Dogs and pregnancy/after birth

[ejmay90]

I'm wondering if there are any dog trainers on here that could help!
I have a 4 year old cocker spaniel which i've had since a pup. He's brilliant and knew i was pregnant before i did.
I'm now nearly 32 weeks pregnant and have been walking him less, my other half does more of the walking now and playing with him. I used to pick him up, let him lay all over me but obviously can't now with a bump and he has noticed that.

He seems to have become very needy for attention since this change to his routine.
We have a stair gate as we don't allow him upstairs but he's very clever and knows how to open it!
It could be anything that triggers him to want to go upstairs, me not paying him any attention when i go home for lunch from work, raised voices, he's bored. We used to chase him up to get him down but realized this is now a game for him as he then gets attention.

I want to get this to stop, especially when the baby arrives as i know it will stress me out. Any ideas on what to do? as i also don't want this to get worse when baby is here!

Is there anything you can distract him with like a frozen Kong with peanut butter and treats in that he eats on his bed? Just to give you some down time where he's focused on something else.

With my two, I kind of weaned them off having all of the attention before baby so if they forced themselves on me, I would (sounds awful!) ignore them and if they forced their paw on me, I'd put it down and say 'off'. I'd then wait for them to settle and give them attention so they saw it was on my terms and not their decision. I stopped them getting on the sofa too but would give them lots of fuss for staying on the floor.

Maybe try and play baby crying sounds too so he's used to the sounds and show him your new baby things if possible.

@sparkleuk we have tried all sorts. Every time he tries to get upstairs we call him and show him a toy but he's not interested at all!
I feel bad as he's not getting the amount of walking time he's used too as i used to walk him for an hour every morning, but other half can't do it in the morning due to work so takes him at night. I know when i'm off i can do it with baby in the buggy/sling but right now he's not getting what he needs.

I will give the weaning of attention a go, he just knows if he doesn't get it from me my OH will give him loads as they are obsessed with each other. He's been on the sofa since day 1 and i would feel awful him not being on it but i don't know how this will work with a baby, i'm hoping he gets used to baby and is more careful around him like he is with me.

The baby sound is a good thing so will start doing that. He's very interested in everything baby and he has to sniff it all out first. Started to growl at the Ollie the Owl soother toy lol! as i think he thought it was a toy for him!

Thank you!

You can change your stair gate to one that he can't open but that won't solve the underlying problem. If he is bored and you continue to allow him to be bored he will develop other unwanted behaviours.

Are a dog walker, dog day care or Borrow my Dog, options for you for a few months until you can walk him again?

Yes, you need a better stairgate

You might also want to see if you need to introduce further gates (now, before baby arrives) so that the dog can be separated effectively from the baby. Otherwise you will exhaust yourself with constant supervision.

And you need to find ways to give the dog more positive attention. You could try posting a thread in 'The Doghouse' to get recommendations from doggy people about types of brain games which will not be too demanding in you when vast (and idc coping with newborn). Because having an understimulated dog of a clever breed is a recipe for unhappiness. Especially for the dog

@booboostwo Ideally i want to fix the underlying issue. I think it's a mixture of not getting as much attention as he's used to, he knows something is going on as i don't let him lay on me any more or pick him up and so he is aware there is change which he clearly doesn't like.

A dog walker isn't possible really as money is tight, especially with a baby on the way. I have 25 days left of work so hoping i can get out with him a bit whilst on mat leave.

I just really want to fix the problem so he is then used to it when baby arrives.
He will run upstairs and if we dont follow few minutes later he comes back down, so it's definitely an attention thing.

There are loads of things you can do with him to keep him entertained when you are down stairs. Grab a clicker and teach him some new behaviours, e.g. hand targeting, rolling over, go to your mat, foot targeting, walking backwards, etc.. Do some scent training. There are loads of ideas online. Can you eat lunch with one hand and train with the other?

Borrow my Dog is free so maybe something you can explore?

Does he like chews and bones? Those might help as well, and/or food games where he has to work to get the reward.

@AuntieStella We do have a gate between the hallway and living room which we pull across so it is possible for him to be separated from baby.

Ahh ok great thank you i will do that. Yea i know he is so clever and up until about 25 weeks pregnant has been fine but has obviously realized something is up and isn't a fan of the change. He's like my first baby and don't want him feeling left out at all!

@Booboostwo Thanks, will have a google and see what i can find. I love that programme dog behaving badly, he's not bad at all and nothing like them but none of the things he did i could use as not relate-able to his issue.

Oh is it? i will have a look at that!

Loves anything food! and have played food games with him before so will try and introduce that, especially as that means i can do it when i'm heavily pregnant/at home with baby!

Think of something like teaching him to lie on a mat or nose target your hand. You are sitting on the sofa chilling or cuddling the baby and all you need is a hand free. The dog is asked to target your hand, he does it, gets a click then you throw the treat to the far end of the room. He runs to get the treat, then you ask for another hand target so he runs back to you. That way he is doing quite a bit of work and you are doing none!

We had a springer and whilst I was pregnant he went very needy. He wouldn't leave me alone. He was anxious when I went out. Once baby was here he was fine. It's like he knew change was coming but he didn't know what. Hopefully he will calm once baby is here x

@Booboostwo Great, thank you for the tip i will start giving these a go now! i know anything with food involved he will love lol!

@trevthecat Ohh really? glad to hear he was fine when baby arrived!
I'm hoping he will be fine, but just need to sort some issues before baby arrives. Thanks for the positive story, hoping our one calms when little one is born too! x

@ejmay90 hide and seek is a brilliant food based game. Our collie has a good nose and hiding small treats and letting him sniff them out keeps him busy for a short while and burns off a bit of energy while you can sit back and watch. You can move onto hiding toys eventually too once they get the hang of it!

are you basically saying that your dog is at home alone all day whilst you are at work and just getting a short walk in the evening? If so that is your problem. That is nowhere near enough stimulation, company or exercise. You need to address it now, not once you go on mat leave before the bad behaviours become ingrained. Could you manage a short morning walk on top of the evening walk? Enlist a friend to help?

@Pwd1 he is good at hide and seek so thats something I can do with him too, thanks!

@squee123 no I have never said that. He is left for a few hours then I come home for lunch then another few hours. Me and my other half are at home with him all night.
I'm saying he used to get an hour walk in the morning then a shorter one in the evening, then my attention at lunchtime but since I'm now 32 weeks pregnant it's harder for me to walk him as much.
He's not bad behaved at all, he can sense change and has become needy that's not bad behaviour!

apologies 9f bad behaviour was the wrong phrase, but I do think the neediness etc would calm right down if he had more exercise. If I cut my dogs' exercise for any reason they quickly become clingy and start attention seeking

Definitely an energy problem. Why don't you get one of those stick tennis ball throwers? Then you can play fetch with him in the garden to tire him out and you won't have to bend.
I'm 37 weeks and my Staffie although not as energy mad as a spaniel, has definitely been acting up recently as can't walk her as much. The ball lobber in the garden has been a lifesaver.

@squee123 I also think it's a pregnancy thing as ever since I've found out he's attached to me. I just dont want him to be like this with a newborn too!

@louisekira I have one of those and my other half takes it when he walks him but it has rained horrendously for the past few weeks so sitting in the garden throwing it isn't great at the moment, as I'd rather walk him in the rain to keep warm as I'm always freezing (pregnancy temp rise never hit me) When the weather gets a little better that is definitely doable!