Me and my hubby are talking babys. We have had this chat before but i was put of because of phoebe and the fact she can be a "tad" naughty . But im coming up on 29 and have reached an emotional point where waiting any longer is something im not sure i can do for my own sanity, friends and family are having babys left right and centre and im finding it very hard to be happy for them. The trainer that helped us a few years back has said she would take phoebe when im in labour and then bring her back when im home to supervise the meeting. A friend has recently had a baby and when i watch her videos online Phoebe goes nuts at the baby laughing or crying. And when my friend came here still pregnant Phoebe was fascinated with her bump at first but then barked at the bump and headbutted it. This is giving me the impression it will not be an easy situation. I now have a new cd like the firework one i use of baby sounds that i plan on playing once i know im pregnant in the hope it will help. Does anybody have any advise on this? We plan on moving first as this house is to small and has no garden so i would find giving phoebe and the baby their own space here very hard. I have no plans for phoebe and the baby being the best of friends (she is mine, the baby can get its own dog) but i would like to live together happily and not have phoebe shut away all the time as i think that would only make the situation worse. Im also not one of these germ phobes that wont let dogs near babys or lick them or anything, but i dont want a drool fountain cascading over the baby.
these are phoebes total interactions with children. Niece and nephew one time when they were 6 and 4 she was a tad pushy with her sniffing (she is with everybody) but they were fine and told her to get off. They were great with her as they were brought up with her mum. Then when they started to get a bit over excited Phoebe ran in to the garden and started barking at them. Im glad she choose to move her self away from them before she barked. Friends child, he was about 6 and not used to dogs atall. I sat him on sofa and let her in then sat with him. he went nuts climbed on back of sofa screaming that she was biting him Phoebe thought it was a game and climbed up after him wagging her tail but i had to remove her as he was really frightened. Every time her whiskers touched him he said she was biting him. Hes 11 now and still petrified of dogs. About 2 years ago i was taking Phoebe for her mid day wee wee. Thee was a man and his children walking about 7 metres in front of us the children turned and saw Phoebe and started running towards us shouting "Look a dog" i shouted at them to stop, Phoebe ran behind me and then started barking at them. Then man shouted at me so i told him to get some leads for his muts. This is the total of Phoebes interactions with children. We did used to live next to a primary school and Phoebe would spend so much time peeping through a gap in the fence watching them in the playground. She never barked at them just watched with her tail wagging. She has never been aggressive with a person but she is very rough when shes sniffing and when playing. She will jump up and she is awfull when were eating and will try and take food of your fork/plate while a fountain of slobber hits my floor. (this only really applies to my hubby she doesnt come near me when im eating as she learnt long ago not to waste her time but my hubby is a push over)
Oo exciting stuff Katy Introductions should always be calm and supervised, and you could start off with baby's clothes. It's good that you are introducing noises as that'll help her get used to the sounds. I used to take Rocky outside the school so that he could be around noisy children - the teachers used to let them come up to the gate to say hello, as they knew they needed to learn to behave around dogs too - could you try that with Phoebe?
My brother has agreed to come down with my oldest nephew and niece their 9 and 7 and then he says hes going to think about the other 2 as their 2 and 10 months. My sister is law said it really helped their dogs that she started setting the house up really early so there wasnt a sudden influx of new stuff all over the house. I think i will have to do that as phoebe not fond of change. Had a near breakdown over a new desk last year so not sure how she would cope if house was suddenly filled with new stuff
Ask your local rescue home if they can lead you couple of life like dolls, we use them when we are assessing dogs in my rescue home.
Well it's been forever since I had a baby my youngest just turned 26 but if you're going to move first I would set up baby gates etc pretty soon after moving so she has plenty of time to get accustomed to them. I used a huge great travel cot in the lounge with mesh sides so the dogs could see my son without mullering him. They used to get quite worried when he cried but soon settled again. the thing is it doesn't really matter how she is with older kids cos yours is going to be a tiddler and she'll get used to having him/her around in her own time. It's nothing like big kids running around. Start getting your OH to be less of a pushover at meal times now if possible cos a baby in a high chair waving their spoon around will be oh so tempting. If your not superstitious set up all your baby paraphernalia well in advance of baby coming home but when baby is home try not to be paranoid about what Phoebe might do, my Boxer was a clumsy oaf but was so gentle with the baby it was untrue. Obviously at first he was overwhelmed by the smell etc of the little un and was quite pushy but once I left him have a sniff and let him lick his feet he was satisfied he was one of us and he could stay. Good luck hope everything goes according to plan.
Thanks @Trouble i plan on setting things up early and little by little. I though about a travel cot rather than a moses basket as they can be knocked over so easy. Im hoping it wont be as bad as im thinking as shes old now and sleeps about 16 - 18 hours a day. Think its just going to be one of those play it by ear things and hope for the best
How about trying your local midwife see if she can get hold of life like baby for you, like the ones they give to 14 -16 year old girls in school.
