Baby on the way - advice on how to introduce our dog

[Mummytobe81]

I'm due in 6 weeks and am just wandering what's the best way to introduce the baby to our dog. Tilly is a beautiful border collie - we had her from a few weeks weeks and she is now 18 months. She is generally really well behaved but seems to get a little anxious around children. Sometime she is ok and other times she growls. Can anyone give me any tips on the best way to introduce her and the baby and make it as stress free as possible for us all.

Thanks

I sadly walked a round with one if those crying baby dolls wrapped in a blanket for a few weeks. I let the dog look but not jump up. It worked really well, and new baby was more or less ignored when she arrived. I also had to stay in hoop tail for. Bit so we took a little sheet home that smelled of her and let the dog have agood ole sniff. We had 2 jack Russell's and they were fab.

Hoop tail,,,,, hospital

When ds was born my partner took home a vest he had been wearing and that was covered in his scent and let her have a real good sniff.

When we brought ds home we first brought our dog outside and let her sniff him in the car seat (neutral territory). We then all walked inside together (so the dog doesn't see it as the baby entering their territory) did let the dog sniff the baby while still in car seat. We then took ds out and let the dog have another sniff with me holding ds. By this point she had found better things to do!

A few useful links:

APBC handout: www.apbc.org.uk/system/files/private/advice_sheet_13.pdf

Dogs Trust handout:
www.dogstrust.org.uk/az/factsheetsanddownloads/factsheetnewbabynov13.pdf

Doggone Safe (I suggest you bookmark this site):
www.doggonesafe.com/baby_safety_around_dogs

Liam J Perk Foundation (this is another one to bookmark - essential reading on dog body language, for every family who own a dog in my opinion):
www.liamjperkfoundation.org/talk.html

When babies are really tiny, dogs often do not perceive them as any sort of threat and may be quite relaxed around them. They may also not identify a tiny newborn baby as human, so you must never ever allow the dog and baby to be together unsupervised.

As they get bigger, and start to crawl, climb, pull themselves up and toddle dogs become very stressed by their unpredictable movements. Unfortunately babies are very inquisitive and will often try to pull at or poke dogs. You absolutely must be prepared to prevent this from happening, especially as your dog is already showing some signs of anxiety around children - make sure she has a haven she can access away from the children. Crates and stairgates or room dividers are really important.

This is very manageable and I am sure you can set things up so your dog is comfortable and relaxed and your baby is always safe, but it is much easier to put in the work and rearrange your home if required than to try and recover a situation which has deteriorated to involve aggression.

Good on you for asking questions early! When I was pregnant with my first child, Sara I used a book called Tell Your Dog You're Pregnant: An essential guide for dog owners who are expecting a baby. It was really helpful and came with a baby sounds and toy noises. Max (my fur child!) took some time to get used to the sounds but the book helped on how to do it. It gave me advice on what changes will occur and how to prepare my Max for them. It also talked about the causes for aggression and why it might occur and how to avoid it. It is written by a vet behaviorist too so it cover health issues as well - I got it from www.babyandpet.com.au or Amazon too i guess - mayb that will help someone else!

Thanks for all the fab tips x

When i bought my ds home from hospital i put the car seat down on the floor and let my 2 springers look and sniff. One didn't want to know while the other one got quite carried away and wouldn't let me near him. She had to go and stay with my mum for 2 days to break the cycle and was fine after that.