I see that there are a lot of parents on this forum and I'm curious how many had their dogs at home and then had a baby?

My husband and I are expecting our first baby this fall and we have a 6 month old GSD. She was a very bratty, hard-headed pup the first several months, but after some obedience work with the breeder and after finally establishing pack structure, she has become quite the wonderful dog and is well socialized to both children and other dogs.

My husband and I discussed boarding our pup with the breeder for at least the first 7-10 days when we bring the baby home, merely just to have thd dog out of the way so we can keep some sanity while we adjust having the new baby. We both like the idea, but I also wanted to see how other people did it when they brought their babies home for the first time? Is it better to bring the baby home with the dog already there so the dog can get used to the new baby sounds and smells? If we board her, is it possible my pup could freak out when she comes home from the breeder because she smells a new baby all over the house?

With her temperment, I think she will do fine either way, but I'd just like to see what other people's experiences were. Thanks!

I think boarding the pup might be a good idea to let you de-stress and set up a routine at home with the new baby. If you are comfortable with it then go for it. But most people are just fine bringing the baby straight home.

Have you read Ed’s e-book on bringing home a baby? It is a great protocol and works very well. It is safe for both the baby and the pup, and keeps very clear boundaries in place.

Also, the pup should not react any differently to the baby smell than she does to any other new person that comes over. But her reaction will be fed off of the way you and your husband act. Just be normal and don’t worry about it.

My brother when my nephew was about to be born had two very big dogs. We discovered quickly that the easiest thing for us to do is to ban the dogs from baby areas via an indoor invisible fence. This was really easy to teach because basically we just started out with baby gates to teach it. Moved to a white piece of tape on the floor and finally nothing.

The dogs were not allowed to touch, interact with, or chew on anything related to the baby. It only took a couple months before the baby was born for the dogs to learn their area restrictions. By the time my nephew was born they were in complete avoidance of the areas and by default the smells associated with. We also were pretty vigilant to keep kid stuff away from dog stuff. We needed to be fair on both sides of that coin.

Once Tristan moved out of those areas basically the rules of avoidance went with it. We really didn't have to do a whole lot of enforcing. The dogs really tried to keep out of his way until he really got into solid foods. Then we realized we were in a losing battle and we decided to throw the dogs outside out at meal times.

Sharon, my dog is a little over 3 yrs and my kid a bit over 9 mos.

I did pretty much what Melissa said. Completely separate the dog and kid. My dog used to sleep in our room on the floor, she was moved to the living room in her crate. She understood fairly well and easily. She was never allowed in the baby's room, and did not start coming near the baby until recently. We also make sure he does not pester her. He is not allowed to pull on her, or be rough w/her.

It will take a bit of time, but things will be normal. My dog still got her time, so the whole transition for us was fairly nice and easy - aside from me learning to change diapers.

 Quote: Melissa Thom

We discovered quickly that the easiest thing for us to do is to ban the dogs from baby areas via an indoor invisible fence.

I like this idea. I'm actually planning on getting an e-collar for her next month and just recently bought Ed's e-collar video. I plan on making the baby's room completely off limits to the pup (as well as the tv/media console, which we currently have gated off right now with her outgrown puppy play pen) via e-collar training.

 Quote: Sharon Eliot

.... I plan on making the baby's room completely off limits to the pup (as well as the tv/media console, which we currently have gated off right now with her outgrown puppy play pen) via e-collar training.

This is not what I'd think of as an e-collar situation. I'm curious about what kind of training you are now doing to make the TV and/or certain rooms off-limits. What basic ob methods did you and the breeder use?

 Quote: jessicakromer

Also, the pup should not react any differently to the baby smell than she does to any other new person that comes over. But her reaction will be fed off of the way you and your husband act. Just be normal and don't worry about it.

This was the biggest thing for us. At first, way before Koen was born, I would worry about how it would go over.

Then I finally came to the attitude of, "Tough $#!t doggies!"

I did like was already mentioned, and simply made the baby off limits. There honestly is no reason for them to interact right off the bat.

In my mind, there were only two ways the dogs could react to this change. Like it, or ignore it. No other choices.:smile:

The funny thing was that the dogs didn't even acknowledge Koen until he had been there for 3 months. One day, both dog's light bulbs went on and were like, "When the hell did that get here?"

I would call Domino over to be close, he liked to look at her, when he was about 3 or so months. This was never close to her face or anywhere that a bite could possibly happen. She would sit beside me, and turn her back to us so I could scratch her neck.:smile: I only did this with her, because she was 1000% neutral to him.

Turbo, on the other hand, was more like Alex's. Probably about 9 months +/- before there was any interaction. Turbo was always more interested in him, though.....cause he smelled like poop and spit-up.

Missed the edit time.:smile:


This contact still isn't physical for Turbo and Koen either. Probably not so much because of Turbo, but because of Koen. I know it is too much to expect responsible behavior out of him around animals until a much older age.

Just remember it is O.K. to say no to the dog, and to the kid.:wink:

I think people feel like they HAVE to let them interact or the kid is going to be afraid of dogs, and the dog is going to be afraid of kids. I think the opposite is true.

Right now we just have a gate in front of the tv (her outgrown puppy play exercise pen) and we have a tall dog gate (with a cat door that should could actually squeeze through until she was about 5 1/2 months) to block off half the house. She is only allowed in the house supervised.

The breeder only did simple obedience: heel, sit and down. She already knew sit and down before she went, but heel was the main thing we wanted. The biggest thing we got out of the training was the breeder teaching the pup that no means no. Before training she would listen to us about half the time, now it's 95% when we say no. My hubby and I were pretty inconsistent with her when we got her as a pup. I was the disciplinarian and he was the softie. It was a constant battle, more between us than with the dog, and we were ready to give her up at one point because she was such a brat. She came back a new dog after spending two weeks with the breeder and she is such a pleasure to have now.

Now I'm occassionally leaving the dog gate open, but I tell her no when she goes through the gate. If she does go through, I tell her go back and she marches back through the gate. I like the idea of the invisible line using tape, it's definitely something I'll have to try, I'm so sick of squeezing through the door in the dog gate!

Sharon, I think if you are already occasionally leaving the gate open, you are moving too fast. Your baby is not due until the fall, so take your time w/the training. I don't think e-collar is necessary for this type of training either.