Two 2 year old furbabies and a newborn?

[calicoray]

Hello all,

I am in a very precarious predicament. We just found out a couple of weeks ago that we are expecting a new baby....after TEN years of trying, fertility meds and reproductive endocrinology. We had all but given up completely on having another child (our oldest is going to be 10 in June.) Needless to say we are shocked and toatlly excited.
When my Princess died in 2008 @ only 5 years old, my husband was so sweet and went out and got me a new boxer baby (Duchess) a week before Princess passed away. He told me that he knew she wasnt going to make it too much longer and that he thought the new puppy would help ease mine and our daughters pain....he was right. Though Duchess could never replace my sweet Princess, she did make dealing with her death so much easier. Not long after that I bought Deuce, our male. My mindset at that time was that I could not have any more children, and though it may sound ridiculous, I thought I could fill that void with new puppies. That was two years ago. Those sweet little puppies have now become VERY rambunctious 60 and 75 lb little monsters! LOL!
My husband now thinks we should get rid of the dogs. Now I know some of you will think ill of him, and trust me we have had MULTIPLE fights over this, but I understand his concern. I however, know that part of being a responsible dog owner is to take care of your dogs no matter what. They did not ask for a new baby, nor should they be punished for one. I ABSOLUTELY am not getting rid of my furbabies...it is preposterous to even think it, but I need some advice on how to approach this subject with my husband without causing a huge argument.
On a side note, my husband did not have "pets" growing up. He had dogs that were tied up outside and were fed table scraps etc. He was taught that dogs dont belong in the house and all that other stupid crap. Gotta love the south! >:/ Anyway, it has taken me several years to show him how to have a "pet." It has been a difficult road to convince him that they need us and that when we sign on for a new puppy, we are basically signing on to have a puppy for the rest of their life because essentially they never grow up. I cannot begin to tell you all how emotional I am over this (not that I need any help in the emotions area at this point ) and I cant seem to get through to my husband that there are ways to accomadate both a new baby and TWO rambunctious pups. I would really appreciate any advice. Sorry for the long post.

Thanks

 

[Madea]

is your husband afraid of having the dogs around the baby? Does he think the dogs will harm the baby?
I can put his mind to ease. I have a 8 month old grandbaby and Tyson loves her to death.
He lets her pull and tug at him and he does absolutely nothing to her. He licks her in the face and everything. When she is crawling on the floor he walks beside her.
Wherever she is in the house, Tyson is right their with her. He really looks out for her. When she sleeps at night, he sleeps right under her crib.
Boxers are excellent with children.

 

[calicoray]

Yes, I think he is afraid that they will hurt the baby. Not on purpose but they are so hyper (Duchess especially) I think he is afraid that they will accidentally hurt the baby. Oh and the licking the baby in the face will TOTALLY freak him out! Like I said, it has been hard to "teach" him how to have a pet and face licking is just one of those things I dont think he will ever come around too . Me personally?? I love the slobber kisses!

 

[LILYLARUE]

Well, if it helps any, the dogs are two and still quite puppy-minded. Another 6-12 months and they probably will slow down and become more lapdogs. Any fears with the baby and the dogs will be minimized with proper, consistant training. You may be surprised to see them actually calmer with the baby around~likely cause you and hubby will be more relaxed cause babies tend to do that. They make the world seem to slow down.

If hubby continues to "see into the future of possibilities of horror", then most likely that will be the energy he creates. The question is.....how to make him comfortable in the unknown and that is quite difficult for a non-dog owner to understand. The possiblities are endless. To a dog owner, we just get that we have to take control and the dogs will do what we expect of them.

Lots of discussions with him and maybe even let him read some of the threads on babies and boxers.......it may help him become a little more comfortable. The more he reads about other's concerns being unwarranted, the more he may see his own being the same.

 

[Althea]

Another thought on that front - though I also will attest that those high strung boxers are AMAZING around babies, mine always have been - have your dogs been through some serious dog training? Do they respond to commands? If not, you might consider some training for them in the mean time. 1. for your own ease of getting the baby carrier through the door amid kidney bean wiggles! and 2. to show your husband how well-behaved they can be.

I'm with you, though. You don't teach your 10 year old responsibility for another life by getting rid of your dogs, and we do take them on for life. Unless they become aggressive, I see no reason why you should get rid of them.

Hm, another thought - do you have any friends with little ones? How are your guys around them? Could you use that as an example?

Good luck!! And happy pregnancy!appicon

 

[calicoray]

Yes I have several friends with little ones and they are okay around them just really hyper. No, they havent had any serious training just what we have done at home. They respond to most commands uless their attention is really focused on something. Deuce (my 75lb male) is more well behaved than Duchess is so he tends to listen better and be more calm. Duchess is just psycho!! LOL!! This is kinda off the subject but she is all white and my neighbor has a fawn male and a white female and she said the same thing....that Pearl is psychotic. Wonder if its a trait of white boxers? LOL!!

 

[Althea]

I don't think so! My last white boxer was incredibly laid back! Some just have those personalities. My current white puppy is definitely a different personality, but still all boxer. Keep us posted on how things go.

 

[brow]

Don't be to hard on your husband, he is only thinking of the safety of your coming child. To him, I'm sure your boxers are great, the new baby is most important and I can't fault him for that.

I have a 2.5 & 1.5 toddlers, both born while have 2 boxers in the house. They both did fine with the correct supervision. Just try to get him to agree to at least try and make it work. Chances are it will. If it doesn't you have to be willing to agree to some kind of fix.
While you have no problem feeling safe around the dogs and up coming baby, he does and you can't just right that off.

Best of luck

 

[RileyandMax]

Sounds like a cautious new dad-to-be... not with the dog issue, but with other stuff... I had sleepless nights worrying about everything from finances, cars, insurance, health, furniture, etc. when I found out my wife was pregnant, .

Unless dogs have territorial or aggression problems, I wouldn't worry about a baby getting hurt.

Outside of being in a crib, a baby is going to be within arms reach all times anyway, so it's not like anything going to happen there with clumsy dog.

We got our boxer when our son was 18 months old, so I can't comment on the breed specifically, but our wheaten terrier was there when we brought our son home. If you are unfamiliar with wheatens, they have similar personality to boxers (playful, jumpy, can act like puppies their whole life), but smaller 40ish lbs.

Our dog pretty much ignored our son until he was mobile... my inlaws have a german shepherd, and he was the same way. The dogs would come over and sniff or maybe lick for a second, then lose interest.

Once your baby is walking you have to keep an eye out for a dog knocking him over, but our son used to laugh when he got knocked over by the dogs .

 

[x19er]

Congratulations on your pregnancy what a lovely surprise for you.

There have been quite a few posts recently on here about boxers & babies, the consensus of opinion being that there really is no problem. As previously mentioned your newborn baby is always with you, in your arms, pram, moses basket etc etc it's once they start to get mobile that your boxers have to watch out! Seriously though you have got time before baby arrives to work on anything you want to change with their behavior and also you have to give your boxers the benefit of the doubt - they may well be very careful around baby I know ours were. As for your husband worrying about face licking well babies will crawl along the floor then stick their hands in their mouth plus pick up all sorts when they are out & about and do the same - which is probably a lot worse than a face wash from a boxer I would say involve your boxers in your day to day routine with baby so baby is something they become used to being around quickly and not something which is out of bounds and therefore requires extra special over enthusiastic attention :D I don't think our son has ever been knocked over, stood on or anything by the dogs they seem to have a sixth sense as to where he is in relation to them, and always manage to avoid him even when all 3 go charging off to welcome their dad home in the evening.

When our son arrived we had 12 year old Sophie & 4 year old Dino, then we lost Sophie and 14 week old Charlie came to live with us. It's great seeing the 3 of them interact - our son gives each one a cuddle before bed and in the morning when he wakes he shouts for his dogs from his cot. They let him pick up & play with their toys, he can take toys away from them, he can stand beside them when they eat and he shares his food with them too The all love each other and have lots of fun, so that's what you've got to look forward to too.

Good luck!