i have got a 3 year old boxer dog and am 18 weeks pregnant. i was just wondering what i should be doing to ensure that the dog will be ok with the baby. he is quite well behaved and loves to be around children but he is our only "child" at the moment and we do spoil him. i am a bit worried about how he will react to being number 2. i also have a friend that is frieghtnend of dogs and she keeps going on about the danger of mixing dogs with babies. i have read that it could be helpful to carry a doll round the house so he gets used to it but he is not daft i am sure he will see that its a doll and try to play with it like all his plastic toys.

I'm sure I've heard people talking of cds you can get that plays baby noises so your pets get used to the idea xxx

hi pud

im 11+6 and am wondering the same kinda thing (although our '1st' is our cat), he is very loving and not fussed about other babies, but like all cats likes warm cozy places.
Any ideas?
Good luck hun!
xxx

My sister has 2 cats and she doesn't have any problems with them and her 2 lo's. I have one cat and he tends to like the nursery at the moment...although hasn't gone anywhere near the cot...he just likes climbing up the wardrobe xx

i have heard of the cd's but i am not sure i want to sit listening to the sound of a crying baby, i am sure i will get enought of that in feb.
my friend has got a cat and a 8 weeks old and she said that it is fine. she was on edge when the cat was in the same room at first but it doesnt go anywere near the baby

Hi, when i was pregnant our two dogs were not a problem but our little one is nearly 8 weeks old and we are struggling with them.

If we leave them in the sitting room through the night, instead of the kitchen, we come down in the morning to find that they have destroyed something that belongs to Summer, usually a teddy or a dummy. yesterday we came down and they'd actually got into Summer's crib and took her teddy my grandma made and destroyed it. This has worried me as what would happen if Summer was in there. I don't think they would go in there if Summer was in the crib and we were in the sitting room but that's not the point.

I really think they are jealous but i am spending all the time with Summer i just haven't got time for the dogs at the moment just don't know what we can do to stop them doing this.

Michelle xxx

Hi

We have a female bullmastiff, and she was more than fantastic when our daughter was a baby, we were a little aprehensive as to how they would get on but they got on great, when we brought baby home we let the dog sniff & get used to her & she used to sit by her crib as if on guard, they have always been the best of friends. I think as long as your dog is friendly, and still fussed as much as you can when the baby arrives, and never really left alone together there should be no probelms. I have both the dog & the cat and i have never encountered any problems, its more the animals i feel sorry for as our daughter now a toddler follows them everywhere - they dont get a minutes peace

We have 2 cats and we actually plan to get them rehomed before this baby comes along, because they keep getting hair everywhere and going into the kids room, and they also claw the furniture and we don't want the new pram and cot getting ruined.

Only got 7 weeks left to sort them out so better get moving, just can't bring myself to do it!

thnks coxley
you have made me feel alot better about it. i do think that he will be ok. he is soft and good with kids i just want to he prepared.
i will be letting him sniff the baby as i do think that it will just over excite him if he is not allowed near.

Like youre dog she was our baby before we had our daughter almost 2 years ago. I remember worrying about the same thing when I was pregnant & I spoke to my midwife about the best way to deal with it. She said to me just coz you have a baby why does your relationship with your dog have to change? Her advice was to deal with the dog as you would an older sibling. You wouldnt leave an older sibling alone in the room with the baby unsupervised so dont leave the dog. On the other hand dont leave the dog out either & dont push her to the side. Try when your lo is having a nap to do something fun with your dog, even if its just a wee cuddle. When it was time to give our lo a bottle we would always give our dog a little treat too so as she didnt feel left out. We even got her a new toy for when the baby came home from the hospital.
It did take her a few days to adjust but it really was only days & not weeks & to this day she has never even growled at our daughter. We do have a strict rule in the house though that if our daughter lashes out or does something that is not nice, like pulling fur, ears or tail, that it is straight to the naughty step. I know all this sounds quite over the top but it was really important to us that our dog could accept the baby & still feel as loved as ever. Our next baby is due in nov & we will be doing exactly the same this time, except we'll have '2' siblings to contend with this time.
Good luck with everything & hopefully this has been some help to you

Hilary x

thnks for the advice

i was scared that i would get a lot of negative replies and it would panic me more about it all. i realy cold not imagine getting rid of my dog. i used to work with a girl who got her dog put down cos she was pregnant ( i was horified).

That seems a bit over the top. I think its brilliant children & dogs growing up together. My lo absolutely adores our dog & we couldnt imagine getting rid of her. I think pets & children ar great together so long as they're supervised. I trust my dog with my lo but I still wouldnt leave them alone together. Apart from anything else if there ever was any incidents between them I would want to know what happened. Our lo went through a stage where she would try to pull the dogs ears (thats why we started the naughty step) & our dog has still never growled at her. I hope everything goes smoothly for you to. Keep me posted on how you get on

Hilary x

hi
I have been worrying about the same thing as i have a male staffordshire bull terrier and he gets very jealous when either me or my partner hug someone thats not him! He doesn't attack or anything he just trys to get in the middle which is cute at the moment but with a baby its not going to be so cute! He will be nerly 2 when the baby arrives, im not going to eclude him or anything but i worry that i might not have enough time for him at first?

charlie x 13+1

Hi All, I work for a big Petcare company and we've got a fab Petcare team here with animal behaviourists who you can phone up (free) & will be happy to give you advice on this. Its the number we advertise on all our food (you'll have heard of Felix & Bakers etc) - their number is 0800 212 161 xx

I bought ' Your Dog and Your Baby' by Sylvia Kent.

Has loads of helpful advice and info

Forgot to say you can buy it from Amazon!

I've got two dogs and my first baby is due tomorrow and I would strongly recommend buying the cd and listening to it with your dog. I know you say don't fancy listening to a baby crying until you have to - but surely its better to get your dog prepared for it. I have played mine fairly frequently - quietly at first and then quite loud (be prepared for leaky nipples) and I just carried on my normal jobs. Luckily my dogs are bloody lazy and didn't make any response to it at all, but I wanted to be prepared incase they freaked out completely.
I would also say get into any routine you think your going to be able to do when you've got the baby now. Make any changes with your dog before the baby comes. Even though your dog will probably be fine and fit in nicely you don't want him to associate any changes with the baby - as then he might become resentful.
We've got a rule in our house that in the beginning the main job of my husband (apart from pander to my every whim - ha!) is to walk the dogs, so at least I don't feel guilty that they are gagging to go out and i don't have the time.
I would also get a doll to hold or carry about. The dog might well know its only a doll, but your not trying to convince it otherwise, you just want to show it that you can give something else attention without him being jealous.
Good luck

I have a golden Retriever and shes been brilliant when little one was born my husband brought home the first lot of clothes she wore and let sasha(the dog) sniff them so she would know the smell when we brought lo home and now that lo is two sasha thinks shes great cause she gives her all her left overs and shares her sweets with her bless its so sweet

you have all given me lots to think about, might get a cd after all and i think i will be buying the book.

woodssarah - you picture is so cute

Claire pretty much summed it up for me, i have been getting really peeved with people teling me to get rid of my dog they are idiots and have no idea about dogs anyhow, my little man is a french mastiff he is 14 months now so 10 stone of bull in a china shop but he alread loves this baby he sniffs my belly every morning and gives it a kiss the baby has even kicked him a couple of times LOL.

The cd i recommend is sounds soothing they have a great collection which should be played to most puppies for traffic thunder storms fireworks my dog is bomb proof.