My wife is due any day now so Penny will be getting a new family member soon. Our daughter was 1 when we got Penny so this will be the first baby she's experienced. I've read the articles about bringing a blanket or hat home first and letting her sniff it while giving treats. And we've really been working on keeping up with our training and making sure routines will keep her exercised. We're finally making some progress with separation anxiety she's going through with my wife right now, but we still don't know how she's going to react. And I have worries of her stealing and chewing up stuff when we're not able to give her attention because we're feeding, changing, etc with the baby. But all in all I'm feeling pretty confident. Any last words of advice from those who have done this before?
Baby coming soon
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Congrats jp, post some pics of the new baby.
Congrats jp! I can't give you any advice since I don't have any children, but there's a woman in Utah with a blog: http://www.dooce.com/
It's more of a pregnancy/children's blog (I read it daily because I find her hilarious and entertaining) but she's got two crazy australian sheppards and two young kids to give you some inspiration. I don't ever remember reading about her having a hard time raising her children and looking after her dogs. Hopefully it will be easier than you think.
It's more of a pregnancy/children's blog (I read it daily because I find her hilarious and entertaining) but she's got two crazy australian sheppards and two young kids to give you some inspiration. I don't ever remember reading about her having a hard time raising her children and looking after her dogs. Hopefully it will be easier than you think.
We had a baby this past July and Loki has been fantastic. Even with the decrease in his normal daily exercise we used to give him before baby.
We did the blanket from the hospital thing. But to be honest, he really didn't care. I think the biggest thing is she will be more excited to see your wife as she will have been away from home for a couple of days. I had my husband carry the baby in the house after me so I was able to greet the dog. What I would have preferred to do was, immediately after getting home, put baby in a stroller and grab the dog and go for a quick walk before even going into the house...even just to the end of the block and back, and then all enter the home at the same time. But I had some complications and was way too tired and weak. So, instead, I greeted him then gave him a bully stick to keep him occupied while we settled in with the baby. I don't think he noticed her for a good day or so!
As far as the toys go, for some reason, Loki just knows her toys are her toys. The only enticing items are the small stuffed animals that squeek. We just keep them up high and put them away when done with them.
I think Loki was more anxious before we had the baby...i.e. as we were putting the nursery together. Anyways. I could not have asked for a better dog and am excited for our daughter to grow up with a Vizsla!
God luck!!
We did the blanket from the hospital thing. But to be honest, he really didn't care. I think the biggest thing is she will be more excited to see your wife as she will have been away from home for a couple of days. I had my husband carry the baby in the house after me so I was able to greet the dog. What I would have preferred to do was, immediately after getting home, put baby in a stroller and grab the dog and go for a quick walk before even going into the house...even just to the end of the block and back, and then all enter the home at the same time. But I had some complications and was way too tired and weak. So, instead, I greeted him then gave him a bully stick to keep him occupied while we settled in with the baby. I don't think he noticed her for a good day or so!
As far as the toys go, for some reason, Loki just knows her toys are her toys. The only enticing items are the small stuffed animals that squeek. We just keep them up high and put them away when done with them.
I think Loki was more anxious before we had the baby...i.e. as we were putting the nursery together. Anyways. I could not have asked for a better dog and am excited for our daughter to grow up with a Vizsla!
God luck!!
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both adorable. congrats on the baby and on having a V that knows it's place around it's new alpha.
Thanks for the replies! The baby came this week and we're doing great so far. I have a photo I tried to upload of Penny 'wearing' the hat I brought home from the hospital. And several of her sleeping next to one of us holding a sleeping baby. She also didn't really care about the hat and she has responded really well to the baby. She's curious but usually not interested. But we also had her in three straight days of doggie daycare so she was so exhausted when she met her.
The biggest problem, as expected, is Penny's horrible habit of stealing things when we are not watching her. This includes counter/sink/table surfing, climbing bookshelves, finding our three-year-old's toys, etc. to steal and chew something. She knows what are her toys but she often doesn't respect that fact. We can usually take whatever she steals from her, but with our attention on the baby she is going to have many more opportunities to be destructive and my wife won't be able to stop her as easily while I'm gone during the day. And baby wipes and socks are already favorite targets to hunt down for her.
But all in all so far so good.
The biggest problem, as expected, is Penny's horrible habit of stealing things when we are not watching her. This includes counter/sink/table surfing, climbing bookshelves, finding our three-year-old's toys, etc. to steal and chew something. She knows what are her toys but she often doesn't respect that fact. We can usually take whatever she steals from her, but with our attention on the baby she is going to have many more opportunities to be destructive and my wife won't be able to stop her as easily while I'm gone during the day. And baby wipes and socks are already favorite targets to hunt down for her.
But all in all so far so good.
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