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?

My children are older teens now but I had 2 large dogs when both children were born and I then went on to have 2 children under 2 - still with 2 large dogs. Both dogs were also children to me - just hairy ones. Allowed on beds, couches etc.

I entered the house after bringing the babies home and gave the dogs my attention and put the baby carrier down and let them sniff. The dogs quickly became their protector and the babies seemed to think the dog was another baby or they were another dog.

As for walking - I used haltis and never tethered the dogs to the pram. Always had a loop through my hand. Never an issue. I had a walking/running pram and baby could sleep while out walking with the dogs. Both kids now are firmly dog/animal lovers and want dogs of their own when they leave home. My dogs were large golden retrievers and sounds like not quite as well trained as yours but still pretty well trained. The only downside of owning dogs and having kids is the day you have to say goodbye to the beloved dog as the kids were devastated (as the entire family was). My kids are now the type who stop anybody in the street to pet their dog and we seem to use the internet almost exclusively to share animal videos. We have been through a couple of dogs (and cats) since our kids were babies and have another 2 goldies in the house and a number of cats. And as the saying goes - it is good having a dog in the house when you have teens as at least the dog is always pleased to see you!

Good luck op but you will be fine!!!

I have two big dogs and now a double pram 😆 I use a running pram to walk them with as it’s way easier to push and we can go off road anytime (depends where you walk). It’s a thule urban glide 2 and I would buy it 1000 times over. I also looked at the out n about and hear so much good stuff about them. It is manageable. I think particularly if you’re off work. I find it really hard now as I run my own business (round about naps etc) so the dog walk ends up falling to the bottom of the pile and happens at night when the kids are in bed, then becomes ‘who’s taking the dogs out?’ 🙄 When in reality I actually love having the time to walk them during the day with the pram if I have time.

With my first my favourite thing ever was going a walk with a podcast on and the dogs and pram. Even though my dogs are good with kids (one a bit energetic), I have a baby gate in the house so they have their own room. I do think that helps and they’d probably have died from eating raisins/chocolate or another poison by now if we didn’t have that! I bring them into the living room when the kids go to bed and have to do a full room scan for raisins before letting them in 🙈 just something else to think about! Good luck, itl be great

Do be prepared that your feelings towards your dogs might change when you've had your baby.

I had my dog first and now have a toddler and a baby.

I also couldn't understand how people could neglect their dogs after they had babies but I completely do now and it makes me sad every day.

I would never get rid of my dog and I still love her very much but she does annoy me now and I know that my life would be significantly easier without her.

Just things like being in the way, woofing when I've just got them to sleep, being a bit funny when there's food around etc. She's just being a dog and toddler loves her but I find myself wishing she wasn't there most days. I have cried a lot about this.

You might not feel this, but most mums I know that already had dogs have felt this and a couple have ended up rehoming their dogs because they were no longer able to give them the attention they need.

I will say that when DS1 was 1 it got easier with the dog but it then got a whole lot harder again when DS2 was born.

I would be concerned as to how you would deal with a situation where your dogs were attacked. A local woman here was walking one dog with her baby in a pushchair when 2 off lead dogs attacked her dog. Thankfully a passerby helped because the woman couldn't help her dog and make sure her baby was safe.

Hopefully that wouldn't happen, but it needs thinking about as it does happen unfortunately.

You will need a plan for the first month op in case you just can’t walk them. It was a while before I could do much in the way of walks post my first, and then it was pram only until I recovered more, my core and back and recovering pelvic floor tired quickly with the extra weight of using a sling for long. You don’t want to jeopardise your recovery if that’s what you need.

If your dogs are well trained and walk to heel on the lead, and have good recall, you'll be just fine!

I have 3 and manage fine - lots of comments from passers by of 'you've got your hands full' though

I would use the pram where possible or the carrier if not, actually my dogs had so many walks during my mat leave as it's a great time for baby to nap!

I wouldn’t clip the dogs to you. If you’re holding the baby and they suddenly lurch off they could pull you both over. I would get a really good sling for baby. Just keep in mind that not everyone’s health is good enough to babywear post birth.

Obviously another option is a dog walker.

Look at local dog walkers, see if one would do 1 walk a week from now. So you have a bit of back up. If you can afford it I would keep the one day a week so you know they will get a really good run one of the three days. If you can get a flexible dog walkers you will really appreciate being able to give them a call if you are having a rough day.

I would go for pram with dogs strapped to you or sling and leads. If they are well trained I'm sure you will be ok.

Thank you !!! That's why I was very confused when someone was saying here yesterday that this is a disaster waiting to happen 🫣 if anything I'm sure my child will learn how to safeguard their food .. 😂 my friend has a toddler and my dogs are so funny around him. They could sit under the table for hours waiting for something to be dropped on the floor

In all honesty I don't know how I would deal with that situation right now, without the baby/ pram. Touch would, never happened to us and hopefully never will happen, but if it did I see pram as a safer option as I could take/ push the pram away from the dogs whereas if I had a baby carrier I would be forced to walk away as id be to scared to separate fighting dogs with a baby attached to my chest.

Good luck. I have two labs and they'd walk alongside a pram on the pavement with no issue, I'd just introduce them to the pram before there's a baby in it. Only other thing to mention is a lead splitter may be useful so you're only holding one lead.

ruffwear.co.uk/products/double-track-coupler

I only had one dog when my baby was born, and a small breed, but he was 16/turning 17 with lots of health requirements including time sensitive insulin injections and blood glucose tests
His care did change, most of my time was taken up with breastfeeding but he still got his gentle walks, vet care, hydrotherapy appointments etc
He was loosing sight and only had one eye so pram walks were tricky as he'd try go under the wheels, sling was better but be sure to bend from the knees when picking up poop!
Letting him off in the park would be a two person job just in case we encountered any issues with other dogs
Best of luck, with correctly trained dogs and knowledgeable owners I think it's great for kids to grow up with pets. We have a cat now, and still have 2 rabbits and 2 guinea pigs and my now 19 months old loves them all, although I'm sad she won't remember our special dog

Don’t have the dogs attached to you. If one bolts for whatever reason you will be pulled away from the pram. The best trained dogs (apart from service dogs) can react unexpectedly.

I walk one large dog with a pram most days. Couldn't use a carrier as it hurts my back and also it can be tricky picking up the dog poo with one.

I walk with one hand pushing the pram and the other holding the lead - I find this easier as my dog is nervy and sometimes pulls or lurches.

It took some getting her used to the pram, it may be worth practicing before the baby arrives. At first she would often walk in front of the pram or bump her legs on the wheels. I find a shortish lead helps so she can't actually get that far away from me to get around the front of the pram now. She's now got used to walking with the pram over a few years and it's easy.

If yours walk nicely on the lead next to eachother it might be easier holding the pram in one hand and their leads together in the other.

We used the baby carrier, much easier to walk a dog with a carrier. If your dogs are well trained you should be fine 😊 and really, the baby does need to come first. They will adapt. Once we were in a good routine I was able to give our dog lots of attention while the baby napped and in the evening after bedtime. Walks with baby in the carrier and trying not to forget to feed him 😅

Also follow Dog Meets Baby on Instagram - very handy tips!

@Bunny2006 agreed on the off lead thing too, we’d only do that if there was 2 of us as with the baby in the carrier I wouldn’t be able to help if there was an issue with another dog or he ran off or something.

@ButterCrackers agreed, while they don't pull normally, if they saw a squirrel they could pull my arm out of the socket trying to barge towards it. That's why I like using gentle leaders (they're like halties)- couldn't pull even if they tried, so I'd be comfortable clipping them onto myself

Hi, I have a very large lab, he has walked like a star next to my pram/ pushchair for the last 2 years. He's fantastic with the baby, although it did take him a while to get used to her noises and smells, so be prepared to separate them. X

so you can't really control them.

I had two dogs and a baby. Early days until you’re healed you must have help. After that yes agree sling is really useful. I also had an off-road buggy which wasn’t really off-road but was good for woodland paths etc. it’s much easier if dogs are off-lead, can you drive or walk somewhere you can do that? When your child is a toddler it’s more about balancing their needs and pace with the dogs so if there’s a big woodland area that all will find interesting activities in that will work. I found it a bit more challenging when child slightly older - too big for a buggy and not able to / interested in long walks. At that point we had to juggle for a bit and still do somewhat. But by that point you’ll have school and nursery so it should be fine. Agree dog walker as back-up might be good, depending on your lifestyle, this was really useful for us with one of our dogs at one point (highly energetic).

I have a 45kg Labrador who was (and still is) treated like a baby 😂 he is terrible on the lead (always pulling with huge force) and when I was pregnant we got a dog trainer in - he behaved beautifully for the dog trainer and me but only when we were offering him treats every few steps 😂

Not read the rest of the thread but I am here to say you absolutely can take the pram out with the dogs. 3 weeks pp I felt great and decided to take my dog for a really big walk and broke my leg - so I had to navigate mat leave walking him with a boot and pushing the pram. We were a lot slower but managed it! I also used a carrier often. I’d recommend when your little one is older (I can’t remember the age) getting a proper decent buggy as I found the initial pram quite flimsy. I’d also recommend not attaching your dogs to yourself or the pram, I wrap my dogs lead around my hand so I’ve got a very firm grip (but as I say, he pulls like a train 😂) because I know if he sees a cat or something I can step away from the pram and use my weight to hold the dog without risking the pram tipping. We now go running together 3x a week (me, dog & baby). Passers by always say I’m mad!

If you need any advice on introducing your baby to very spoilt dogs feel free to message. I think I naively thought my dog would love my baby instantly. He had a bit more of a ‘wtf is this’ reaction and I think the unpredictable movements put him off a bit. However now she’s 15 months and walking he LOVES her as she is more of a child who can play with him - he loves my older DSS. Also helps she throws half her meals on the floor for him 😂

good luck!

I'd suggest not a dog walker but a baby sitter

Because you worry seems to be the effect on your dogs of the lessening of your attention. So someone sits with the baby for an hour or two, whilst you walk the dogs.

Your DH needs to take as much paternity leave as he can, so he can do this whilst your recover.

If you think you're going to need a dog walker, introduce one before the baby arrives, so it's a settle habit for them, not a further part of newborn upheaval.

Baby in a sling so you have 2 hands free is a must. As child grows, then transfer to a back pack (minimum age 6months+, once sitting firmly, maximum can go as high as 6 years depending on brand, and whether your DC is average sized)

Also in early days, remember to play with your dogs, and do all the usual care such as grooming, during the baby's naps. Small humans can be left in the equivalent of a crate (ie cot, or anything else they can't get out of) and will be fine as long as they're within earshot. A large pen (for the toddler) will be useful during the erratic early years - especially if you can still get the large ones with awnings that look like a special play den, and you train your DC to want to be in there by positive reinforcement.

a sling is def a good shout only issue is that bending to pick poo is awks. You kind of have to go one handed from the side in a squat to keep the baby upright

This a good point.

I had a friend whose 2 dogs were fine with the 2x DC they had when they got them, but were never as good with the new baby that came after them, even when that DC reached the age that the older DC were when the dogs first arrived.

Never forget that your bigger challenge will be keeping the dogs separate from the baby/toddler/young child in your house - you need barriers that are both dog and child proof or constant supervision with you between the dogs and the DC. If that means using gates across doors to limit where the dogs are, or need to move where they sleep, start doing this now.