# Introducing your dog/ newborn baby



## raps702 (Dec 19, 2010)

We will be having our first child in about 3 weeks, we are getting very excited. Our dog (Axel) just turned 2 years old last weekend. I was hoping some members could share their experiences (positive/negative) or any helpful tips they have encountered with bringing baby home and such. Also, how has it been with your dog and the baby for the first 6 months/ year? Any helpful insights would be greatly appreciated.


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## DougAndKate (Sep 16, 2011)

Hi raps. First off congratulations and good luck. Our newborn baby girl turned 5 weeks old yesterday. Elroy (our 1 1/2 year old V mix) has been so much better with the baby than I could of possibly imagined. Let's just say he has an insane prey drive, and I thought maybe the little movements and sounds coming from that bundle of blankets might drive him nuts, but that hasn't been the case at all. Nor has the somewhat reduction in affection and attention bothered him all that much,you just have to pick your spots and make sure he gets a few minutes of "you" time.

There was a topic a few weeks back that outlined a few things from those of us that were/are expecting: 
http://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php/topic,3893.0.html

As far as actually coming home with the baby. What we did was send Elroy to boarding with our trainer as soon as my wife got admitted to the hospital. It was quite a hectic drive there when I found out they were inducing my wife, so whatever you choose to do with Axel, make sure you have a plan and try to stay as calm as possible, not that it's easy. Plus, you never really know how long you will be at the hospital. My wife and I ended up being there for almost 5 days. So Elroy spent a few days playing with all of the other dogs. We came home with the baby, got settled into the house for a few days, and then went and picked Elroy up. This ensured he would be exhausted and well exercised, he's usually whooped for a few days afterwards. I brought a baby blanket with me when I picked him up and left it next to him on the way home so he could get used to the smell somewhat. Once home, I kept him on-leash while my wife held the baby and gently let him smell it. Surprisingly he hasn't been too kissy for some reason. He likes to lick her feet every so often, maybe he's not a fan on the breast milk smell always coming from her! Anyway, for the first day or two, he would whine and get anxious every time the baby would cry and we would change her diaper, but that went away pretty quickly. Our biggest payoff was all of the time we spent on training, especially the "bed" command. Baby's crying, you're trying to make a bottle, change a diaper, and your dog is wagging away looking for attention. Elroy, bed! Gets them out of the way for a few minutes and allows you to focus on the baby.

Other than that, and as much as your life is going to change, they still love routine. Elroy still gets his 3 mile run in the morning with me before I leave for work. He spends all day following my wife and the baby around the house. I used to take him to the park and woods every night when I got home, but now it's more like a few minutes of fetch in the backyard. But Saturday morning is still "our" time. That's when he gets his long hikes out in the woods and fields, it gives mom and baby a chance at some quiet in the house and it tires us both out for the weekend! Sunday is our off day, everyone gets to lounge around the house, maybe a walk around the neighborhood if he's "bouncy", as we like to call it when he has too much energy!

Hope this helps somewhat! Sorry for the long rant, but it's been a great experience so far. The next challenge will be when our daughter starts crawling, we'll see how he reacts to that.

Oh, one last thing. Another thing we did while my wife was pregnant was use a baby doll around the house, in the crib, in the carseat. Whenever Elroy approached the doll, we'd say "Baby, gentle." In a nice calm voice. We still use this tactic now when he smells her or tries to look in the crib. 

Good luck!
Doug


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## raps702 (Dec 19, 2010)

Wow! Thanx Doug for all the helpful information. And Congrats on your new baby girl. I haven't been on the forum that much lately, been very busy, however I will check out the forum topic you outlined for me. First off, we are kind of stressing alittle bit about what to do with Axel when my wife goes into labour, we thought initially we could get a friend to come and check up on Axel and feed him, etc. However, I think the best option is to put him into a bording/kennel situation. I am taking him to day care/boarding kennel tommorrow to see how he makes out for a few hours. He has only been to the vet kennel once when we had to go out of town, he is alway's home or we get a close friend to take care of him in emergencies. This will be his first time at day care. I like your suggestion of giving Axel something with the scent of the baby before we bring him home. (We will do this for sure) I'm sorry to hear that your wife and you were at the hospital for 5 days, that sounds like along time, we were hoping for 24 hours? (if things go to plan, I told my wife 2 hours you will be in labour!!) haha
I also liked how you spent a couple of days getting settled before you brought Elroy home, not sure how long Axel could go without us though, he is very obsessed with us! I also agree with setting up a routine as quickly as possible, he is big on routine and structure. 
The positive thing for us is that both my wife and I will be off work for 4 months together, and then she will go back to work, and I will be taking 2 years off work to stay home and be a house husband and dog sitter. So hopefully we can maintain a really good routine together and figure all this raising a baby stuff out.
I was worried about how Axel would react to the baby crying all the time (hopefully our baby does not), however you did mention that Elroy has adapted to this. (which is good) Also, how you introduced your baby to Elroy with the leash, slowly letting him smell your baby etc.

Also, good idea with the baby doll, we actually just put the car seat in yesterday, so we can try putting a doll in the car seat and the crib.

Thanx again for all the good information, I may PM you, if I have some other questions for you. If that's ok?

Thanx Steve

Ps- I like the swaddling wrap technique you have on your baby, I was learning how to do this at a baby class last weekend, and I didn't do very well, I am sure I will get lots of practice to improve!!


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## flynnandlunasmom (May 28, 2012)

Steve, No. Don't PM him! Post it here so we can all see  

I'm due Jan 2 and am very grateful for all the tips/info people have posted on here about babies & v's.


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## DougAndKate (Sep 16, 2011)

No problem Steve. By no means are we pros, we're just learning to adapt. The funny thing is, Elroy was SO difficult as a pup and teenager, it really did prepare us well for the baby! And as for the hospital stay and planning, just be flexible! It rarely goes as planned. 

I wouldn't trust sending Elroy to any old boarding place or kennel, but lucky for us our trainer has lots of room and many other dogs to play with, plus he's been helping us train Elroy for over a year, so it was a huge relief and weight off our shoulders to know that he was well taken care of. We also send him to daycare there on Wednesdays now just to give everyone a midweek break.

My wife has perfected the swaddling technique, I'm not quite there yet! Also, I'm envious that you're able to take 2 years off to be with your child and Axel. I've been racking my brain every day trying to figure how I can work from home full time. Also, feel free to PM me with any other questions, and good luck! We went for our first family hike last weekend, and I was an extremely proud father and husband, it was a great feeling!

This pic is after one of our Saturday morning outings...


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## flynnandlunasmom (May 28, 2012)

Doug(andKate), what a great photo!


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

Wow! Elroy is huge! Won't be long before the baby can ride him!


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## DougAndKate (Sep 16, 2011)

Hi raps, it's Kate (Doug's wife) just wanted to say congrats! Keep in mind the Axel probably already knows that something is changing with your wife - they are very aware. Elroy would jump up every time I moved near the end. Although I didn't have the opportunity to go into labor on my own I've read that some dogs don't do well knowing that their mama is in pain. Read some stories of dogs howling every time an early contraction happened. Not that that's bad it may just make him nervous - something else to keep in mind if you're planning on staying home through some of the early labor phase. 
Also, I was shocked that when we brought Elroy home that he didn't even have 4 paws in the door and his nose was straight up in the air - he knew something was different and someone else was there. We basically let him follow his nose over to the pack n play where baby girl was and continued with the "baby, gentle". It definitely helped us doing training and playing baby sounds for him early on. 
I'm sure things will turn out great, he'll feel the love all around so stay calm and enjoy this time! Best of luck to you and your wife!


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## raps702 (Dec 19, 2010)

Hi Kate,

Thanks for all the feedback you and Doug have given us. I actually do believe Axel is aware of my wife's pregnancy, he is alway's checking out her belly, and sniffing around the baby's room and checking out the new baby stuff. He seems very apprehensive about the baby stroller, he is actually scared of it. I suppose we should do some trial walks with Axel and the stroller just so he can get used to this new contraption.
We just had a 8 hour workshop 2 weeks ago on labour/delivery. I actually didnt' even know what a contraction was? Obviously i have heard of them, however did not know exactly what they were. Well, I do now!!! We are both just going to see how things go with the labour thing, we only live 5 minutes from the hospital and as stated before this is all new to us...(we don't know what to expect)
I agree with cueing Axel with "baby gentle words", and I am sure he will adapt quickly. I just hope he can stay calm and be gentle, as sometimes he loves to play ROUGH! My worst fear is for him to scratch the baby with his paws. Hopefully his natural instinct will to be gentle along with cueing words.
Ok, I am off to take Axel for his first 4 hour day care trial assesment. Hopefully he does well so we can take him there when my wife is deliverying the baby.

Thanks again

Steve

Ps- I actuallly thought there would be more members who have had baby's more recently to share a story or two? I suppose they are like us, they started with a puppy and then will work there way to having kids? haha


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## Janelle P (Jul 22, 2012)

Congratulations to you and good on you for preparing 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 CD of sounds. Max (my fur child!) took some time to get used to the sounds but the book helped on how to do it. I think I got mine from Dogwise. Maybe that will help someone else!


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