If one more person asks what am I going to do with the dogs when I have the baby I'll go mad!

[ToffeeAddict]

Honestly, so many people have asked me what am I going to do with my dogs (3 whippets) when I have the baby, as if 'getting rid' of them is the only sensible course of action. I always protest and say that I have no intentions to do anything with the dogs other than keep them, obviously taking all due care with them around the new arrival, and seemingly everyone has a story about how they/their daughter/brother/friend really wanteed to keep their dog but had to rehome it soon after the baby was born. Please can some of you share your success stories of bringing baby home to a house with dogs with me so I can stop feeling so dsheartened by other people's attitudes to their 'beloved' pets?

I know some people really have no choice, for example where the dog(s) are presenting a real danger to the baby even after reasonable attempts at introducing them and I would never judge anyone who is forced to make the difficult decision in those circumstances.

We have a cairn terrier who has been so sweet with our baby ever since we got home from the hospital. We did some stuff that we read about to make sure that the dog knew the baby was part of the pack like introducing them outside our flat and feeding the dog while holding the baby. I know it all sounds a bit weird, but I think it actually made a difference. Now DS is 7 months and he smiles constantly when he sees the dog. They are great friends. I love watching how they interact together and that my son is already loving having a dog around. Having said that I am always careful and don't leave them alone together on the basis animals are unpredictable and I wouldn't like to have my fur yanked!

Obviously you'll be wise enough never to leave the dogs with the baby unattended so no problem.

I think you'll be doing yr child a favour as he/she will grow up unafraid of dogs. My Jack Russell barks at small children because they often give of a fear vibe. However when she meets children who have grown up with dogs there is no reaction whatsover!

We have 6 cats and my Mum and Dad will be collecting them when I go into labour; they will then have them for a week or so to let us just get to have a few days to get our heads round a newborn without 6 cats clambouring over us.

Wow, wasn't expecting so many responses - and all positive too, how about that! I feel so much better now after reading all your stories, and have picked up many useful tips and bits of advice that I will use.

Merrylegs haha spoken as a true Whippet owner, yes that could indeed be a problem. I have tried explaining to them on many occasions that they are just too big to be classed as a lapdog, but they refuse to listen!

Middledaughter I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Whippets as pets to anyone, they are so sweet natured, loving, entertaining, docile and relatively low maintenance (which we found surprising). Ours haven't had much exposure to children up to now, although they have met our 2 year old niece a few times, and once they got past their initial fear of her (they can be quite sensitive souls), they seem comfortable with her and crucially have showed no aggression at all even when grabbed, hugged and pulled. I would recommend a website called www.K9community.co.uk (might be .com?) if you want to find out more - plenty of people who know all about the breed on their forums - it's where I spent a lot of time when we got our first.

Thanks again everyone x

I know how you feel! I have a house bunny and a cat, if one more person tells me to put the bunny outside in a hutch (she's never lived outside, the cold would kill her, muppet!) and that the cat is going to sit on the baby and suffocate it, I might just scream! Grrrr!!!

I wish people could keep their stupid opinions to themselves.

I grew up with dogs and we got our Boxer a year before I got pregnant with DS. Boxers are always cited as a great family dog but ours did definitely feel a bit put out by the new arrival despite our very best efforts.
One thing I would stress is just to be careful at every stage, ie. when baby learns to roll, crawl, stand, walk as it can be a bit confusing for the dog(s) the only incident we had was when DS first started walking and bowled over to dog who was taken aback and growled because he was with DP, dogs do get jealous!
We keep DS and DDog pretty separate for both their sakes but DS ADORES DDog & they are forging a lovely friendship.