I swear my animals are totally clueless of the fact that I'm pregnant. Maybe not so much the cat, he's totally more clingy to me than normal. But our dog jumps all around, totally ignores my belly, and pretty much treats me as usual. It really surprises me because she's so protective of me and she's definitely MY dog. She's never been around children/babies at all, and I'm kind of worried about how she'll adjust and what we can do to help prepare her? She's a German Sheperd and they are generally pack dogs, which just means it's important for her to see the baby as part of her "pack" like us, and not an outsider. Any advice???
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It's like you took the thought right out of my head! Ours is a german shepherd mix, and I'm petrified about his reaction. He's never really been exposed to children, and I have no idea how he'll behave.
I'll be keeping my eye on this post, hoping there's some great advice out there!
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We brought home a blanket with her scent on it while we were still at the hospital so he could get used to it. I also heard when you come home don't hold the baby and give him attention first.
Our pup is part shepherd, and it did take a little while for him to get used to the baby. Just because she would scream a lot and he didn't love that. He'd go into the other room
now he loves her and loves licking her feet!
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Honestly, the fact that your dog has NEVER been exposed to babie/kids would worry me. I made a conscious effort to expose my dog to all sorts of people when she was a puppy so I know she's comfortable around babies.
It's important not to separate the dog from the family once baby is home. Yes, you need boundaries put in place, but trying to keep the dog completely away from the baby usually backfires.
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We have 2 greyhounds at home.
We put all of baby's furniture where it will be when she gets home so that the dogs weren't freaked out by moved furniture AND the new baby.
Honestly, that's the only thing we did. We make sure that the dogs can interact with our daughter (only when we are supervising obviously), and otherwise have tried to keep their routine exactly the same as it used to be.
They have reacted really well, and mostly just leave my daughter alone completely.
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We already have a kid, so we aren't doing anything. My friend did buy one of those dolls that cries and stuff, and had that out for about a month or so before she was due.
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@Navy_Mommy: yeah that's the whole reason I'm worried. She's seen kids at the park and stuff, but there haven't been any small children or babies in our family in forever for her to interact with. She is a very loving and protective dog though, so I'm hoping once the baby is introduced in the house, she will feel the same way towards her.
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I know my cat is good with babies. He loves them - will sit about a foot away and purr, rub up against them when he's invited, and tolerates being carried/grabbed too (not that I will leave the cat unattended with the baby - he climbs on my chest when I'm sleeping. But he doesn't use claws while playing with us to begin with.) He also glares at me if I watch a video with a crying baby, and he's happy when I watch a laughing baby. He actually smacked me for watching a video of a screaming baby once (not the computer, me, for not helping the baby.) Our other cat just avoids things she doesn't understand, never walks directly on us, and generally just wants to be within sight of humans so she can purr at us.
We will NOT have a dog and children under 3 at the same time. I'd prefer that to be children under 5. Maybe that's because our first dog bit me in the face the first day we had her (I was 5). I was never much of a dog person after that. BUT that was a Chow who was known to be aggressive (she bit her previous owner as soon as we gave her back.)
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We have a Newfoundland dog who has been exposed to babies when my friends had them, but that was a long time ago, so I am not sure if he remembers.
I work in NICU, so I bring home baby smells on my scrubs all the time, and while he used to give them a good sniff when I came home, he doesn't really care anymore. He likes babies on TV, and always looks at us like we should make it stop when he hears babies crying.
Newfoundland dogs are known as a breed for being really good with kids. We will set up baby stuff in advance and teach him to leave it alone (which he is really good at learning). Otherwise, when we bring the baby home, one of us will put him on a leash for the initial intro (with the baby in a carrier, or bundled on the couch) and we will just make sure that they are closely supervised, but we won't be separating him from the baby or us.
The cat on the other hand is anyones guess, he is pretty skittish, so I assume he will stay away, and he will be trained to stay out of the babies crib/carrier/bassinet/swing.
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We are letting The Boy play "kick the cat" when one of them sits on my belly. Every time it happens, the cat gives me a horribly offended look, like asking what my problem is.
I wish that I was thinking ahead beyond that, we really have no excuse being that my husband is a vet and I am a vet tech- we really should be coming up with a better plan.
We have a very clingy cattle dog, we all know this will be a big adjustment. We have a vague plan that we will tag team- whoever does not have the baby will be giving the dog attention when possible until things settle down. We'll try to continue his walks as best as we can (thank goodness my MIL will be coming to help there!).
Honestly, we all know the first few weeks are going to suck for everyone to adjust to.
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We have 2 dogs who have had minimal exposure to babies/children...pretty much only at the dog park (1-2 every 2 months). I'm a bit worried to see what will happen when LO arrives (Feb). So far we've let the furbabies hang around the crib and nursery....I plan to get a doll and wash baby's clothes/blankets/etc in the detergent we'll be using and have that around the house.
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We have two extremely hyper Boston terriers. I am worried about them + baby not for aggression but accidental incidents. We are trying to get them out of the habit of jumping on the couches (not going well so far). I have no idea what we'll do about tummy time and all that. Normally, if we're on the floor, the dogs think we want to play.
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We have 2 boxers. Our femaled we adopted from a family with 4 young children, so she knows the drill and is great with kids (she's wise to the food situation... babies mean food dropped on floor and stick delicious fingers to lick!). Our male was socialized as well as we could when he was a puppy, but didn't have much access to children because there were none in our family. He's the protector, so once he figures out that this is important to us, I think he'll be fine. ATM, we have my old cabbage patch doll in the crib, and when I take it out, I say "gentle" let them sniff it, and then put it back. I have also gotten into the habit of sitting in the baby's room when I read and they'll come in and lay by my feet. I feel like me being in that room an acting normal helps make the transition easier for them.
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We have 2 cats and a German Shepard. I don't think we will have a problem with the cats, both are really gentle and I think they know I'm pregnant. My boy kitty likes to sleep with his head on my tummy so I think he's bonding with baby from now.
We really tried to socialize our puppy with small children and she's really good with them but she's really hyper so I worry how she'll be with an infant. The plan now is to keep baby and puppy separated at first, maybe let the dog smell some of the babies stuff until we feel comfortable enough to mix them. -
I think we're going to try and lay out as many toys as possible before the baby comes home, because our dog has a habit of stealing other babies' toys now! He's snatched away a Minnie Mouse plush and a little star plush from my best friend's daughter.
Otherwise, he is really good with kids. He lets them "pet" him (poke his eyes, hit his head, pull his tail) and doesn't seem to mind them. If anything, he is a little jealous when the attention is going to someone else.
I hope he'll be like this dog!
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I would definitely recommend to start pulling your dog's ears, tail, etc. because that's the first thing a toddler will start going for.
I did multiple training classes with my dog and they would pet the dogs then basically pull on every part of them, lol. Now my dog doesn't even flinch if you start tugging on her mouth or ears.
My friend has a 9 month old son and when he gets excited he waves his arms around. Well, he got really excited about the dog and slapped her in the face, poked her eye, then grabbed her ear (probably cuz it's super soft). My friend was super impressed that my dog wasn't even phased (she was more focused on sniffing his diaper and licking his hands).
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@Navy_Mommy: we've done that since she was a puppy, and she could really care less. We also give her bones and stuff, and take them away from her, put our hands in her food bowl, or pull it away from her while she's eating and she's always let it happen with no issues.
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@enjollah: we're going to get a babydoll to get her used to seeing us paying attention to a baby. But I never thought of wrapping it in something in the baby detergent! That's an awesome idea!
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We only have a cat, who is not friendly at all to adults, but has actually been very good with the few young children we’ve had in the house (she loves for them to chase her – she will run, wait for them to catch up, then run again – its also her favorite game for me to play with her too, weirdo!). I am very nervous though because when she plays, she plays with claws, and when she gets mad, she bites.
She does seem to know I’m pregnant though, even before we took the test she was acting extremely lovey to me, and clingy. As soon as I sit down, she’s curled up in my lap, and at night she likes to try to lay on my stomach. Sometimes I will wake up at night because she will be standing on my abdomen, staring at me and purring like a jet engine.
My fingers are crossed she is good with the baby until it gets to the grabby stage, then ignores it.
now he loves her and loves licking her feet!
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