Boxers and a new baby

[only_one]

Hello all,

I am hoping that there is someone in Boxer world that can relate and offer reassurance/give advice.

I just found out that I am pregnant, and due in April 2007. I have a 6 year old that my brindle, Holly, just adores. She is very loving and nurturing with him BUT when DS tries to sit on my lap, Holly gets jealous and tries to nudge him off my lap so SHE can sit on me! She also gets jealous when my DH hugs/kisses me too. Does anyone have a newborn and a boxer?? If so, how did the boxer react to a new person in the home? Holly has never been around a baby before, and I am just afraid that she will become spiteful when I have to give the baby most of my attention. Any advice is muchly appreciated!!!!! :D

 

[rottenroxy]

Congratulations! We just had our first baby 5 mos. ago and we had a lot of the same concerns as you. First, let me just say that we have had absolutely zero issues so far and I'm certainly not crediting that to any great dog parenting on our part. As hard as we've tried, the dogs are definitely getting less attention than they're used to. Even so, our biggest problem is trying to get the dogs to limit their kisses to the baby's feet. Oh, and to stop flapping their ears outside the baby's room when it's naptime (I think they do this one on purpose). One of the things I did was to start using a couple of baby products (lotion, baby wipes) before the baby was born to get them used to the smells. Before we came home from the hospital, my husband brought home a blanket that the baby had been wrapped in so the dogs could get a good sniff. Also, we've tried very hard to let them be a part of doing things with the baby as much as possible. This often means having both dogs squeezed into the bathroom when it's bathtime and having two footrests when it's feeding time. Another thing that comes to mind is to try not to push them away when they get curious about the baby. As long as those big ole boxer paws aren't getting in the way and there are no signs of aggression, I say let them sniff and snort the baby to their heart's content.
Hope I've helped a little!

 

[BoxerMom13]

I have 2 boxers, a 2 year old daughter and I am due in October with the second baby. My boys are great, one better than the other, but neither have ever been mean to my daughter. One is just more tolerant and patient (and younger). The older one is a bit set in his ways, but nonetheless is great with our daughter. My best advice is this: Involve your dog in your activities, give him as much attention as you can, never scold for being curious about the baby, and just make him feel assured that he is still your baby, and you should be fine. I posted pics of my boys and my daughter, they just havent been approved yet. : )

 

[only_one]

Thanks for the advice, Charity. I feel a little at ease now. I can't forsee a problem with Holly having an issue with a new baby, but I guess that little cloud of doubt doesn't/won't disappear until you can actually see it for yourself. I will definately give your suggestions a try. I got a long while until a baby comes home, so hopefully with my growing tummy, maybe she can understand that a change is about to embark upon us!!

Thanks again, and congratulations on your baby (5 months late!)

Aimee

 

[Ronin1]

We also had two Boxers when our daughter was born. One (the male) was totally aggressive and possesive - especially of me while I was pregnant. Of the two dogs, he was an absolute angel with her. She would crawl all over him and pull on his jowels - he would just sit there and soak up all the love We really never did anything to prepare our dogs for our baby coming home. We just knew that Boxers are great with kids and those two never, ever proved us wrong

 

[rottenroxy]

Thanks again, and congratulations on your baby (5 months late!)

Thanks! It's been a fun ride...

 

[Darbysmom1]

congrats

I think you will come to find boxers are so amazing with kids.... Our female got nervous around infants so she would simple stay away from ours or get up and move if we walked too close to her with him. Our male fell madly in love and worshipped him following who ever had the baby around very sweet. Our male was the one who got jealous the most pre baby pushing my husband off the bed and wanting to be so close to me all the time and he never once was worried or scared of the baby he seemed to know he was a part of the pack. I think something that is really important is I read before I had our baby and it seemed to work that if you dont make the baby taboo then the dogs feel more at ease with it. So like if you are feeding baby maybe rub puppy with your feet as they lay there. Or if your dogs aren't too hyper have them help I would say lets go give baby his bath and both dogs would get up and follow me to the bath room and lay down at the door and watch. Things like that. Those are just things that worked with us... Congrats on the baby! You are in for the ride of your life and I mean that in the best way!!!!! also now my son is three and he and our male are best of friends they play in the dirt together roll down hills, watch tv everything! Our female still thinks he is a little rough sometimes but she loves that he can play ball with her for hours and not get as bored as my husband and I ha ha...

 

[karab]

Aimee,

I am also due with our first baby in October and have a 2 1/2 year old SPOILED Boxer who from the begining has been our baby. We too have had the same questions/concerns about how our Boxer will react. A few things we have done to prepare for the upcoming arrival are: We got a baby doll and have been treating it just as we will our baby boy. We put it in the swing, crib, hold it, baby talk with it, etc. Then we correct any bad behavior our Boxer has towards the doll (trying to play with it, whining at it or barking at or jumping on me when I am holding it). We never yell at him, just correct the behavior with a firm "no". If he is acting appropraitely around the "baby" we reward him with a treat. We have heard that using the baby's name a lot around your dog can help (if you know the sex/name) and we also got a CD that plays baby noises that is espcialy designed to be played for your dog. Also the day you bring your baby home, have some of your dogs favorite toys to give to him/her so that they realize that "bringing home baby" is a good thing. And always always always give them the love and attention they need as you don't want them to feel excluded from your family. Best of luck!

 

[2boxerboys]

I havent posted in a long while but was having the same concerns you girls are. I have 3 boxers, 2 male and 1 female and I am pregnant with twins and due Nov/Dec. My male boxers have become great watch dogs but the barking has got to stop. They literally bark at every person they see out the window or if they hear the school bus pass by the house (we have a 10 and 7 y/o skin babies as well). My female boxer just lays by me while the males bark. They all three sleep by my feet and DH is constantly moving them away from me. I have read some good tips on what to do before bringing my twins home.

My question is will the overprotectivness with the barking stop?

 

[JAKEY]

Newborn baby and boxers

I am actually due in a couple weeks and we have a 5 yr. old fawn that has a ton of energy. I really am not concerned because my plan is to introduce Sammy (our boxer) to the baby in a very slow manner. Sammy will continue to get her walks and her frisbee time at the parks so I am hoping she will not feel a change in our room, yet an addition to her. Also, I will NOT let the baby be out of my site especially when the baby cries because Sammy is very protective. So I think everything will be okay, however I will post an update after our baby boy is born. Hang in there, don't worry to much.