Advice on Newfs with kiddos

[hemingway]

Hi all,

Hope everyone is well. I am 6 months pregnant with our first child. Hemingway (2 years old) has always loved kids and has spent time around them but does not know how to play gently with them or be gentle around them. If they have a frisbee, he will try to steal it from them with his big toothy mouth and if he gets the urge, he has tackled one or two of them from time to time for fun. Today in a split second he body checked my 2 year old nephew and had him down on the ground. We'd had him on leash and were showing him how to be gentle all day. And then five minutes into trying off leash time he did that. We stay on top of him and correct/reprimand him when he acts out but his nature seems to be very boisterous and rough with them- none of that "gentle newfie nature" I've always heard so much about when it comes to them with children. It doesn't seem to be coming to him naturally. Yet, anyway. I'm just looking for some advice on how to better acclimate him to children because what we've been trying doesn't seem to work and I don't believe having him on leash is helping either. In fact, I think it builds up the anticipation so that we he is "free" he is even more excitable.
Will it just take time being around a baby/toddler 24/7 for him to learn? He just wants to wrestle all the time with everything and doesn't know the difference between a 2 year old human and a doggy play friend.

Any advice you can pass on would be very much appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[skoorka]

Stacey, unfortunately I've got no advice (but I know people in the know will chime in) but wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Puppypeoplenj]

I also have no advice but congrats on your new (human) baby!!!

 

[Angela]

No advice here but big congratulations.

 

[ajcooksey]

First of all congratulations! second Has he ever been around a small baby? Turner was pretty disinterested in my nephew when he was a few days old and they met. They were only around each other for a few hours but turner had minimal interest in him. Maybe it would be like that since the baby won't be mobile he won't act the same as with a toddler?

 

[Sound Bay Newfs]

Congratulations! You have a pretty normal newf pup as they can be mouthy and jumpy at this age and for some time after. Puppies see children as litter mates that they can bite and tackle and chase. So training is essential. You have to give strong corrections and keep him on a leash.

 

[victoria1140]

Get a baby doll that cries and do fake nappy changes ,etc to help him get used to new routines

 

[Jager's Mom]

I'm sure I'm stating the obvious....but to start with, never leave them alone together.

 

[blaue_augen]

Congratulations!!

One thing you have in your favor, is that Hemingway will likely be 3 before the baby is walking. And by the time baby is 2, Hemingway will be 4 and he might be less puppyish then. I do remember hearing/reading that dogs don't seem to see toddlers as humans. And so they might treat them more like puppies. That might be something to keep in mind when baby is a toddler.

 

[lacey9875]

Congratulations!

Also, just wait for Kristen to chime in. Mila is AMAZING with her son. AMAZING.

 

[NinaA]

First, congratulations. Second, never leave them alone together until baby is about 3. Third, his response to a baby will be determined by you. The more you work at acclimating him to being around a baby, the better he will be. Since he's there first, he will watch the baby grow up and adjust himself, if given good guidance.

 

[takemebacktotulsa]

Very exciting news! Congrats! This is not from experience, but I would *think* that Hemi would be a bit gentler with a baby that you are holding than with a toddler that is moving around (much more enticing for a dog who just wants to play). And since you have a few months before the baby will be moving, you'll have time to work with him and acclimate him to the baby and how you expect him to act. I bet before long, Hemi will figure it out and be your baby's best friend and protector. But wee are going to need lots of pics, please

 

[YorkvilleNewfie]

Congratulations!

Also, just wait for Kristen to chime in. Mila is AMAZING with her son. AMAZING.

Aww, thanks! But I can't really take much credit for that...we still have issues from time to time with her getting too excited around other small children (as Stacy knows, Mila's leash broke when I was taking her out to potty after work on Thursday, the time of the day that she's the MOST wound up, and it just so happened that our neighbor was outside with his not-quite 2 year old daughter and well, little Kendalyn got knocked over, was not hurt, but cried because she was scared at what had happened. Absolutely mortifying, although it is the first time she's ever knocked over a child besides Rowan. I digress.)

Mila's excitement around small children has everything to do with her general excitement over meeting new people (whether they're 2 or 82, she's always a little bit too happy to make their acquaintance) which is a problem I solve by keeping her on leash if we're outside with other people. With adults, she can be let off lead after she calms down, but with very small children, outdoors they're usually playing and being rowdy and I simply can't trust her to not try to get in on the fun yet, so she stays on lead at all times in those instances. Indoors, she's LOADS better about calming down and acting appropriately if I keep her by my side and instruct my guests to not look at her, speak to her or pet her until she does her standard "I'm ready to interact with these people like a sane dog" sigh.

That all having been said, Mila never, ever acts like an idiot around Rowan. Never has. In their 2 years and 8 months together, she's only knocked him over 2 or 3 times, and nothing crazy/no injuries/no tears were shed. I really did almost no preparation when I was pregnant with Rowan. As you know, she was just a baby too when he came along, so I really wasn't too terribly worried about jealousy or aggression like I might have been if she were an adult. I did condition her to not have any resource guarding issues (like hand-feeding her, sticking my hand in her bowl from time to time and only allowing her to eat/chew on high-value raw marrow bones while I held onto them.) and I did work on her "leave it" command too.

After Rowan came along, honestly the only problem we had is that she would lick him non-stop if I let her, so I had to teach her the "enough" command, which basically meant for her, "stop licking the baby". And she would eat his toys occasionally, so I trained her to ignore them and she didn't eat any for 2+ years and now she's recently decided to start eating his toys again, much to my chagrin.

Oh yeah, I also never, ever let her run or rough house in the house. Granted, she still would get the occasional "zoomie", but one lap around the house and I'd make her stop. (Funnily enough, once Rowan got older, I started training him too, so now he knows when mama says, "Mila's got the zoomies!", he's to climb up onto the sofa for an added measure of safety. It's absolutely hilarous.)

Obviously I always watched over their interactions like a hawk since day one, but she has always been awesome with him (Can you even imagine a 5 month old Newf, and a naughty, stubborn, spazzy one at that, being the picture of gentleness to a 7 pound newborn? I really can take no credit there.), so who knows? Maybe Hemi will be the best and most sane brother Baby Schneider could ever hope for! My opinion is though, I think he's going to surprise you. I really, really do.

 

[laney]

Hi there, we are just new starters our pup Sula is 5 months and my kids are 4 and 5 my 4 yr old is the size of a 3 yr old. I know we've done it the other way round to you but I also had 2 other dogs before my children were born. I did the whole having a doll that cried and as got my hubby to take home the smell of the baby the day she was born. It's not easy but doable. From my experience dogs do have a sense they have to e very gentle around babies, however we called in a of behaviourist in as my terrier looked at her strangely andwe couldn't tell what he was thinking. I'm not sure if I elieve what the trainer said but he said you have to be very careful as to a dog if they hear a baby crying they can determine that as they would in the wild as an animal in pain and it's their nature to put them out of their misery however as I said I'm not convinced by this. On a Newfie side we have had Sula since feb she has been nothing but amazing with my 2 children she stys by their side especially when they are poorly, so ar he hasn't knocked them over, however we are very strict with her no rough playing etc we took her to a garden party today with kids who aren't used to being round her and she was amazing xxx

 

[new_2_newf]

gonna be a fun fall! I'm so excited for you guys. Hemi will be awesome, because you guys are awesome. I think the timing is also good, by the time the baby is mobile, he'll be that much older and calmer.

 

[hemingway]

Thank you, everyone, for the congrats and bits of info! We're excited. I do think the process of being around a baby in our home 24/7 will help ease him in and get him used to having kids around. Right now he only ever sees them every once in a while and when he does, it's always a very exciting occasion. I am a little prideful in that my in-laws (and it's a HUGE family) all have Berners, Labs and one St. Bernard mix....we are the only Newfie and we boasted how naturally wonderful he'd be around kids....only to watch him tackle their children, while all of their dogs (none of whom have had any training and never get exercised) are calm as can be around running, playing kids. *SIGH* We will just have to keep working and keep him leashed for now and ease him into being a big brother in a few months. Thanks again!

 

[Popcorn]

I have a newfie boy who didn't know about kids when he arrived. He was 2, my girls were 1 and 3. The first time they played in the yard he chased them and so on. I gave very dramatic corrections, and he learned after a couple of times that kids are not playmates in the roughhouse sense. He has no natural gentleness in terms of playing, but he learned the kids are off limits.

First of all, because your baby will be a baby, it will not be an issue for about a year. Roughness on the playground does not translate into roughness w/a recumbant baby. Also, we found the roughousing doesn't happen indoors. We put the kabash on that, so that isn't an issue. But I still will never leave my big boy alone with kids in the yard. House, no problem, based on my observations that he is calm there.

My girls have been knocked down a few times based on general shoving, walking clumsily by my newfie boy, but it really is nothing serious. I still have to watch and warn them about him on the stairs, because, if food is downstairs, he will come barrelling down.

You can train them to pause at the top of the steps upon command, we did, but that only works if the child gives the command, I've found, which my kids don't.

I wouldn't worry too much about it, but always, always err on the side of caution. A knock by a newf in the head can be a serious issue and when a newf races around like a maniac, people do get hurt. Some are naturally gentle/thoughful iwth their bodies, others are not, and no amount of training can plan for every eventuality.

Congrats on the baby -- newfs and babies are a great, fun combo! My girls adore my big boy -- and their interactions happen on the petting, hugging, snuggling level.

 

[Bonnke's Mom]

Congratulations! I am excited for you. My big boy is not quite two but My granddaughter, which lives with us, is two and a half. I told my daughter and son-in-law the rule of the house, since this is a farm house and the dogs walk all over the floor, that the baby will be a play pen baby and not given the run of the house. Absolutely not allowed on the floor. If she wasn't in the play pen, she was in her crib or being held. This way, she learned her boundaries in the play pen and Bonnke learned his boundaries with her. He was always gentle with her in the play pen as she pulled up and began walking. We would never leave him alone in the room with her as a matter of caution since his puppy brain could convince him to jump in with her. You never quite know what they are thinking. When she turned two and began the climbing stage, he seemed aware she was not a play toy or litter mate. He was usually laying by the playpen and she would crawl over him to get out. He would just lay there and let her step over him. She learned very quickly how to climb on the couch when he was excited. He still can knock her over once in a while but it's mainly from the narrow hallway and one of them changing direction suddenly. When she was born, we let him sniff and investigate her after she was in the house for a few hours and was calm. I can't say he's at the age to be the constant nanny but he is protective of her most of the time. You are going to have a lot of fun with the both of them together.

 

[Heatherjacq]

Congratulations on your exciting news!!! :groovy:

This is an amazing thread - thank you for posting. We have the same situation the other way round - we have 3 kids already (aged 6,4 and 2) and our first Newfie pup is arriving in July. I am sure you guys will see many questions from me in the future! Thank you to everyone for all the great info on this thread, especially Kristen who has been so helpful and who has had the most wonderful outcome with her son and her Newf Mila. Inspirational!

 

[lacey9875]

Congratulations on your exciting news!!! :groovy:

Thank you to everyone for all the great info on this thread, especially Kristen who has been so helpful and who has had the most wonderful outcome with her son and her Newf Mila. Inspirational!

See Dude, told ya!

I will say my Maggie is naturally sensitive to who is afraid of her, and will drop to the ground on her own and let them check her out. Otherwise, she's like a 4 year old who has consumed 5 lbs of pure sugar. The only small kids who really come to my house are my 4 year old nephew and Ashton's half brother ( from another Mother, lol!) who is 3. The first few times, Maggie acted like they were the best toys ever and ran around like the above demented 4 year old on a sugar high.

Now they can actually walk on the floor, and she just follows them around and tries to sneak in kisses when she can. It really didn't take her long to figure out she couldn't roughhouse with them. Hemi should be fine.