Big Dogs and Babies on the Way
The question:
We just found out yesterday that my wife is pregnant with our
first child. We currently have two 100-pound lab mixes who are a
part of the family (not just pets). Are we going to have trouble
getting the pups accustomed to a new "human puppy" around the
house?
Armin Brott answers:
How are the dogs personality-wise? Are they aggressive,
overprotective, territorial? Could they possibly confuse a neatly
wrapped up baby with a chewable toy? If the answer to any of
those questions is yes, that could be an indicator of possible
problems, and you may have to consider keeping the dogs outside.
If that's the case, get them started as soon as possible.
(Another thing to do right now is make sure the dogs' shots are
current and that they're flea-free.)
Start preparing your dogs for the baby well in
advance
You might want to download some baby crying sounds from the
Internet and play them every few hours to get the dogs used to
the sound. If you've got friends or relatives with infants,
invite them over in the last month or so of the pregnancy so the
dogs can check out what a baby looks like, acts like, sounds
like, etc.
During the last few weeks of the pregnancy, start leaving baby toys around, set up the baby's room and let the dogs check out the crib, changing table, diapers, wipes, etc.
After the baby's born, but before you bring him/her home from the hospital, bring the dogs something that the baby's been in - a onesie, a receiving blanket, a diaper or something similar - that will give them a little bit of time to get used to the smell of the real thing.
When you do come home, have someone other than you or your
wife bring the baby into the house. The dogs will probably have
missed you, and may need some quality time with you before
they're ready to meet their new "sibling."
These articles might also be of interest to you:
- Bringing home baby: Preparing young children
- Childproofing your home before baby crawls
- Plan for pets when arranging a vacation
- Pregnancy's almost over: Preparing for baby
About the author: Hailed by
Time Magazine as "the superdad’s superdad," Armin Brott has written or co-written six critically acclaimed, groundbreaking books on fatherhood. Armin has been a guest on hundreds of radio and television shows, including Today, CBS Overnight, Fox News, and Politically Incorrect, and his work on fatherhood has been featured in such places as Glamour, Time, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune and many others. A father of three, he lives in Oakland, California. You can contact him at Armin@MrDad.com. For more from "Mr Dad" Armin Brott, click here.
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Member Comments On...
Big Dogs and Babies on the Way
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A single example of a breed of dog with a soft temperament would be an English mastiff. They are extremely just giant babies. If you attempted to train and English mastiff in the exact same way that you try to train an energetic Labrador retriever, you would very likely get fairly very poor effects. Some canines involve a exceptionally high vitality degree to train. You absolutely have to create on your own as the boss. For instance, a hyper and energetic German shepherd, might involve a quite stern and loud "NO" for a correction. http://www.bullysticks.com/
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All Big dogs today love baby
http://differenttypesofdogs.blogspot.com/
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This is good advice, but if your dog has any aggressive tendancies, let me jump ahead for you- find a new home for them now. We struggled for a year with our 115lb 5 year old Great Pyrenees (who we adored) after our son was born, both keeping them apart and trying to socialize and it was a nightmare. We found a great family to adopt the dog and EVERYONE is a lot happier now. With big dogs, you have to be very careful, even rough "play" can have serious results.
