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Introducing baby #1 (canine) to baby #2 (human)
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Posted by labluv (My Page) on Mon, Jan 28, 02 at 20:37
Our first baby is our very spoiled, much indulged, three year-old Labrador Retriever. Even before I knew I was pregnant, she did. She'd begun following me everywhere, and laying down with me whenever I took a nap.
To introduce her to the new baby, we plan to do the following:
-Bring home something that smells like the baby, before baby comes home, so that she can sniff
-I will come in the house first and play with her for about ten minutes before bringing baby in
-Everyone will be informed that they need to greet her when they come in the house
-I plan to continue to walk her by myself, without the baby
Anything else??? We will also make an effort to keep the baby/toddler from annoying her too much. I think that's one of the major problems people have---they let their kids torment their pets, and then wonder why the pets retaliate.
Oh, and instead of calling her the "baby" like we usually do, we've been calling her the "furbaby."
This may seem a little over the top, but she is an important part of our family.
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Introducing baby #1 (canine) to baby #2 (human)
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absolutely! labs are great w/kids so you've chosen a good breed. we have a german shephard and all he does is ignore our dd so far.
your ideas are perfect but you might want to add pulling or tugging on her ears and tail. don't do it hard of course but get her used to the idea because when the baby is older she/he will indefinetly do this.
pull a little on the dogs' ears and then give her a treat.
you have a female and that's really good too! ours is a male and boy is he moody.
it's refreshing to know that there are others out there that have 2 babies (one canine, one human):) |
RE: Introducing baby #1 (canine) to baby #2 (human)
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we have a doggie and a kitty and both have been wonderful since bringing home dd 10 weeks ago. we *were* a little worried about kitty because she's often found sleeping on the changing table and a couple of times in the babies bed (but we fixed that problem with good old teaching!).
the dog was awesome from day 1 and we didn't do anything special besides introduce them. he's half shiba inu, half besingi. basically he and i think most animals recognize a baby of any species and treats them as such. our dog looks out for the baby and at the beginning when she'd cry he'd look at me to make sure she was ok, now she can be screaming her head off and doggie won't be phased at all!
i think you're doing everything right, but don't be surprised if it's even easier than you thought. and at the beginning, don't feel bad if you don't have an ounce of time for you doggie. tell furbaby you love her and soon you'll be able to manage your time better. now that dd is 10 weeks old i have time for all 3 of my babies, well 4 if you include my husband! love, jami |
RE: Introducing baby #1 (canine) to baby #2 (human)
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I, too, have a furbaby. She's a two year old lab and I have to tell you, they are a great breed with kids! My dd is now 7.5 months and occasionally she's a little rough with Sierra,(my first/fur baby), but Sierra usually just licks Megan's hand to get her to stop or walks away. There were absolutely no problems at all when we brought Megan home, although Sierra did experience some jealousy, she never ever took it out on the baby. She would mostly hide when we were around because I guess she felt betrayed at the beginning. she loves the baby now though and I can see them becoming best friends really soon! If you have ay questions or anything, feel free to email me! I've been through bringing a second "baby" into the house not too long ago, and would love to offer any assistance I can!
Love,
Sara |
RE: Introducing baby #1 (canine) to baby #2 (human)
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| It took about 6 months for our 4 year old canine baby to quit acting out after we brought home the baby. She made herself known by messing on the floor and such. She has adjusted and we did you did but she is very insecure anyway. She a shitzu and wants all the attention herself. She has been fine with the baby but just had those re-lapses. e |
RE: Introducing baby #1 (canine) to baby #2 (human)
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| We adopted a husky while I was pregnant. We had her for 5 months before DS was born, during which time she grew very attached to me. We also have a cat (well, at 25 lbs, he may be a second dog) who can be a little mean. Luckily, so far everything has worked out. We were a bit concerned because she had been abused, but she is absolutely wonderful with him. We did the things you've mentioned -- sent a blanket home, had DH carry DS into the house, etc. She was curious about him the first day home, but she was PISSED at me for having left her for 2 days. Luckily she didn't do anything but give me the cold shoulder for a while. DS is now 19 months old, and our dog is still wonderful with him. She's a little protective, actually -- she'll get between the stroller and someone who approaches us on the street; she gets upset if he cries, or she'll look at me like if it were her kid, she'd get to that crib faster than me! Food may be another big issue, especially if your dog is used to table scraps. Try putting your hand in/around the bowl when the dog's eating to see how she responds. If she's the least bit snappy, you may have to feed her when the baby naps, especially after baby is mobile. One of DS's favorite haunts when he started to crawl was the dog bowls -- to splash or check out the food (we try to empty the dish if she doesn't finish b/c the food can be a choking hazard in addition to being downright gross). And our DS also loves to feed the dog from his chair, so if that's something that's going to annoy you, make sure you don't let the dog or the baby develop that habit after you start on solid foods. For us, the problem began with cheerios at about 8 or 9 months. I've tried to make it a point to integrate the dog and the baby. We have a jogging stroller, and most days I'll take both of them on hour long walks. I think it helps the dog to just see DS as an addition to her life, rather than competition. We practice petting gently. When DS was old enough to sit up & reach for the animals, we would take his hand, help him pet them, and say gentle. Now if he gets a little rough, all we have to do is tell him to be gentle. That's pretty much all I can think of. We've got great pictures of DS crawling all over the animals and giving them hugs.
Congrats. |
RE: Introducing baby #1 (canine) to baby #2 (human)
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| We did exactly all the things you described when we brought home our daughter to meet our 3 dogs, who were also our children before the rral baby came along. Since I had a c-section it was a little more complicated b/c I coudln't have them jumping & laying on me as I normally did so I felt I was reprimanding them more than I wished I had to. My female dachshund who never loved noisy kids much (she prefers being alone, although she's been exposed to plenty of kids) was crying & everytime the baby cried & was being a mommy to her. My male dachshund started doing a whole lot more barking at strange noises & was very protective of her. Our basset could have cared less. It wasn't until daughter turned about 2 mos that the basset & our daughter literally fell in love with each ohter. They're so cute together & they look for each other to cuddle! |
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