Managing baby & dog in the home

[Geemay]

Hello,

Can anyone advise on how to introduce and manage an 8 week old baby and a 15 month old boxer dog in the home? I have read lots of the other threads which are great, I hope im not repeating others questions too much.

My dog was unwell (campylobacter) so has had to stay with my parents until she gets a clean bill of health (due this week) as there was a potential healthrisk to our newborn. I have visited/walked her several times a week while she has been away and she has met the baby but always with the help of my parents/husband.

However when she comes home it will be me, the dog and the baby on our own during the day and I am a little nervous! In preperation I have put up babygates so can seperate them and a playpen so the baby can be safe in his seat/playmat.

Is it realistic to expect to get to the stage when i can have the baby in the room, in his seat (not in the playpen) or on my lap and the dog to be calm and not overly interested, or should I expect to always have to keep them seperated? Obviously i would never leave them alone together!

What is the best way to introduce them to the point where she will be calm/sleep/relax when we are all together?

I realise a lot depends on the dog. She is great, but still very bouncy, interested in everything, and can also be very persistant. I guess I am looking for a little reassurance that all will be ok and that eventually she will just accept him as usual.

Before the baby arrived she was with me all the time (i work from home) so I am expecting her to cry a lot if she is restricted in another room away from me. She even had a phantom pregnancy along with my pregnancy!

Anyone have any experience or insight for me?

Many Thanks
G

[jamkaywill]

I dont have any children and Abbie had never saw or been around a newborne until a couple of months ago. I baby sat my neighbors new born for a couple of hours so she could shower & etc. I made Abbie sit and then let her smell the baby after that all Abbie wanyed to do was lick the baby's feet. She would sit with me on the couch when I held the baby and when the baby cried so did she. I think you may be suprised at how much your dog understands she needs to be careful.

[Mama's Boys]

Congratulations on the birth of your baby! I have a 7 week old baby, and 2 dogs, so completely understand that you are nervous about bringing your dog back home. First, I'm happy to hear that she's doing better.

I think that best advice that I got from other BoxerWorld members about the first few weeks with the baby around the dogs is to involve the dogs as much as possible. In other words, don't isolate them, but allow them (under strict supervision from you) to be involved in everything you do with the baby. It will certainly be an adjustment for the dog, as she doesn't know anything about the rules of living with a baby. From the day we brought our baby home from the hospital, the dogs have continued to have their free roam of the house, but we've also been very strict about letting them know their limits and boundries. I definitely had to teach my dogs what was and was not acceptable behavior around the baby. Laying down the laws from day is very important in my opinion.

[BxrMommieNAZ]

We got our Boxer boy who was around 2 years old when I was 39 weeks pregnant. I had my son 3 weeks later. We never separated them, my son was in his bouncy seat on the floor or on a blanket or in his swing with the dog (and he was around 80 pounds at 2 years old) without issue. They were great friends, the dog helped our son learn to walk, licked him when he cried, let him use him as a pillow when he was 2 or so and would watch TV, we never had any problems whatsoever with the 2 of them and our 80 pound 2 year old Boxer was there (and please keep in mind we had only had him 3 weeks when our son was born) from the time my son was 3 days old until our Boxer boy passed away 5 1/2 years later. Never had any mishaps, problems, etc but I also never excluded our dog, separated them or anything along those lines. After a day or 2 the baby was no longer new and our dog relaxed, etc same as he did around us and it was no big deal.

The more you stress over it the more your dog will pick up on that and act out as well. Just be calm. No reason your dog cannot be with and near baby with you present IMO.

[zapata]

i have a 7 month old daughter and almost nine week old pup and my daughter gets scared when he licks her feet my wife gets kinda nervous when there around each other because he still a baby too so we dont know what his reaction to the baby is going to be does anyone have any advise for me or is it the same for a pup as it would be for a dog