Dogs and baby?!

[Cakehan]

I wasn't sure where to post this - but was wondering if anyone can help me!
Only in early stages of pregnancy but can't help think how my dogs will be with a baby
I have 2 french bulldogs - ones 1 and the other is 8 months. They're lovely, used to children, soft, and pretty much sleep all day. But when we first come in they get giddy and jump up etc
And I'm just worrying how this will work with a baby! Also introducing a baby to dogs !
Does anyone have any advice on anything we can do to prepare and what we do when the time comes to bring a baby home ?

ffallada just because I have trained my dog to understand that he needs to treat ALL of the members of my family with respect, does NOT mean that he has been 'bullied' or 'dominated' in any way. He has most certainly NOT ever been hit. I abhor violence against animals of any kind including shaming.
I struggle to think of a time when we have needed to reprimand him in any way as his training has always been consistent and most importantly he has always understood his (few) boundaries and our expectations. He is still very much part of my family, is included in most of what we do as a family and is also given solitary care and attention when my DD is not around to ensure he isn't jealous or left out.
Equally, as referred to in my previous post, my DD has always understood that she must respect him and his belongings and his time with us too.
I really object to these misguided views that a dog can't be trained to know its position in the 'pack' - which is how they behave naturally, without cruelty. It is completely uninformed and not helpful to those who are looking for advice.

I thought everyone knew that the pack myth had been well and truly debunked by now?

But back to the OP - I read up lots before ds was born because I didn't want ddog to feel jealous or left out. Like Gennz, I also heard a lot of comments about how the dog would have to get used to not being so important, and some even expressed surprise that we were keeping the dog at all .

Ddog sat beside me as I bf ds (and never once actually on my lap too, nope, never (she is a small dog) :o ), as I said before she got lots of extra walks, she LOVED it when we started BLW (made cleaning up around ds's highchair very easy indeed!!). The only point that I can think of that was not great was getting ddog to learn which soft toys were hers and which were ds's, but she got that very fast and has since then not once tried chewing one of his toys. Ddog2 is still learning so we've put a baby gate back on ds's room so she doesn't walz in and help herself to his Lego (but if he's in there playing, the gate is open and she will go in and flop down on his bed).

I can honestly, hand on my heart, say my feelings towards my dog have not changed since ds was born. Again, I don't rank members of my family (the whole "who would you save?" scenario is utterly weird and irrelevant to me). I love ds as a mother, dh as a wife and partner, and my two dogs as...well, I don't know what the word is, but it's that unique relationship which exists between people and their pets.

Can I also add that the relationship between a child and a dog can be a wonderful thing. Ddog1 is very much my dog, she's not massively interested in ds. But ddog2 thinks he is the bees' knees and ds thinks she is the best thing ever. Watching them play together is wonderful.

I would completely disagree with people saying that Cesar Millan uses bullying techniques; he uses methods that dogs themselves use and is never violent towards them, whilst I don't believe in the average person attempting to alpha roll a dog, I think that his techniques can't be discounted as they do work and do make sense. All dogs need exercise, boundaries and rules, that's how they thrive as a species and how they've lived amongst each other for years. I'd like to see people that slate him deal with half of the dogs that he does, I think people forget that he's not dealing with everyday dogs, he deals with dogs that have extreme issues due to the way that they have been handled by their owners
Treat a dog like a dog and not like a human and it will be a happy dog, I think that risking the safety of a child/anyone just isn't worth it and the steps that cesar provides to ensure that you're dog is ready to accept a baby are very easy to follow, humane steps. I have a young rottweiler and she's one of the happiest most sociable dogs I've met but she is treated like a dog, yes she is very much a part of our family and she is very loved but she knows her place (this has been done without any aggression/dominance tactics whatsoever) and I think that's a very important part of being a responsible dog owner

Awwww KitchenWitch that almost makes me teary! (I would blame pregnancy hormones but I'm a massive sap about my dog!)

To be honest I think DDog will be happy about the arrival of the baby as it means he gets to spend more time with us. Currently DH & I both work full time & DDog goes to doggy daycare a couple of days a week. We will probably still send him there to play with his doggy mates once or twice a week (did I mention I'm a sap about my dog?) but I think he will enjoy having me home to hang out with, more walks during the day etc. Plus it will be a great motivator for me to get out there in the fresh air once the baby has arrived.

We have a greyhound and a big lurcher. Before DS was born we relegated them from the living room (where we knew baby DS would spend most of his day) with a baby gate. We did it early in pregnancy so the dogs wouldn't 'blame' DS for their loss of sofa rights.

Once we had the buggy we walked them a couple of times alongside the buggy to see how they would react.

Since DS had been born we have:

Kept the gate. When he was a baby we didn't let them share floorspace- they would have just stepped on him- they are really not pastoral creatures. Now DS (3yo) can separate himself from them when they get too much/ in his way.

Fed DS first, dogs second.

Trained DS to never touch them when asleep and avoid them when eating.

We love our dogs but they are touchy, sensitive, big sight-hounds. We take no chances. It's worked really well and been a positive thing for DS.

Due next month, I worry about this.

I've fitted a baby gate and the dog has been getting used to spending less time in the lounge

He will never be around the baby alone, or in a position where we can get close to the baby until I feel comfortable (if ever)

He will still get his daily walk, he really needs it and I'll never let him go without (that's DH's job when baby is here!)

I am harsh with him and have been for a few months with regards to boundaries - I don't give him any leeway, he NEEDS to listen and understand

Beyond this, all I can do is be so careful. He's lovely, but still.

Anyone thinking that Ceasar Milan using techniques that are worth replicating needs to see Its a very clear example of dog language being commented upon and CM blatantly ignoring all the signs.

That dog was a very dangerous and weird dog that had had the crap kicked out of her by her owners. She acted completely unexpectedly in a context where any normal dog would have backed down. That dog had had her natural but excessive food aggression reinforced by her owners. She is not in any way representative of most family pets. Yes CM got bitten but the point is that 99.9% of dogs would have backed down and not suddenly turned on him. He deals with 100s of dogs and according to him this is the first time he'd been bitten that badly.

But the thing is that you could read the signs and he didn't. My dog has many of the signs - she's a rescue and was obviously kicked in the past. One of the things she doesn't have is food aggression. We did have a rescue dog that did have food aggression - really bad - but we simply left her to eat her dinner in peace so it was never an issue. She gave very clear signs, we respected them, she never bit us. CM didn't respect the signs - he got bitten.