dog accepting new baby?

Skooter · Oct 27, 2005

Hello,

We have a 7-year-old Brittany Spaniel/Border Collie, possibility something else mix, named Mojo. I adopted this dog from the pound when he was about 2, and he bonded quite strongly. After we got past the separation anxiety, he was a great, active dog.

He was pretty unhappy when my now-wife moved in, but was never aggressive towards her. He eventually came around, after she gave him lots of love.

We had a baby six months ago, and Mojo is having a hard time accepting this new member of our family. He generally sulks and seems depressed, and acts nervous around the baby. We supervise baby-dog interaction very carefully. He generally licks her, but now she is staring to crawl and grab at things (including him). When she cries, he hides in the corner of the house.

Can anyone give me suggestions on how to get Mojo to accept the new baby as part of our family? We try to give him as much attention as possible and encourage baby-dog contact, but he just is not happy. I’m afraid this could lead to biting or lashing out on his part if we can’t bring him around.

Any help appreciated,
Scott
[email protected]

yentna · Oct 28, 2005

Oh, that's so sad! Unfortunately, I don't have an answer, but am afraid of the same thing when we have kids in a few years. We just adopted a 2 year old rescue dog, and he's bonded with us, but I don't know how he'll take to a new addition when he's older. Good luck, and I hope someone here has ideas for you!

showpug · Oct 28, 2005

When your baby cries and Mojo runs to the corner to hide, what do you do then? In that type of situation it is best to encourage your dog, but DON'T comfort or console. By doing so, you may reinforce to your dog that there is indeed something to worry about. Try using a happy calm voice and ask the dog "what is it?" when he hears the noise. If he looks interested or perks up at all, offer a treat. When the baby starts to cry, make sure Mojo has a positive experience right at that time, whether it be a really rummy treat or a new toy to play with...something exciting and positive for the dog. Dogs can become conditioned to certain noises and noised can and do mean things to dogs. That is why we can clicker train. The dog learns that a click= a treat. Your dog could learn that a baby crying means a favorite toy, or treat and instead of becoming scared, eventually your dog may get excited when he hears the cry. You only have months to go and your baby will cry less soon anyway, but I would still work on this with your pooch in case there are any new babies in the future

. That's my opinion anyway!!!

juliefurry · Oct 28, 2005

My lab was the same way. She used to hide when she would start crying and have this look like "I swear I didn't do it." She's starting to come around but we have also had this dog since she was a pup, well she still is a puppy. We just supervised their time together, we still do, and praise Hannah for anything positive that she does with the our daughter (lets the baby pet her or look at her toy or bone). Your dog is much older though, and more set in her ways. She may not be able to except children seeing as she has never had much regular contact with them. I know I have met a few dogs in my life that had never had contact with children and really could not learn to except them. She probably still needs to adjust though. She will most likely love her when she is a little older and isn't so small and fragile. I think that Hannah (that's my dog if your wondering) wasn't really sure how to act around my daughter but now that my daughter is almost a year and a half and a little more stable she is a lot better being around her.

candy722 · Oct 28, 2005

Im sure your dog will get used to eat and act normal. Just more time.

Skooter · Nov 1, 2005

showpug said:

When your baby cries and Mojo runs to the corner to hide, what do you do then? In that type of situation it is best to encourage your dog, but DON'T comfort or console. By doing so, you may reinforce to your dog that there is indeed something to worry about. Try using a happy calm voice and ask the dog "what is it?" when he hears the noise. If he looks interested or perks up at all, offer a treat. When the baby starts to cry, make sure Mojo has a positive experience right at that time, whether it be a really rummy treat or a new toy to play with...something exciting and positive for the dog. Dogs can become conditioned to certain noises and noised can and do mean things to dogs. That is why we can clicker train. The dog learns that a click= a treat. Your dog could learn that a baby crying means a favorite toy, or treat and instead of becoming scared, eventually your dog may get excited when he hears the cry. You only have months to go and your baby will cry less soon anyway, but I would still work on this with your pooch in case there are any new babies in the future

. That's my opinion anyway!!!

Thanks for the good advice, showpug. When Mojo runs to the corner (he usually goes to the closest corner to the baby), we tell him everything is okay, and pet him. We'll try to provide a positive experience, maybe with some treats from now on.

dog accepting new baby?

Skooter

New Member

yentna

New Member

showpug

New Member

juliefurry

Rusty but Trusty

candy722

New Member

Skooter

New Member

Members online