to another area in the room to distract her/calm her, but it was clear she was very interested in the baby. As I was trying to lead her away, she whined a little and then barked which she RARELY does - only about once a day when we are playing ball/fetch with her. I think it made the parents nervous, and it definately made me nervous, so we took Lucie home. Did we over-react and remove her from the new situation too quickly? I think she just wanted to sniff (she sniffs everything new!) but with the muzzle, etc. I wasn't sure how close to let her, especially since she wasn't very calm. I have 3 young nephews and would like to include Lucie in our family events, but want to keep everyone safe. Any suggestions on how to handle an intro better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BootsyCollins Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Welcome to GT! We adopted Bootsy when our son was only 3 months old. The first time Lucas was laying on a blanket on the floor, we muzzled and leashed Bootsy, he was EXTREMELY interested. We let him go over and sniff, and he was fine. But the flying hands and feet were very appealing from afar. It could be that that's all Lucie wanted to do - investigate. Sounds like you did the right thing - if the parents had been comfortable, you may have tried allowing Lucie to sniff, but that's entirely up to the parents. Good luck with her - sounds like a nice girl. 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...
TheFullHouse Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 She was curious and just wanted to check out those little things. Next time, with the parents permission, keep her on lead and let her check out the baby. Once she's sniffed all she feels the need to, she'll probably walk away. I just retired from doing home daycare and my dogs have met all sorts of kids. Here are some examples. My bridge angels Emmy and Andy meeting a lady coming out of Petco. Andy meeting baby Emma Andy with Emma when she was a little older Emma and Emmy (after Emmy had gone blind) All the dogs stayed in a room baby gated off of the daycare and with parents permission I would bring one at a time out to visit the kids. Some of my kids would pick favorites and ask for their favorite to come out of the room and play. Quote Judy, mom to Darth Vader, Bandita, And Angel Forever in our hearts, DeeYoGee, Dani, Emmy, Andy, Heart, Saint, Valentino, Arrow, Gee, Bebe, Jilly Bean, Bullitt, Pistol, Junior, Sammie, Joey, Gizmo, Do Bee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gert Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Side question - She kept rubbing her muzzle against our legs and the carpet to try to get it off. We have not muzzled her much since we've had her - is it possible for Greyhounds to grow to dislike their racing muzzles? Sounds like to me you did everything right....although, I don't have any kids....but, I bet she just wanted to sniff the baby to figure out what he was. As for your side question, even active racers, who wear their kennel muzzles everyday, do this. Andy and Emmy! What a special pair they were! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFullHouse Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 (edited) One other thing, both parents of the baby and parents of the dog have to be comfortable with the introduction. Dogs will pick up on anxiety and act accordingly and be nervous also. Once you've had Lucie a while and can read her better, you'll be able to put her in situations like you did and feel comfortable making introductions. You did good! Edited because I need to learn to spell! Edited June 9, 2010 by JillysFullHouse Quote Judy, mom to Darth Vader, Bandita, And Angel Forever in our hearts, DeeYoGee, Dani, Emmy, Andy, Heart, Saint, Valentino, Arrow, Gee, Bebe, Jilly Bean, Bullitt, Pistol, Junior, Sammie, Joey, Gizmo, Do Bee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lasharp1209 Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Side question - She kept rubbing her muzzle against our legs and the carpet to try to get it off. We have not muzzled her much since we've had her - is it possible for Greyhounds to grow to dislike their racing muzzles? even active racers, who wear their kennel muzzles everyday, do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest iLoveLucie Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 Phew - thanks everyone! Those pics of Emma and Andy are wonderful I agree with the comment on Lucie being calm if all the people are calm. I will probably be more calm when introducing her to my nephews since I know them better too! I think we are planning a get together for Father's Day, so I'll let you know how it goes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest iLoveLucie Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Update: This weekend for Father's Day we are headed to my brother's house and Lucie is invited. I found out my sister-in-law used to volunteer at a Greyhound Adoption/Rescue group when she was growing up so she is familiar with the breed and is very excited to meet Lucie! There will be a lot of new people for Lucie to meet: my brother/sister-in-law/3 nephews (the oldest is almost 3 and the twins are 9 months old), my mom and dad, plus my brother's in laws: mom/dad/brother/girlfriend. I'm so glad my family is welcoming Lucie with open arms, but I also know this will be A LOT of excitement for her! New people, new house and yard, new babies.... This morning when we ran into a neighbor on our walk, Lucie got super excited - our neighbor did egg this on with her own excitement/baby talk - and Lucie jumped up on her! She's never done this before, and the neighbor was fine with it having several big dogs herself. But I'd like to try to avoid this if possible with my family - especially with my young nephews around! My husband and I have been taking the approach of NOT greeting Lucie with super excitement, even sometimes ignoring her until she is nice and calm. This works, but I'm a little unsure how to educate my family to do this. Any suggestions about how to best setup Lucie for a successful first family party? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFullHouse Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 I would explain to all family members and new guests arriving to not excite Lucie by talking in a high voice, encouraging her to jump up and say hello (usually by patting one's chest) and to have the babies greet Lucie with the parents sitting down, not standing and holding the babies in their arms. Also be very aware that Lucie will chase any child that runs! Although she may be only trying to play, greyhounds are big dogs and can injure small children accidentally so if there are going to be children running in the yard, I'd keep Lucie on a leash. Bring her bed with you so you can lay it next to your chair where she can observe everything that goes on. Always supervise her well around children because some kids don't know how to behave well around dogs and take her muzzle just in case. Quote Judy, mom to Darth Vader, Bandita, And Angel Forever in our hearts, DeeYoGee, Dani, Emmy, Andy, Heart, Saint, Valentino, Arrow, Gee, Bebe, Jilly Bean, Bullitt, Pistol, Junior, Sammie, Joey, Gizmo, Do Bee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhoundlov Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 I just retired from doing home daycare . I didn't know that!!! Do you miss it? Quote Mary in Houston Everyone has a photographic memory, but not everyone has film. LAND OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFullHouse Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 I just retired from doing home daycare . I didn't know that!!! Do you miss it? I miss the kids. The hassles with the parents, not so much. Quote Judy, mom to Darth Vader, Bandita, And Angel Forever in our hearts, DeeYoGee, Dani, Emmy, Andy, Heart, Saint, Valentino, Arrow, Gee, Bebe, Jilly Bean, Bullitt, Pistol, Junior, Sammie, Joey, Gizmo, Do Bee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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