Introducing baby and dog

[Noodles14]

Hi all.
So our little bean is due January 2019 so still a while to go but we want to be prepared as possible. We have a gorgeous cocker spaniel dog that will be 18 months when baby arrives. Just wondered what we can do to prepare him for arrival of baby?! He is generally a very loving, placid and affectionate dog but we are not naive to think that this may change once he's not 'the baby' anymore and the centre of our attention! We know to never leave him alone with baby no matter how much we trust him but any other tips on how to make it a smooth first meeting and how to continue to all live in harmony?? 😂 We generally don't let him upstairs but he does occasionally sneak up and jump on the bed and he generally sleeps on the floor as opposed to the sofas.
Any advice is greatly appreciated! 🐶

When we brought ds home we took his socks off and let ddogs (3) smell and lick his feet!!
No harm to ds and they soon got bored and went away happy!!
Tbh they were never that interested in him til he hit about 2 and could make them sit and hand out treats (supervised of course! Here he is about ten months with his furry friends!!

We have a cocker spaniel too! She's a bit older, 5 now, but she's always been curious and gentle around family babies so I'm taking that as a good sign! She's already quite taken with my pregnancy pillow...

What a gorgeous dog, I’m sure he’ll make a brilliant big brother!

If you stay over in the hospital and your DH/DP goes home then get them to take something that the baby has worn for doggy to sniff. That way when the baby comes home it will already be a familiar smell. In advance of baby’s arrival also play newborn crying to get the dog used to the sound. And enforce keeping him out of the room where baby will sleep, presumably your bedroom so there will be no expectation from him that he will be allowed in there.

Yes play some baby crying noises so that your dog can get used to the sound.
When you introduce them, don't make a big fuss. My dog was very excited to see us after being away for a few days while I was in hospital. If i was to do it again, id definitely say hello and make a fuss of him without baby there. Then introduce once dog has calmed down.

Thanks all- some great advice that we'll definitely follow. Currently testing the water by leaving the stair gate open and so far he hasn't gone upstairs 😂

We have two spaniels and honestly we never really did anything specific to prepare them for the new arrival. We were only in hospital for a few hours after the birth so no time to take a blanket home for them to sniff etc., we just walked into the house, greeted them as we always do then let them have a sniff of the baby in her car seat. They were completely disinterested in her, don't think they recognised her as being human tbh!

Now DD is crawling and cruising so the dogs actively avoid her 😬

Play baby sounds especially crying whilst getting your dog to sit and give him a treat if he does this will teach him that a crying baby is nothing to worry about. If you feel like you do spend a lot of time on him then maybe start distancing yourself very slowly this will just help to avoid any jelousy when baby is born and demanding all your attention. If possible once baby is born do try to introduce his scent to the dog first but also introduce things like formula, nappies wet wipes anything that you may have out whilst changing a baby as there have been cases of dogs trying to eat things such as nappy cream or drinking from a baby bath if you are bathing on the floor and this could cause serious harm.

I was kept in hospital for 24 hours after DD birth, which was the longest my dog had been apart from me in 11months (when he was 4 months old).

DH gave our dog a good walk in the morning before I was discharged. I bought him a really "high value" dog toy prior to DD arrival (Kong teddy rope bear with squeaker) and had it stashed in the porch ready. When we got back DH stayed in the car with DD and I went in and fussed the dog and played with him with his new toy, and then DH followed in a little while later with DD in the car seat. Dog was more excited by his new toy, so it gave some time to get used to her being in the house whilst he was distracted by something else....worked really well.

We then had lunch and went straight out for a walk as a new family.

DD was born at the beginning of February this year, so we had bitterly cold weather for her first 6 weeks. I used a ergobaby carrier with newborn insert and a really thick baby wearing coat (which I would say was one of my pregnancy/baby best buys) and a tuppence and crumble star wrap (another best buy!) to keep DD warm inside the carrier. The ergo carrier is a bit of a PITA for getting baby in whilst using the insert, but I found it much more supportive than the wrap sling for when I needed to bend down to put lead on/off dog, or grab his collar etc.

We also made a point from about day 3, that when DH was home I would take dog for the occasional walk on my own whilst DH babysat. I wouldn't go very far to start with, 5 mins walk away so DH could phone me to come straight home if needed. First time we just went to a field at the end of the road to play with snow balls.

Dog loves DD now, and likes to bring her his toys and drop them on her to play with...it is very sweet, but includes dirt covered soft toys, and logs, so I am constantly having to watch them . We are just starting baby led weaning, so think the pair of them will have great fun!!

The first meeting is important but it's also a process of letting them acclimatise to the baby over time. You'll also have to keep reassessing as you go along as babies change so fast there will be new things for the dog to contend with at lots of points over the early years (first crawling, the onset of tantrums, etc). Keep an eye out for the dog becoming stressed and never let a child persecute them or interfere with their bed, food etc.

My advice is to set the tone before the baby arrives with good solid training, calm and positive reinforcement, and good boundaries over e.g. bedrooms so there's no sudden change in the rules when the baby arrives.

Aim to make their early interactions calm and not terribly interesting to the dog. If it's a dog that can be trusted not to be nippy or mouthy, gently hold its collar and let it get fairly close for a sniff to establish what the baby is, and then let it wander off. Holding the dog back may make it more interested or anxious. Obviously I wouldn't recommend that with all dogs (e.g. my in-laws' terrier wouldn't be trustworthy) but the goal for a family pet is to be fine in those situations so within controlled circumstances, do let them interact and get used to each other.

Congrats on your baby btw!

I put out the baby stuff and let the dog inspect it. Also played some crying noises and carried around a “baby” (a teddy wrapped in a towel). When baby came home I went in first to greet the dog, then DH came in with baby. Dog was allowed to smell then told to lie down.

The focus has been mainly on non interaction - just an occasional sniff. Baby is 6 months now and dog is allowed to sit next to him and briefly lick, but mostly they still don’t interact. Baby is allowed to touch dog’s fur under supervision.

I have been thinking about this too - I've got a 14 month old miniature dachshund who rules our house, and my first baby is due in 10 weeks!

My pup, Bunny is adorable but quite clingy and needy, in true small dog style. Partly this is our fault as we do lavish her with love, so she is facing quite the wake-up call..! Fortunately I witnessed her meet a baby a few months ago and she was very good with him - didn't bark or seem alarmed, just did some foot licking (baby seemed to enjoy himself too). I read this article this morning and found it very useful:
www.thebump.com/a/how-can-i-prepare-the-pets-for-when-baby-comes

Will be playing some baby crying noises in the house this weekend!