Managing two large dogs and a newborn baby alone

[Vavamum]

I have a challenge ahead and am hoping to read some positive experiences and stories. DH and I have two large dogs that we adore (they're great with kids), and our first baby is on the way. I think it’s worth mentioning that these dogs are ridiculously loved. We’re not in our 20s anymore, and when all our friends were having babies, we had the time to spoil our dogs rotten. We’re definitely the type who love our dogs more than people most of the time - I'm sure you get the gist.

I’ve seen many women have a baby and then seem to neglect their dogs because the baby becomes the number one priority. I don’t want to do that. While I understand that I’ll be busy and focused on my new little human, I still want to make sure our dogs get the same number of walks as they do now. I know I won't have as much time to fuss over them or teach them new tricks, but their walks are something I want to keep consistent.

One challenge for me is that DH works away from home for half the week, and working locally isn’t an option right now. I’ll have support from my mum and MIL for the first few months until I get used to the new routine, but eventually, it’ll just be me managing everything (3 days a week only).

Right now, I can naively imagine taking walks with a pram and my two dogs, and everything being fine. But I realized today that I’ve never actually seen a woman with a pram and two large dogs. Am I being unrealistic? Or will I be fine?

Could you take one dog at a time maybe??

my sister has a dog but it’s only a small one - cocker spaniel and she walks the dog twice a day with her baby and buggy or with the baby in the carrier

maybe the baby in a sling would be more realistic if you took both dogs

Congratulations OP! I’ve found a baby carrier much easier when walking the dog than using the pram (you’ll still have two hands!) We also found it useful to use a dog walker/daycare more often than usual in the early weeks for exercise just so it’s one less thing to worry about if that’s an option for you. We’ve then had the dog in daycare for one day a week which takes the pressure off when DH is in the office gives me and DS the chance to go to baby classes plus the dog loves it!

I can't cope with my small/medium (staffy sized) dog and a pushchair at the same time. The dog sometimes walks in front of the pushchair etc. We paid for a dog walker the first few weeks post-birth but we're back to our usual two walks a day using an infant carrier instead. Much easier than a pushchair in my opinion! We only walk a few miles at a time and it's circular so if there are any nappy explosions we're not far from home. I couldn't risk using a carrier, walking the dog at the same time by myself and being miles away from anywhere I could feed or change her if needed so not huge solo jaunts.

Get a sling and have 2 hands free. Much easier.

Dog walker a couple of times a week perhaps? Do you have the budget for that?

Used to walk 2 dogs with grandsons pram, one on either side. They were well behaved, not like the dogs I have now. Might sound a bit daft but anyway you can get the dogs used to a pram now?

I guess it depends on how well trained your dogs are but I’d have thought a sling / carrier would be the way to go. You’ll also be able to fo more interesting walks without the pram. When I had my first baby I walked miles and miles and miles (mainly due to boredom) so I wouldn’t worry about not being able to get out with the dogs. Walking is one of the few things you can reliably do with a small baby.

Your child will be your number one priority. You won’t neglect your dogs because your child comes before them. Do get a dog walker for the recovery time after birth. Your dogs might need a trainer to help them manage walking with you and a sling or pram.

Use a baby carrier sling. Good exercise for you too then and you'll have 2 hands free.

Never had dogs but when DS was born my eldest had just started school so I had DS in the sling and DD1 and DD2 held a hand each. 1 mile walk each way so 4 miles of walking every day. Get a proper sling though from a sling library, not one of the baby carriers that has the baby facing out on your front. DS used the sling till he could do the full walk himself.

I did it… pram with a staffy x boxer walking one side and Doberman on the other… was easy enough x

My friend with 2 big dogs didn’t use her pram. Her DC was always in some form of carrier. On her front in a sling as a small baby then on her back in either a backpack or carrier as a bigger baby/toddler.

Definitely recommend a baby carrier/sling providing the dogs are well trained/non reactive and easy to walk. Otherwise I would say wearing a sling OR using a pram would be risky. Second the idea of walking dogs separately or employing a dog walker for a time.

I'll give you my experience with 2 large dogs and a baby!

I was very much like you and didn't want things to change too much for the dogs. It was hard, especially at the start as healing post birth wasn't terrible but definitely really affected how long I could walk for until about 8ish weeks PP, and still felt somewhat limited with long walks until about 12 weeks pp (do your pelvic floor exercises! Lol). If I'm honest, probably until 5 months pp sometimes walks were shorter. Sometimes they get less fuss. Sometimes they'd get on my nerves. Having a fussy baby and fussy dogs was tough.

Some things I'd suggest you consider:

1. Get dogs used to baby noises - play videos on YouTube or something. Make sure they won't be jumping up on you while you're carrying baby about the house
2. Is there some separate room/part of the room the dogs can go if they want a break from baby noise/smells?
3. Do the dogs sleeping spaces need to be moved (e.g if they sleep in your bed.
4. You could take the dogs out with an empty pram (looks weird but never mind) to get them used to it. For me, I rarely used the pram when walking the dogs with baby- it felt too unstable for me and too many things to control. If the dogs pulls or whatever I was scared they'd knock the pram over.
5. I preferred to use a sling when walking them (and still do now with 19 month old DD). It took some getting used to and got easier as her head and neck control was better. The only worry with a sling is if you fall over but I feel I'm able to control the dogs better when baby is in a sling rather than pram.
6. In the shorter term after birth, you could look at booking one of those private hire fields so you can let the dogs run free and stay in the car with DD or walk the feild with the dogs. Or you could do a few shorter walks rather than a longer walk.
7. It's a real adjustment. I look back now and realise I put way too much pressure on myself to keep everything perfect and the same for the dogs. They'll be temporary disruption but that's OK. You'll all figure out your new routines.

Good luck! X

Do you have a pram yet? If yes could you practice with the dogs using an empty pram?

I couldn’t (still can’t) mange both dogs and the pram alone. Dog Walker was our option which the dogs loved, it just takes the pressure off because they’ve had a good off-lead run so other walks can be a slower pavement plod. When you shop for prams, they don’t really have a place to test it going through leaf litter in autumn so even though we’d got big wheels, our wheels would get clogged quite a bit if we went to parks or woods. It’s fine, I’d just need to kick the wheels but with a dog wanting to pull me in another direction it wouldn’t have worked.

What I will say is get some vet wrap in. One dog, on more than one occasion, injured himself tearing round the garden while I was alone with the baby and DH at work. I had to patch him up as best I could until DH got home (it was never serious enough to go to the vet because obviously I’d have taken him but a cut paw and blood all over the kitchen floor and a crawling baby).

Easy enough in theory aslong as both dogs walk well on lead and are un reactive to other dogs or loud noises and you use a carrier .

I walked 2 German sheppards and lab with baby in pram, but dogs were trained properly (unlike pup we have now)

Yes those outward facing baby carriers are awful. So unnatural for the poor baby. A proper sling with baby snuggled in is perfect.

Can you get a Canicross harness so your dogs are tethered to you and not requiring hands to hold leads at all times?

Thank you looking at them now! I was originally thinking to clip them onto the pram handle (they don't pull) but this harness sounds more practical

Argh don't clip them to the pram!!! Even if yours are 100%, imagine another large dog, off lead and taking offence to yours. Suddenly your buggy is in the middle of a large dog fight and strapped to two of the thugs.
Sling works best, especially for longer and more enjoyable walks. We keep the buggy for town as they're a pain to push over rough ground. We've just got a proper three wheeler running buggy which is better but still not fun.

If your dog bolts because of a rabbit etc and you have a baby sling or a pram to control then this isn’t a good idea.

yay! If I saw you on the street, I would’ve stopped to admire!

Thank you so much ❤️