About to have a baby.. any tips on socializing our boxer pup with the new baby?

[mikeandnala]

Hi there -
I am due to have our first baby in 6 weeks. We have an almost 7 month old Fawn boxer female. She is a hyper and playful, all around a wonderful dog though. We work with her a lot and try to get her out as much as possible. I am wondering though how we should go about introducing her to the new baby? We took care of a friend's 3 month old Boxer pup a few weeks ago for 4 days and she was definitely jealous of the attention the other pup was receiving, we saw a definite change in her behavior (i.e. acting out - pottying on the floor, etc) Can anyone offer up some advice? Thanks!

 

[dora]

Other posters gave some really great advice in my topic on my dog being jealous of my sister's baby's attention, look through that thread.

I will say that teaching that the baby should be respected is important, also, if you have doggie daycare near you, that helped me a lot because my girl Proxie was so wore out that she didn't have the energy to be jealous or to try to get attention. This helped with reinforcing the behaviors we wanted, being mellow, being in the room but not in the middle of the action, etc. Still a work in progress but definitely a huge change in the right direction for Proxie.

Also, since it will be a newborn baby, I would suggest practicing and solidifying the basic obedience commands, like sit, down, stay, etc. Mainly because you will be carrying the baby around the house and don't need the puppy jumping on you, racing you on the stairs, getting under your feet or climbing in your lap (my girl did all of these, its scary and dangerous!!). Proxie is almost 2 yrs old and has done well with a few weeks training - but again, this is my sisters baby, so it isn't an everyday thing she is dealing with. I am not sure about a 7 month old boxer, guess it depends on your boxer girl's temperament and maturity how well she will do with the baby.

Oh, I also have heard you should take an item that smells like the baby home for the dog to smell and get used to so the baby isn't as big of a surprise when he/she comes home. So maybe you could try that too, have husband bring a blanket home from hospital or something like that.

I'm sure many others on here have more experience than me and can add more advice!! And congrats on the baby!!!

Jenny

 

[mikeandnala]

Thanks for the tips!