We own a 2 year old GSD male. He is a very friendly dog( in fact any one can just walk up to our gate and pat him - not much of a guard dog ! )He is though, very energetic and playfull and a little bit mouthy, but he is reasonably well trained in obedience which we've done through a private trainer. In 3 weeks time we are due for our first baby ! Can anyone give any advise or tips on "the do's and dont's" of this situation so I don't upset the dog, make him jealous etc. My trainer suggests bringing home an article of babys clothing from the hospital first and get the dog used to the smell and introduce the dog slowly. He also made a firm point about never leaving the dog and baby alone ( makes sense! ) Any other info would be greatly appreciated

Check out Ed's article on this subject.
http://www.leerburg.com/dogs-babies.htm

Thanks Charlie, I did look for an article but obviously missed it. Very helpfull

Hi Grant

Congrads with the baby. Its always a joy and a profound gift from God to have the opportunity to be the guardian of a new life.

Dont know if there is much to say after Ed's briliant article.
From your description your dog sounds like he is neither too dominant nor fearful so temperant wise he should be fine with a new child. Supervision is paramount especially at this stage as a dog might "hurt" the baby out of
playfullness. I have been bitten by my Belgian
Shepherd in a tug of war excercise with his article and although it was just a scratch a scratch on the hand of a grown man is not the
same as if were with an infant.
Dominance wise, if the dog shows any hostile behaviour whatsoever you have to be extremely hard in correcting him. He must respect you as leader and not as much as growl at the youngster.
What I do with my kids is to envolve them in the feeding process as this also incourages their dominance over the dog. But this baby still needs to learn to feed itself <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
I started getting my kids to feed the dogs at age 5. What I do is let the child order the dog to sit and put the bowl down in front of him. He is not to take the food until the child gives the command to "eat". Obviously this all takes place under my supervision at all times. Thats just what I do, some might differ but it seems to preserve the harmony in my pack of 2 dogs, 2 kids (another on the way) and a cat.