Dogs And Babies

[kiesha09]

I am having twins in November so thought I would ask your advice on some existing bad habits and for any tips and tricks for managing dogs and babies. I don't want the babies to completely disrupt the dogs routines so if we're going to make any changes i would like to start now.

Both my dogs have slept in our room for the last 8/9 years. They sleep on their own beds and get up onto ours at about 4am. That arrangement is fine but the issue is our room is at the front of the house and they bark if anyone walks past the house. Not so much at night but early in the morning. We are planning to have the babies in our room to start with and I suspect that the dogs will wake them up (which could end up making this mummy pretty grumpy!). Would you move them out? I don't particularly want to as I know it will cause significant stress to one of them who suffers separation anxiety. What process would you follow to move them?

Secondly, what other hints do you have for managing dogs and babies? Are there things that you wish you had trained before the babies arrived?

[Bubitty]

Congratulations!!!!!!!!

Two things I found SUPER helpful with my dogs were that:

They were exceedingly well toilet trained

They were not random barkers

I reckon these things saved my life when I had a baby! I was pretty much mentally gone and thank goodness the dogs did not contribute to unhinging me!

My dogs were really good with kids despite not really have any interaction with kids. Bubby was a tad over excited about the baby and loved to be near him but he settled and they were fine with him. They had the ideal attitude of generally doing their own thing while keeping an eye on him and running to tell me whenever he cried.

In your situation I reckon it would be helpful to have a new sleeping arrangement for the dogs so that they get used to it! Our dogs used to sleep on their beds in the loungeroom. When baby arrived, we wanted the baby in his own room. For the first few months the sleeping arrangements were fine but my girl Bitty felt she was losing her Daddy and started having an epic meltdowns at 1 am in the morning! By 8 months we had a baby that slept through beautifully but a tantrumming dog that needed to be pacified several times a night! So we moved her into our room, where she slept next to MrB and she's been fine ever since!

[JRG]

I think Val Bonney has written a book about dogs and babies http://www.bonnies.com.au/

Could have some good information/help for you in there

[mita]

Mater Mothers' Maternity Hospital in Brisbane has a great page giving guidelines for bringing home a baby to a household with pet dogs.

Good tips to read. They even make a CD available, of a crying baby, for people to put on for the dogs before the baby comes home.

Also they give a link to a very good video that was made by Brisbane City Council on You, Your Baby & Your Dog. You can watch it on that link. In fact, the Council used to run sessions on the topic for expectant parents around our local libraries. But that video contains all the sessions covered.

http://brochures.mater.org.au/Home/Brochures/Mater-Mothers-Hospital/Dog-baby-and-you-bringing-your-baby-home

Big congrats on your twins!

Edited June 6, 2015 by mita

[Issy]

I can safely say that babies will get used to dogs barking over time. I've raised triplets with dogs and my three were accustomed to noise and wouldn't wake each other up. I had all mine sleeping in the same room and if one woke up during the night the others would not wake up at all. They seem to get "used" to regular household sounds as well. This is just for barking though as you'd never want to leave babies or young kids with any dogs without supervision.

Congratulations and hoping you will have two healthy babies.

[Rascalmyshadow]

Don't stress about the dogs barking, I wouldn't rush to move them out of your room.

My kids were born into a multi dog house (we had on and off fosters as well as our own) they got used to the noise very quick, so much so the health nurses actually thought my son was deaf because he didn't react to even sudden noises.

Tip toeing around and trying to stay quiet is the worst thing you could do, we used to have the bassinet in the loungeroom through the day (it was on wheels) and only put it in the bedroom at night, worked a treat.

I also wouldn't jump into changing the dogs routine, I found they adjusted better the less they were disrupted.

[Dame Aussie]

I have a barker here and am pregnant and read that baby gets used to noises like that while it's still in the womb so that's what I'm relying on :laugh:

[kiesha09]

Thanks everyone for your replies and tips. I spoke to mum tonight about the barking and she said the same thing about the babies getting used to the barking.

They are good dogs that are well behaved generally so that's the main thing I was really concerned about.

Dame Aussie I really hope they do get used to it in utero!