# Wife is pregnant with our first, due in May. What should we expect from our V?



## Captainbrice (May 27, 2010)

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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

Congrats!!! As a mom of 3, I know you & your wife are in for an adventure of lifetime full of love like no other  I can't tell you what to expect from your V (we got our pup after # 3); however, we did have other dogs with each child, and we prepared most with the 1st. That is just because, for us anyway, everything for or around the 1st child was over the top. By #3, it never occured to us to consider how the dogs would react ;D None the less, we just let the dogs explore the baby's room, new baby things coming into the house etc. When my daughter came home from the hospital, our 2 dogs had very different reactions. One wanted nothing to do with the baby, and the other would not stay away. It was a little nerve racking at first, because the more "in your face" dog was a little possessive about it. It was as if she were watching over the baby but also claiming dominance &/or territory. Does that make sense? Because of that, we just never let that particular dog around the baby without supervision. For example, I would not allow the dog to be in the den with the baby if she were in the swing while I was cooking dinner. That lasted about 3m, my being cautious, but like any change, they come around. I think a good rule of thumb is just not trust your dog & baby are safe together alone until you have had ample time to evaluate how it's going. To me, that means letting the new parent adrenaline pass, visitors having come & gone, and y'all have had a few days for the excitement to settle & form a routine. Routine may seem exhausting & chaotic for a little while, but your dog will adjust to that energy as well. I would also try to kepp his rountine as normal as possible if you can. Exercise as always, maybe even a little more, and keep feedings as they were etc. If you have had your dog sleeping with you, and you want that to change after the baby's arrival, then I would start on that long before the baby comes. It will be fine. Best wishes!


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## jp (Nov 24, 2009)

Congrats! We added our vizsla between daughter 1 and 2, and she was not quite two years when the baby arrived. I was very anxious and did a similar post topic. All in all the dog has been very good with the baby. We followed all of the standard suggestions about introducing smells and spending time with each, but she (the dog) never expressed much in terms of dominance or territory concerns. At the same time, while she will cuddle with either child, I don't know if she is necessarily attached or overprotective of them as some dogs can be. Penny (the dog) did go through a horrible bout of separation anxiety while my wife was pregnant that the vet attributed to her sensing the situation. She never fully recovered and is still a fairly anxious dog for which we do medicate a little. It really hasn't been stressful as I was worried that it would be. We never left the baby alone with the dog (wouldn't with any animal) and now that the baby is almost 1 and is crawling we are having the occasional collision between the two, although I am amazed at how Penny can zoom through a room littered with toys and kids and not even graze anything! We had issues of her stealing and destroying items in the house to either get our attention or for enjoyment. That hasn't changed, but has infact been a bigger challenge as baby items are particularly tasty. We have been through many many pacifiers. And baby socks mysteriously disappear. 
The basic lesson learned was the dog behaved as well with the baby as before, so if she is well trained and well behaved it should be an easy transition.


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