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I'm going to be a (real) daddy...


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Hi all,

 

Well, it finally happned... I'm going to be a daddy. A real daddy (I consider my BC as my child=o). My wife is 17 weeks along and her due date is July 29th. We are starting to prepare for the new addition to the family.

 

My questions are tips / suggestions on how to introduce a newborn to a spoiled BC. She has rules in the house, which I think will help, but she will definately be jealous at first. I thought of moving her to the inlaws for the first week or two so the baby gets the 'house smell'. Maybe that will allow Maisie to accept the new addition quicker. I plan on doing everything I can to make sure Maisie knows that the baby is alpha over her. I really like Caesar Milan, and will look and see if he has any books on the issue.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

-Mike

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At the risk of repeating myself, I would offer this advice, as someone who raised two kids to adulthood successfully without killing either one of them. If the dog and the baby do not get along, keep the dog and put the baby up for adoption, preferably before he/she becomes a teenager. (Even if the dog and the baby DO get allong, still consider the adoption route for the child.)

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If the dog and the baby do not get along, keep the dog and put the baby up for adoption, preferably before he/she becomes a teenager. (Even if the dog and the baby DO get allong, still consider the adoption route for the child.)

 

:rolleyes::D:D

Bustopher, from someone who remains human-childless and is ok with it, I am pleased to meet a kindred spirit!

A. :D

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I wish I had dogs first. Maybe I wouldn't have made so many mistakes on my kids- LOL. Pretty sure your dog will learn the leave it command pretty quick. Plus the back up. Either your dog will become possessive of the baby (protective) or jealous. Hmmmm- let us know how it works out. I guess I'd have the crib set up and maybe make some "boundary" issues for the dog. Also, when your darling child arrives have noise playing on Cd's in the background including barking so s/he isn't used to noise waking them up. I had my Grandson over today and my dogs are great around him. Here's a pic.

1-1-08004.jpg

This was from a couple months ago. They got along great, yet well supervised.

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Suprman,

 

Congratulations! And well done to think ahead about introducing your wee one in a sensible and safe fashion.

 

If you go to www.dogwise.com, there are several books about bringing home baby. I think that some recommend doing some stuff now, like getting stay, back up, go to your mat, commands really solid. Other things are to get the baby gear - crib, stroller, etc, - well before hand and get the dog used to those items, so that there isn't as much new stuff to get used to all at once.

 

Good luck, and we'll expect pictures of your new 'puppy'!

 

Ruth n the BC3

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Hi - congrats to you and your wife.

 

No personal experience here (no kids) - but a couple of friends have had/are having great success. One family has 3 kids raised by their Border Collies - well, perhaps by one of their dogs - the other one just considers kids as potential nall-throwing machines :rolleyes: . Their other dog - a bitch with fairly serious dog-dog issues, but well managed, has been a superb natural nursemaid - loves to be around the kids, very gentle, very caring, especially when the kids are unhappy or unwell. Just achieved by including the dog in everything, and supervising.

 

The other family has a first baby with a 4 or so year old Border Collie. Inca has coped brilliantly - again, they involve her in everything, have kept her routines going as far as possible - like obedience/agility training - dad does the baby sitting. They did the sorts of things that Ruth and Dianne have mentioned - and also brought baby blankets and clothes home from the hospital so the dog could get used to the baby smell as part of the household before the baby came home.

 

One piece of advice that's often given, is to make sure as far as possible, that good things for dogs - toys, attention, food etc are associated with the presence of the baby - so, if you're going to put the dog up, do it when the baby is sleeping as far as possible, and then have the dog with you while things are happening with the baby.

 

It's really good that you're starting your preparations well in advance.

 

Oh, and my friends have found that their dogs - bitches in particular, have become somewhat weird (usually clingy and protective) during the pregnancy, because of the mother's hormones changing. My friend with the new baby said that in the later stages of her pregnancy, her dog almost ignored her husband, even though he was one of her special people before - but now the baby's arrived, the dog has gone back to loving being with the husband. So don't worry (or get jealous) if that happens with you too. :D

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At the risk of repeating myself, I would offer this advice, as someone who raised two kids to adulthood successfully without killing either one of them. If the dog and the baby do not get along, keep the dog and put the baby up for adoption, preferably before he/she becomes a teenager. (Even if the dog and the baby DO get allong, still consider the adoption route for the child.)

 

:rolleyes: Bustopher. I've never had kids, but I was a teacher for over 30 years, and still work in a school - and I think there's a great argument for banishing most teenagers to a distant desert island for about 4 or 5 years, instead of having them in high school :D .

 

I just was warning my puppy class people about the fact that their lovely attentive cooperative little puppies are going to become teenagers - but with the good news that it's for a much shorter time, they don't have mobile phones/cell phones, and they won't be asking for the car keys. :D

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Congratulations! I too am wondering exactly how to handle the introduction with the dogs. I can only assume Zeeke will be frustrated and jealous, because he really hates anyone getting attention but him. We have two dogs with very opposite personalities to deal with though... I figure it would be easier if there was just one!

 

I've been very thankful that my doggies stay children, even as adults. I'm really starting to panic, thinking about raising a human teenager. :rolleyes: Someone save me! :D

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I've been very thankful that my doggies stay children, even as adults. I'm really starting to panic, thinking about raising a human teenager. :rolleyes: Someone save me! :D

 

:D

 

I teach 8th grade (13- to 14--year-olds). And while I admit that they can be... er... challenging... they are also a lot of fun. I'd say that every year, out of 100 kids I teach, I have usually maybe 3 or 4 really difficult ones, kids whose moral wiring I actually question. Then I always have 30 or 40 kids who are completely great - fun, hard-working, loving, kind, friendly, outgoing - everything you'd want in a kid! And the rest are usually just fine, with occasional moments of snarkiness or unwillingness to do homework, which we all had when we were that age. (Admit it!)

 

As far as the dog/kid thing, I have no useful advice, since I don't have kids of my own. But my fearful/reactive dog Buddy absolutely LOVES small children, to the point that he'll stick his head into strollers to give kisses to babies. His reaction to little ones is completely different from his reaction to older kids and adults he doesn't know. So some dogs seem to come wired to caretake little people!

 

Good luck.

 

Mary

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I don't have kids, but my dogs get along great with all my kid producing friends and their families. They all have BCs, often several breeds, too

 

The biggest suggestion that all of use pass on is to *train your dog before the baby arrives*. That means good leash manners, good door manners (no bolting through), sits, downs, and recalls, plus understanding that is ok (and not frustating or stressfull) to be in a crate or behind a baby gate. It is *very* important you stop any demanding, pushy, or jealous behaviors now - your dog should not meet those rules because of the new arrival.

 

It's ideal to introduce the dog to well behaved children before as well. I would also start some food guarding prevention. Start dropping treats in that bowl, hand feeding, and gentle "surprise" interactions during feeding that results in big rewards for a well behaved and forgiving dog. Gentle "toddler" handling can start now. *Gently* start moving and tugging at hair, ears, tails, and paws and rewarding highly for tolerating progressively strongly levels of interaction. Teach your dog to stay "off" the blanket you will let the baby play on in the floor. "space" games I call them - or boundary training.

 

For the first years the primary thing to do with dogs and babies is *Supervise!!*. Training makes it much easier, socialization is gravy, but first and foremost is making sure that neither dog, nor baby, gets the other in trouble by acting like a kid, or a dog!

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