[mary64]

Please help if you have any experience with this...I just brought my daughter home from Guatemala on Thursday, and my 5 yr. old boxer will not allow me to hold her or talk to her in front of him!!! he barks, jumps up, and then she cries!! he follows me through the house the entire day, and will not let up, it's exhausting...please help, I am desperate!! Mary

[StorkWatcher]

In case this helps - I'd gotten some tips recently from others - check out the thread:

OT- dogs and babies

[shelbydog]

Hi Mary. This is a pretty complicated issue but I will try to help. Here goes. Before the baby, was the dog your "baby"? Did the dog listen to you, follow you around or was he the "leader"? First and foremost, even if you have a new baby, you must exercise that breed of dog. Boxers have alot of energy. If you have to wake before the baby/and or have someone else walk the dog, do it daily. This will help with some of the pent up energy.

You may need a really good dog trainer. Your dog should listen to you and know you as the leader in the home. If he is jumping, whining, crying around the baby, he has not established himself as another "pack member" but instead, is challenging you, who should be the leader. If your dog has had obedience, try to work with him 10-15 minutes a day on commands like sit, stay, down. For jumping, we use the word "off" and if you have to lift your knee up slightly to keep him off, try that.

Most importantly, do not shoo the dog away or ignore the dog when the baby is near. Praise your dog for good behavior when the baby is near. Do not shower the dog with affection when the baby is not there or sleeping which many people tend to do...oh baby is napping - let me hug and shower my dog with affection. This sends a bad message, as in, "When baby is near, I get ignored, and when baby is away, I get love and attention again." The dog will resent the baby's presence.

Finally, please please read the book by Cesar Milan (dog whisperer). It is excellent and will help with alot of the issues you are experiencing. Your dog needs to see YOU as the leader in the household. You most exhibit leader behavior, demeanor, leader voice. You lead in and out of doorways, not the dog. You lead when walking - not the dog. I hope this helps in some way. My best advice to you would be to get a good, in home dog trainer to help you - one who stresses positive reinforcement and establishes you as the "pack leader"....not training with food, snacks, treats, tricks or clickers.

[cheychey]

I agree with Shelbydog. Definately find a good dog trainer, no zapping collars, treats, or clickers. Dogs think you are part of the pack and the baby is the new pack member that is below them. The dog needs to understand that the baby is above them in the pack and YOU are the leader. A in home trainer will be able to help you through this.

[buckeye1]

Originally Posted by shelbydog

Most importantly, do not shoo the dog away or ignore the dog when the baby is near. Praise your dog for good behavior when the baby is near. Do not shower the dog with affection when the baby is not there or sleeping which many people tend to do...oh baby is napping - let me hug and shower my dog with affection. This sends a bad message, as in, "When baby is near, I get ignored, and when baby is away, I get love and attention again." The dog will resent the baby's presence.

Great information, Shelbydog. We followed this advice, and it worked for us. Hope it's equally successful for you, Mary. Hang in there... best of luck!

[ej-momtobe]

One of the tips I heard is to only feed or treat your dog while you are holding your daughter. Then, the dog will associate 'goodness' with your daughter being there.

Good luck. I am very interested in this topic because we have a very spoiled rottweiller and want to make sure that the introduction to our son goes

[angelkisses0102]

I too agree with Shelbydog. We had an in home trainer before DD arrived and it helped one of our dogs...the other dog, well she just didn't get it...she thought she was a baby and I enabled this behavior without really knowing it.

We went to a vet that is a behaviorist as well and evaluated the situation. We needed more behavior modification to show her she was the lowest in the pack...behind all of the humans and the other dog. I needed to really change my behaviors with her...

She is also on anti-anxiety medication...as she is co-depentant on me as well and just a nervous little girl. With medication and behavior modification, she was fine, until DS came home...we did have to up her meds and teach her that even DS was again ranking higher than her in the pack...

Her meds just relax her, she is still a great pet and not dopey or sleepy...just calmer and not as nervous.

Good luck.

[shelbydog]

Hey everyone - I thought I would offer this up. I am a freelance writer and wrote an article on the topic of introducing your baby to your dog, and how to prepare, what to do. It is well researched (interviewed vets, animal behaviorists, etc) and goes way beyond "let the dog smell the baby clothes/blanket" etc. I apologize that it does not have more adoption related info since most of our babies come home later than newborn/infant stage...hmm...maybe I can write a new one for an adoption magazine.....anyway, if anyone wants a copy of it, just PM me and I'll email it to you (word doc). It helped us tremendously when we had Evan and we used many of the same principles with Mia.

I still highly recommend Cesar Milan's book (google Amazon under his name - it's his new book with a Weimeraner on the cover)....it is EXCELLENT. Many of the behaviours we want to change are behaviours that we caused to begin with. His book helped us ease our Golden's fear of thunder....more specifically, helped US react to storms properly so she would in turn, follow like a pack member and react calmer. It WORKS. The last middle of night storm we had, we actually got some sleep and so did she!! He is a genius on many fronts.

Anyway, just wanted to offer my article if anyone wants it. It's such an important topic. Too many dogs end up in shelters when babies come into the home, and/or kids get hurt. Good luck!

[ez4me2remember]

I have a dog who is already very interested in the baby's toys. I keep putting them into the suitcase to take to Guatemala ...and she keeps taking them back out. I think she will be very jeolous of the baby's toys!!!! She is very funny. Do any of you have a dog who thinks your baby's toys are hers/his?

[angelkisses0102]

Shelbydog~

If it is your article...I believe you can post it...you may want to double check with those of higher powers but I know I post articles and they don't get zapped...and I didn't write them but just include whatever info on the writer.

[pjb1967]

just like Shelbydog, I too read The Dog Wisperer's, Cesar's Way. I saw an episode about bringing home baby and the idea is to not let the dog near the baby for about a week. The dog's sense of smell is so great that just coming a few feet away from baby is enough stimulation for the dog. They don't need to come up and see the baby. As the week goes by, the dog will start to calm down, give up and lay down, near you but not next to or on top of you and baby, therefore, the dog will subconsciously learn that this calm behavior is the only way to behave around the baby. I have a wild, crazy pug and intend on using this technique when I bring my baby home. I know the 1st week will be hard but you really have to be committed to keeping control and keeping the dog a few feet away from the baby.