Puppies and babies...

[SK166]

Morning all!

29+2 with first baby and wondering what you fellow dog-owners do/did about protecting newborns from the general grub associated with your dog.

We've got a labrador pup and he'll be 9 months by the time baby arrives. He is the loveliest little guy and I know they'll grow to be the best of friends.

We're on top of all the training shiz to make sure they're safe around each other, but do I need to think about anything in terms of how clean/unclean he is and him being around the baby?!

We keep a pretty clean house but when you've got a hairy, active dog like a Lab there's just no escaping the hair/muddy footprints/dribble patches everywhere! Should I just crack on and assume it'll be good for baby's immune system or do we need to....I don't know...try to make sure he doesn't lick her for the first few months or something?! If that were even possible?!

I have 2 dogs and horses...

Accept the hair and odd bit of dog slobber. Just wash your hands when changing nappies etc.

Both my dogs are black so have no white baby clothes that may show hair. Most of my clothes for baby are bright or dark greys/ green/ blues.

Your baby won’t get ill from the dog. Illness comes from bad food and toilet hygene.

I made sure my dog was up to date with worm and flea stuff before my baby arrived but other than that I didn't worry about it. He didn't touch the dog until he could crawl over to her anyway. If he dropped a dummy on the floor I would wash it under the tap to get rid of any stray dog hairs that might have stuck to it. Now he's offering her a bite of his sandwich and then sticking the rest in his mouth before I can stop him and he hasn't suffered any I'll effects yet.

We've just learnt to accept that a bit of hair and slobber is good for immunity. We've also got a hairy black lab and one thing I'd say has helped is that she's not allowed upstairs. It definitely helped keep a clearer zone and makes nappy changes, bedtime and free roaming toddler while showering much easier.

We kept our lounge dog free so that the baby could crawl on a reasonably clean floor. No dog allowed in bedrooms either. So glad we didn't have our cats at this time.

My lab and ds are best friends. Before ds arrived dog was up to date on jabs etc and before ds was mobile there was no issues. Once he was mobile I had a clean mat the dog wasnt allowed on so had somewhere clean to be!

Ah that's reassuring then - thanks all. Keeping the dog out of any areas isn't really an option for the time being - we're in a 2 bed flat, plus he sleeps in our room at night (albeit in a crate). Also his favourite spot to nap is on the rug in what will be the baby's room!

But I shan't worry about it. Tbh I wasn't really fussed until someone (there's always someone isn't there?!) stuck their nose in and told me to be careful with all the 'germs' my dog would spread to the baby!

But hey...no-one ever built an immune system without getting stuck in with the germs!

It'll build baby's immunity! I have a 2 year old pup and baby and pretty sure she will end up wanting to play with his toys and he wants her soft toys. I try to clean pup as much as i can after walks as normal and i've started hoovering more and steaming carpets once a week to stay on top of it

Some one always will make comments. Someone actually thought I wouldn’t take the horse to the stables or in laws farm until
A few months old. Oh how I laughed.

My dogs don’t go up stairs anyway but just have a clean blanket to put down on the rug if it makes you feel better.

One note of caution though, never leave your baby unattended with your dog.

@Beamur - well yes, that's a given. I'm not naive enough to think that just because he's good-natured he couldn't do some serious damage with his bouncing and lack of respect for personal space!

My lab went through a really tough patch from 12 to 18 months and we had to do a lot of work on his manners and recall. He's now an impeccably mannered gent with bombproof recall. I still never leave him unattended with ds but now is is mobile he actively seeks the dog out and screams if he can't find him!