Dog and new born baby?worried first time mom

[carang]

thanks for the link, rani!

[bekyboo44]

Hi- we have a cocker spaniel and a pekingnese.

Was reading an article not long after our son was born about what dog breeds were best with children- and a pekignese was on the list of dogs not to have!
However I do think it depends on the dogs temperament, our pekignese and my Mum's pekignese have never shown any hostility to our baby- they just run away from him if they think he's too close, or being too friendly.
The only time our pekingnese has shown her unhappiness with our son is when he tried to take her biscuit, so now he is kept well away from their food and snacks.

I got a doll before our son was born and our dogs ignored it....not sure if that was because they knew it wasn't real, but then they ignored our son when he was born too.
Before we brought him home from the hospital my husband brought home a piece of his clothing for the dogs to smell, but they ignored that and him when he came home!

I will admit when my son was first born our dogs were a little neglected....we didn't have a helper and our son was a very bad sleeper and the first weeks/months are a tad overwhelming with a new baby and so they missed a few walks and a few cuddles, but now my son is older and we are all settled into a family routine they have their proper walks, and cuddles back! They have three walks a day, sometimes my helper takes them, sometimes my husband and I it all depends on what we are doing at walk time.

To us we can only see benefits to having dogs in our home as our son is growing up- he will learn first hand how to care and look after another living thing, and learn from that responsibility; not only that but he has two companions at home to play with all the time.

Good Luck with everything, really hope you manage to keep your dog as part of your family, and good luck with your new baby.

[Chy]

Hi, I want to share my own experience. We have two pomeranians, one is 6 years and the other 10, both are very well behaved and sweet people loving pooches. My son is now 15 months old and I guess with my dogs being small, it's easier to keep them separated with gates and stuff. They posed no threat from day one and we all get along fine, though we still use a gate to section off the dogs area, just so my son doesn't go in to pick up a few dry kibble as an occasional snack...which he did try once! Both my dogs were very close to me and my husband, they slept with us and get jealous at each other whenever we're carrying or cuddling the other. Even with this attachment, we stopped letting them onto our bed when I was pregnant and though it took some time for them to get use to, they somehow got the message.

Since bringing baby home, they were curious at first but were never aggressive or showed any threatening behaviour. I must admit that with baby's arrival it's hard to give them as much attention as we use to and would like to, it's just not possible and we did notice them showing some signs of depression - you really have to be prepared to make time for them, at least show them that they're still very much part of your family. We love and care for them just the same, but there are some new rules around the house now that we all must adhere to. I guess you'll never know how your dog will react until the time comes.

The suggestion of bringing a lifesize baby doll home and for you to play pretend nursing and caring or just fussing about over it will get them use to you being occupied with another. If you decide to keep your dog no matter what (as we did), perhaps getting some professional advice will help you and doggy adjust. SPCA runs some behaviour training classes for owner and dog together, if it's inconvenient for you perhaps your husband can attend. Goodluck!

[mushi]

hey everyone,
i went thru all your views and i feel that the best time to have a dog is when when u plan to have a baby......though i already had 3 lovely dogs prior to having the baby and the only one who suffered after the baby is born is the poor dog....my dogs were the center of my world till my baby arrived And all of a sudden they were ignored....but they have unconditional love for us unlike us human beings....my son not only benefited from having a dog to play with, he also learned a things or two from them --- like how to play whole heartedly, how to love, how to be funny, etc. My advise to everyone out there who has a dog is to invove your pet in your pregnancy just as u would for an older sibling, keep loving the animal even after the baby arrives and give it lots of love and attention like u would to the little one...of course u need to be a little careful when the baby is in the crawling stage to avoid accidents...like the baby tagging the sleeping dog's tail....rest assured it is wonderful process to watch them grow together.

[somebodyfamous]

I was feeling a tad quilty about rehoming our dog til I realised how small everyone else's dogs are!!

Our dog, whom we rehomed, is 70lbs, a Rottweiler/Chow cross mongrel who can kill a cobra in 30 seconds! Quite a different consideration to a Pekingnese, Pomerian or even a Spaniel...... (I imagine by the time your baby is a toddler, he/she would be heavier than the dog!)

kcinhk, not sure how large your dog is, but again that needs to be taken into consideration.

Oh - I forgot another good point about having dogs and babies, when your baby is sitting in high chair and throwing food around, your dog can clean up the mess on the floor!

[babi77]

There are lots of articles on the web regarding pets and babies. Personally I have my dog during my pregnancy and after my now 17 month old baby boy born. And my dog never has a problem with my baby

Of course we have to supervise them when they play with each other but research has indicated that there are medical benefits in having a baby raising up with a pet at home together, for instance, boosting the immune system, and also reduce the signs of allergies, especially asthma.

The key is to train the dog too. I certainly believe babeis and pets get along very well.

Please private message me if you need further assistance.

[carang]

the two that are actually ours are mongrels, but one of them is a border collie/husky mix and is probably close to 55-60kg... the other one is a mongrel as well and is about 30kg

some of the others we've had in our care since my son was born:
chihuahua
cocker spaniel
bearded collie
rhodesian ridgeback(so big, it looks like it is half horse!)
and
inumerable labs and retrievers

[somebodyfamous]

wow Cara! You have dogs that are 130 pounds in weight???!?!? Post a photo!! They must be bigger than you!