Introducing Baby to other Baby - the DOG

[MamaCollege]

My husband and I already have one child, an english bulldog named George! He truly is just a special dog. He is very sweet, loving, gentle - the perfect companion. I am learning now that I am pregnant he is a great napping buddy, better than he was before and he completely approves of all my snacks!

My husband and I aren't due until March, but we already are trying to determine how to introduce the new baby to our other baby, George. George has been an only dog for almost 4 years. George was rescued and had a pretty bad life before Jeff and I got him so we have always made sure he has had a comfortable, first-class life so he would be able to live better than he did before he came to us. George is 5, will be 6 - he isn't grumpy or nasty, he is very clean and loves kids and other dogs and cats alike. He definately is not an alpha male!!

We want to make sure he knows he is still as important than ever, he has a new person to watch out for, but we want to make sure we can limit the jealousy, any issues of being lonely and any other factors that could arise. With his passive personality, I don't forsee any issues, but what did other people do when introducing their new baby to their family dog(s) to make for a happy transition.

[1st Time Mom - Again]

Before we brought the baby home we brought a baby blanket he had slept on home to familiarize the dogs with his scent. Once they had sniffed it, we even went so far as to rub it on them so they had his scent on them for a few days ( our DS was hospitalized for 17 days so we had the opportunity to make a more gradual transition). I was home first and every day when I got home from the hospital (when DSs scent was strongest on me, I made a big deal over the dogs.)

Once we brought him home they were introduced carefully.

[mommy2boftwins]

We had the same issue except we have 4 dogs. One inside (Chiuhuaha), 3 outside (Labs). I asked our vet how to intro them to our babies and he suggested the same technique that 1st time mom-again used. Our babies were in NICU for 9 weeks so we had lots of time too. You may want to let a family member take home a blanket with the baby's scent on it after your little one is born if your husband stays at the hospital full time. We just made sure that we talked and spent time with our dogs, especially the inside one, and gave them treats to let them know we still loved them. We also let them sniff the babies each day so they could see that they were the new family members. All has worked out well and our inside dog has become quite the little guard dog since our babies have come home. Our babies have been home now for 2 months and all has gone well.

[lindseyh911]

We did the blanket trick too, it worked great. We also made the dogs sit in front of the couch, I sat on the couch holding the baby, and Ken sat on the floor petting the dogs with one hand and holding the baby's hand with the other. We just kept telling the dogs they were good dogs, we praised them when they were calm and gentle around the baby and made them leave they room if they got loud or wild. They learned quickly that they have to be nice. I can't tell you how many pictures I have of the kids laying on the floor with the dogs as pillows.

As a side note, that works pretty well with introducing the older kids to new babies too. The praising part, not the making them sit on the floor and be petted part.

[charliesmommy]

My hubby also brought a blanket home to our three dogs before the baby came home. Our pom/chi mix goes everywhere I do and when the baby is with me she is right by him. Our dalmation/beagle/XXXX pays absolutley no attention to him. He is not mean to him when Charlie gets in his way. He just walks away. Our basenji loves the things that the baby drops. So when Charlie has food, Corky is there. Charlie pulled his ear pretty good one day and Corky yelped and walked away.
Be careful putting the baby on the couch or chair when George is already there. Corky growled at Charlie one time when he was next to my hubby and I set the baby on his chest. He growled and I pulled him off the couch, told him "NO! That's a BABY!" and sent him on his way. Since then he has yet to be anything but kind to Charlie.