Introducing new baby to spoiled boxers.

[barkley'smom]

I am 4 months pregnant and nervous about introducing the baby to my 2 hyper boxers. They jump up on everything and everyone. I have a 2 1/2 year old male and a 1 1/2 year old female. Both are very good with my five year old son. However, my son plays really rough with the dogs, (he likes when the dogs jump on him and knock him on the ground), and so do my neices and nephews. I don't know how to introduce an infant to these 2 dogs and teach them to be easy with the baby. I can already picture the dogs trying to sit in the baby swing or bassinet while the baby is in it. I do not want to keep the dogs locked up all the time either. Does anyone have any ideas on what I should do?

 

[CondoPup]

There's one book I heard about online and suggested to a friend who wanted some info on this subject. It is called "Your Dog and Your Baby: A Practical Guide" and is by Sylvia Kent. It is also available for download as an e-book so you could have it immediately.

Please know that I have not actually read this. I only suggest positive training method books as a rule, and usually only books I've read myself so I can recommend them with confidence, but in this case I'm just going on the positive reviews and descriptions that make it sound like a decent book. Hopefully those reviews are accurate and the book focuses on positive methods.

 

[CondoPup]

On an additional note - in my experience, well-loved and well-behaved boxers seem to have a natural instinct around younger/more fragile children, and know how to scale back their enthusiasm accordingly. Never leave them unattended, of course, but it sounds like your babes should do okay with the new addition.

 

[Brynn]

My Dad has 2 hyper Boxers that have never been around kids. When I got pregnant and would go over to visit they would jump all over me I was worried about the baby. What we did was my Dad held my sons car seat with him in it of course and let the dogs sniff him. They were very interested but, stayed away a bit they seemed to know they had to be careful. We kept on doing that or we would hold the baby and the dogs would come over and sniff. We told them they had to be nice and theta kind of thing. By the time my son was a couple months old we put him on the floor and the dogs would just lay there and watch him. My son is 5 now and we have never had any problem with the dogs. I'm sure it will be fine. Good Luck and Congratulations.

 

[Chadwick]

We've just recently been through this with our four year old boxer and our (now) eighteen-month-old. Here's what we did, maybe it will help: as our boxer was naturally SO curious about the baby, we would give him lots of time to sniff or visit, but ONLY in the sit or down position. Yes, boxers are gentle with babies, but at some point they decide "this kid's big enough for play" and start to get bouncy, but this may be before the child is actually big enough! Also for licking, I would hold my hand next to his mouth and whenever he did NOT lick me, I would give him praise and treats. This has really helped him get self-control on that tongue!

My suggestion also is to include your five-year-old - this will help him feel involved after the baby is born, and encourage your boxers to see your kids as their "owners" too. He can help by giving treats for sitting and down behaviour, and perhaps you could use a "play" command for when they are allowed to leave the sit/down and wrestle him instead of that just being all the time.

Hope this helps!

 

[aramis]

new baby no problem to my boxer

boxers are great with kids!!! My boxer was about 2 1/2 when we brought home our baby. I was amazed that once I became pregnant he stopped jumping on me - he knew. He immediately loved the baby when we brought him home. We sent a blanket home with grandma for him to smell - don't think that mattered much, he was ready for the baby but that is recommended. He used to sleep on our bed, when we got up with the baby he got up. It wore him out and he started sleeping in the living room so he wouldn't be bothered. haha. He is super protective of our son and can't wait to get him out of bed in the morning, he will prance around his bed until he wakes up. Our son is 4 1/2 and they are best friends, he even calls him his brother. Our only problem now is separation anxiety which has gotten worse lately and I think it is because of our son. I think he misses him so much when he is away that he makes himself sick. We are probably going to end up trying some medication once we do a little research.

 

[aramis]

new baby no problem to my boxer

boxers are great with kids!!! My boxer was about 2 1/2 when we brought home our baby. I was amazed that once I became pregnant he stopped jumping on me - he knew. He immediately loved the baby when we brought him home. We sent a blanket home with grandma for him to smell - don't think that mattered much, he was ready for the baby but that is recommended. We started him out by letting him know our expectations, when the baby was on the floor we made sure he didn't step on him, no jumping, etc. He is quite hyper but his actions towards the baby were amazing. He just understood what he couldn't do somehow. He used to sleep on our bed, when we got up with the baby he got up. It wore him out and he started sleeping in the living room so he wouldn't be bothered. haha. He is super protective of our son and can't wait to get him out of bed in the morning, he will prance around his bed until he wakes up. Our son is 4 1/2 and they are best friends, he even calls him his brother. Our only problem now is separation anxiety which has gotten worse lately and I think it is because of our son or it may be something of an issue with his age. I think he misses him so much when he is away that he makes himself sick. We are probably going to end up trying some medication once we do a little research.

 

[jimmyjones]

simple steps

When I was pregnant my midwife advised me to bathe in baby products regularly to help introduce the dog to the smells it would encounter in a new - born. She also advised me to make any gradual changes to routine that I would need to make whilst still pregnant in order that upon the arrival of baby the dog would be able to maintain usual routine, and that it was important for gleeful visitors post delivery to still acknowledge the dog !! I had to search but found an old fashioned net playpen (as opposed to travel cot - less hardy) to keep baby safe when I was busy but still the dog could see her etc. This was used for nap times in the day also. And in the long - run made my life easier, my daughter could sit playing while I got ready for work etc ! Finally the other tip we were given was that in introductions the baby should be held rather than the dog restrained (!) and the 'sit' command used every time. All went well. Ask someone to help you with walks etc if need be in the initial couple of months (remember those first unsettled 8 weeks ?) so that the dog's routine is maintained a little, you could always ask them to have baby (people are surprisingly willing to look after a newborn) while you walk the dog, giving you a well deserved break and time with your pet. This will pay off very quickly. Hope all of this helps.

Jaycee x