Dog weeing to get attention

[rollerbaby]

My dog is a little over a year and my baby is now 12 weeks old. The dog (cocker spaniel) is a loveable friendly animal who has never shown any hostility and just wants to lick the baby and be with us all of the time. He sleeps in our bed and spends most of the day with my husband in his office (at home) before coming down in the evening. The worst time of day for him barking and playing up is when we are doing bedtime - so I am guessing this is an issue of the baby getting attention.

My husband is away this week and my mother is here helping. The dog has always been very used to her giving him lots of attention and tries to muscle in when she is playing with the baby.

Last night he weed on her bed and we thought that this might be because he hadn't been out in the afternoon. This morning he had a mad 5 minutes barking etc and I completely ignored him all the while. He then weed on the chair in the baby's room (which he likes to dig when he is getting OTT and trying to get our attention).

He is not aggressive towards the baby but clearly a bit jealous. I really don't know what to do now and don't want to make anything worse. We've tried to include him in everything, I don't shut him out of any room and he still sleeps with us whereas the baby is in his own room. He gets lots of attention after 7 when the baby goes down and my husband walks him once or twice or day. I really don't know what more I can actually do!

Does anyone have any advice?

bump

it is jealousy I'm afraid
one of our dogs did this when we got guinea pigs

having said that wtf is it doing sleeping in your bed?! yuck and not hygienic esp with a baby around. your choice but hmmm

maybe you should shut him somewhere else to sleep. pack animals need to know their place iyswim, perhaps making him sleep in eg the kitchen will make him realise he isn't as important as the baby (which is v important going forward)

To me, this is highly unlikely to be a jealousy issue, or anything to do with pack theory, and far more likely to be a housetraining issue.

Dogs often seem to regress at around this age but personally I think it's more that the owners get a bit complacent and take their eye off the ball somewhat, with regard to spotting the signs/letting the dog out enough.

I think you're probably (understandably) busier with the baby and possibly not letting the dog out quite so frequently.

I think he's barking and playing up at bedtime not because he's jealous of the attention the baby is getting, but that he knows that the bedtime ritual is a predictor of HIM getting fuss and attention. Just like they get excited when you put your coat and wellies on, in expectation of a walk. They're very clued up like that.

well all I know is that when we got two guinea pigs and kept them in the utility one of my dogs (not the other) who is generally more anxious and interested in us regularly went upstairs (they aren't allowed upstairs, never try, never go) and peed and shat in our bedroom.
We moved the guineapigs to an outbuilding and she never did it again.
That was definitely and 100% jealousy (or insecurity perhaps), so I'd say it was possible that your dog has had the same reaction to the baby.

calamity why would a dog who needs a pee go on the bed? surely it would go by the back door or somewhere?

doesn't it sound like marking territory to you? I'm surprised

Yes, chances are the dog's a bit unsettled ATM. Things have changed and there's a new, squawking thing in the house. He might be feeling a little insecure.

All I'm saying is, it's generally a mistake to attribute human emotions onto a dog. Nobody knows if they feel jealousy in anything like the way we understand the emotion.

My first port of call would still be to wash his bedding thoroughly and increase the number of times he's taken outside to relieve himself.