OES and babies
We're, of course, upset to hear that, I really don't see any reason why 2 OES cannon coexist peacefully with a baby, all living inside the same roof if you take the necessary precautions and training measures to provide safety for both parties. Please share your experiences and how you deal with the baby and the natural curiosity of the dogs to see the baby. I refuse to believe that once the baby comes, the dogs have to be outside and cannot be a part of the family any more (altough the baby will take preference over the doggies, I know that!). You don't just ditch your best friends because you have a baby.... right? |
|
|
| I'm glad you have the right attitude saul.... it does however take preparation and caution to ensure a success. Some dogs get jealous when a new baby joins the family, and can react in a variety of ways, from regressing in house training, to aggression, or sometimes they love babies and the worst they do is get in the way because they still want to be with their people, big and small, all the time!
Sheepdogs, in my opinion are more sensitive to their families on an emotional level than most breeds. Therefore, just as if you were preparing an older child for the arrival of a sibling, you have to prepare your sheepie. I would suggest regular exposure to children and babies of all ages as often as possible, starting as soon as possible. Make them rewarding postive experiences.... Also, no matter how good your dogs SEEMS to be, never leave any dog unsupervised with children. You just never know. You don't want either to be hurt. As your child grows from baby to toddler you also have to teach the child to respect and be gentle with the dog. I'm sure you will get many other tips.... I have always had dogs, all my life.... and when my children were born it worried me too... but I think if someone had told me no dogs because of kids I might not have had kids!!! LOL (horrible thing to say, I know) |
| Hi Saul,
I'm new to the forum. We just got our sheepie Saturday. My children are a bit older, but when they were born we had a very spoiled cat. It was recommended that before you bring the baby home from the hospital you bring home one of the blankets that they have slept in. By having it around the house in advance, the animal will know the baby's scent before they come into the house. I know that dogs and cats are very different, but I can't see why it wouldn't be worth a try. We did it when we had both of our children and they have coexisted with the cat better than I have at times. |
Welcom rfedeli!  |
| I think the 2 words coined years ago in OES history still holds true today with kids: Nanny Dog.
I am sure there will be some adjustment but I think your pups will be fine with a baby. |
| Many OES aren't good with children (the "Nanny Dog" reputation isn't necessarily true) - but that doesn't mean YOU can't raise children and OES together! Alot depends on the temperment and behavior of your OES. A well trained and well mannered dog will adjust just fine with your upright babies! Most of the problems people have with OES and children are the result of the dog being untrained - as well as the CHILDREN not being taught appropriate behavior with the dog.
All dogs should be part of a family - and it kills me when people have dogs that stay in a garage or outside all day/night - why bother! It's all about your committment to making it work - and obviously you seem to have very strong feelings about how to raise children and dogs together - so I'm sure you'll do just fine. You may want to start by socializing your dogs with other children (neices, nephews, etc.). When the baby comes along - show your dog attention as you would always - and make sure they know they are still part of the family! Good Luck! Kristen |
| I'm glad I was young and naive when our son was born! We had already had Buford for 2.5 years when Spencer was born. We brought him home from the hospital, put him in his crib and brought Buey in the room. I took him over to the crib, lifted up the bumper pad and said, "Look what Mommy was brought home!" That was all there was to it. He never went for either of my kids, and they just adored him. Of course, we watched them when they were together. Buey was a bit food aggressive, but as long as we kept our distance while he ate, he was fine.
If I knew then what I know now, I'm not sure I would have had a dog in the house with a new baby. Like I said, I'm glad I was young and naive, and that it worked! Another good thing about having dogs and kids together is that the kids learn to appreciate animals. When some friends with small children would visit us, if they didn't have a dog of their own, they were terrified of Buey. Such fear in their faces - I'm so glad I never saw that look in my kids' faces. It will work out. You just have to work at it, but it will be well worth it. Chris |
| I can say that I did wait to start our fur family until our children were older and could understand what the rules of "playing" with the cats and dogs were all about. I am glad that I waited.
Kids need the same training and retraining to be around animals or the pets will think of the kids as pests. For example, when Jack started getting really big, Joey thought wow, my very own hairy horse, and it took several times to tell him, Jack is big, but he is not a horse and you WILL NOT ride him..LOL With the cats and dogs, we would pull their hair and or tails, please realize we never pulled hard, and then we would give a treat, that is something that all kids will do accidently (and on purpose sometimes.) That seemed to help a lot with all of the pets. It helped that I was a stay at home Mom with everyone, I was there all the time to help with the training of everyone. I could nip bad behavior in the bud, pretty quick. 
I also know when we introduced Annabelle to Jack we went on neutral ground not at our home, that might be something you do when you have children, is bring the dog to a neutral place to introduce the smell and sounds of the new baby and then you all come home together. I would think just like any child sibling feels jealousy and resentment sometimes to the new baby, that our pets would as well, make sure that they don't fall behind when the baby gets here, until you become a mother or father it is really hard to understand what a hard job it is those first few months of a newborn. Saul, I think you and your wife will do great as parents of the hairless kind...LOL. I wish you the best! Stormi and co. |
| Hi Salumr,
I'm glad that you've are already considering your two furballs in the course of a positive future event. As you know your dogs better than any of us you'll be able to see which of the two may have jealousy issues but I suspect your two sheepies will view the baby as a new member of the pack. Here's some suggestions as to what you can do now in preperation. Food is a big issue with most dogs and although this event may not happen for several years - it's better to think ahead. Where do the dogs eat? I can forsee a little unsuspecting toddler sticking their hand in a food bowl and perhaps getting bitten as a warning by even the most loving of dogs. Toys? Are the laying around the floor and would your sheepie not touch you toddlers toys or would the baby try to grab a toy out of one of the sheepies mouth? That sort of thing. Bringing home a blanket or something else with the babies scent before his/her arrival is also a good suggestion. I've always had dogs most of my life and had two babies in the process and it was never an issue. The dogs would lay passively by the babies - although I would never leave them alone just to be on the safe side. I quess the most important thing is adjusting now rather than later when a new baby is brought into the house so as the dogs don't notice that NOW they are eating outside apon the babies arrival, which may cause jealousy. Think of all the possible scenerios which wouldn't work with the arrival of a new little one and make the adjustments now so not much changes occur when the event does happen. An example would be, feeding them in a room where the door can be shut instead of an open kitchen so it's old news to them and they don't associate the change with the babies arrival. Anything you view as negative (from the dog's perspective) should be changed now so they don't associate that change with the baby. Good Luck in the future! Marianne |
| Saul and Dani,
You are right in getting your puppers used to kids before the baby comes. When we were first married, we got a Chow from a pet store(yeah I know dumb move) but we were lucky, we had an excellent vet that when he first checked Chelsea, he asked us if someday we were going to have a family. He suggested getting her used to lots of kids touching her, get her used to us putting our hands in her food bowl, sometimes to add food, sometimes to take some out. We didnt have kids until Chelsea was 5. Before the baby comes home the dog knows something is different. Chelsea used to sleep in the doorway of our bedroom. As soon as I became pregnant she slept right next to my side of the bed. After the baby was born, Chelsea would sleep back in her normal spot by the door. In fact, with subsequent pregnancies I knew I was pregnant before take the test! Chelsea would change her sleeping habits and sleep right next to me again! When the babies were brought home (we have 4 kids) I would enter the home first alone while hubby and baby waited in the car. I would have a bit of alone time with Chelsea. Then hubby and baby would come in, I would put the baby down on the floor with Chelsea,sit on the floor myself and ask Chelsea to come and see HER baby. She was allowed to snif as much as she liked. Because the baby smelled like me, Chelsea instantly took to the baby. As the kids became toddlers, they were never allowed to bother the dog. They were never allowed to crawl all over her, they were taught to respect Chelsea and to always be gentle with her. As a result my kids are very gentle with all animals. Most importantly even tho I knew Chelsea was very gentle, she was still a dog. I would never leave the kids unattended with the dog. I never took the chance that something would happen that would mean having to make a decision whether the dog could stay or not. Sorry this post is so long, but I wanted to let you know that it is very possible to have kids and dogs and be successful. Hugs, |
| Thanks to you all for your wonderful comments. I could not expect anything less from such a great bunch, it made feel very positive about keeping the doggies around when the babies come one day.
Now I know it is going to involve lots of hard work, you have to teach them to behave around a pregnant woman and to get better house manners, and then they have to be introduced to the babies and the babies to the dogs, that the dogs will et jealous because they are not getting all the attention they used to and many other things, but is really reassuring to hear that it can be done and we are not crazy for trying to keep babies and OES together. We love our guys so much that it would hurt me knowing that I would have to part with them when babies come. Like I mentioned before, here in Mexico the culture is not very dog friendly, and for many families and friends we know, it's unbelievable that we keep our dogs inside, that they have a bed in the floor for them and that they are allowed to sleep in the couch, and it's even more unbelievable that we let them roam around in the house when the weather is not good and we are at work.... You should see their faces when they ask us if we have chidren and we say "Yes, 2" and they find out they are Lennon and Sofa 
After all the comments we heard from people we know, we were wondering if we were wrong about caring so much about the doggies, treating them as family members with rights and privileges. But after hearing all you have to say about how you have incorporated your sheepies into your everyday living, it does not sound bad at all. As long as your dogs are healthy and well mannered, it's OK for them to share your daily living and be a part of the family. I'm really exited about the idea of having a son or daughter and have our doggies learn to live and interact with each other, I grew up with dogs all my life and I regard it as a very positive experience, and I would love my children to have such experience. If it wasn't for all the information we've got from the forum, the life and destiny of our dogs would have been very different. Thanks to all! Saul & Dani. |
| Hi all,
Saul...dani
I am pregnant with my fist baby and I have asked my vet and my doctor about Pisco and my future baby....and they have both given me very helpful tips about it. 1. when the baby is born bring from the hospital something(clothes) that has the smell of the baby prior to the coming home of the baby, and leave it around so the dog gets used to it`s smell. 2.when you come home with your baby have someone take the dog away for a little while then have them bring him back when you are home with your baby...and greet him with all the love and and treat you can get. 3 after wards when you are settling in if you leave the house and leave both baby and dog (with suppervision), when you get home greet the dog first then the baby...remember the dog knows you have arrive and greets you the same as ever ...the baby is very little to figuere things out yet. 4.when you are changing your baby`s diaper give it to the dog so he can smell it (it`s the way dogs identified their own pack).... 5. if he wants to smell the baby or lick him let him lick him on the toes...always with supervision.... soon as the baby grows ....the bond between them gets very strong.... friends of mine have done this with their own children and has work very well...... |
| saul
our first baby is due dec. 9th. we did get some good advice. one of the things that we did was let buddy smell all of the new things that have been brought into the home and tell him "this is for the baby" even when i was washing all of the blankets and clothes he would be lying on the floor next to me as i was folding and i would sniff a bootie and then say "ahh bud smell the babies sock" things of that nature. he is probably sick of hearing this "baby" word all of the time. i will be sure to let you know how things go for us when the baby makes its grand entrance. good luck to you. ger |
| I grew up with an OES and I can tell you that I man handled that dog to no end. I rode him, took his toys and "walked" him down the street. I can still picture myself being pulled down the street and then home again. Never did that adorable dog so much as growl at me. I was a bit worried when I brought Ollie home as my three year old is shy with limited verbal skills but I must say that I have been shocked by the wonderful nature of this dog with children. I'm sure that I'm very lucky to have gotten a very laid back pup who loves the time that they spend playing together. Both the puppy and they boy have been know to start the play and together they have a blast. He has yet to even accidently knock over my little guy! I feel truely blessed as I'm a single Mom and feel much safer living alone with my two kids with my soon to be huge puppy. I would say that if you a interested in having children and already have bonded with your Sheepies you'll be surprised how well it goes. Good Luck! |
| As long as you stick to your routine with the dogs, it won't feel threatened by babies. If you are the one to walk the dog, then continue to do that. If your wife always does it, then you won't mind babysitting baby while she gets some fresh air with the dogs. If you both do it then invest in a good jogging stroller or backpack and do the walk as a family.
Don't worry about germs etc from a dog to baby to the point of banishment...alot of new parents become super sensitve to this area. If your dog is clean, routniely de-wormed, adn brushed often...the baby won't get sick. We have two cats, and always had a dog in the house, now is a good time to start practicing changes you might expect to happen. I'm happy to hear that you want all to co-exist, having a baby is tiring, and it will be easy to say I can't walk him tonight...keep this mind. You will be up at all hours, and if it happens to be a 6-7 am feeding, walk the dog before work...you may feel better than trying to get 30 min extra of sleep. These kind of changes will help make it easier. |
Vero wrote: I am pregnant with my fist baby and... Just thinking about you.....what's going on? How are you and Pisco doing? |
| I brought home my first baby with Maggie and Corky already well into adulthood. Maggie was an excellent babysitter. She planted herself under the crib, and if the baby cried she would become agitated, like trying to say "Do something"
An extra bonus.... the baby at 18 months happily dropping cherios from the tray of the highchair to her friends, Maggie and Corky, waiting patiently below. The children are now 23 and 19. Maggie and Corky are in heaven and we've had dogs ever since without any trouble. I think this is more the norm than the exception. |
ger wrote: our first baby is due dec. 9th. Ok, how's it going??? What worked, what didn't? Everybody still happy? Anybody getting any sleep? [...] I will be sure to let you know how things go for us when the baby makes its grand entrance.  |
| Saulmr...Might I suggest teaching your dogs to walk with a stroller? Preferably before the baby! LOL! Cooper walked just fine with just me, but the first time we tried it with a stroller, there were a lot of bumps! |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|