Introducing a new baby to a Newfy - tips?

LeahO

LeahO

New member
So, I wanted to just ask for any suggestions you may have for making the transition FROM a 1 Newfy household TO baby + Newfy household.

A friend who came to my baby shower & saw how much I don't treat my dog "like a dog" quickly sent me an article about preventing bites and accidents by making the introduction slower. Things like playing audio odf a baby crying while the dog is eating or walking around carrying something all the time, neither of which is appealing to this pregnant woman, but the purpose was to ease the dog into it because it can be stressful. I think this is particularly true if you treat your dog as we do - attention city.

Any stories? Words of wisdom?
 
Lori

Lori

New member
First off, Congratulations!!

Bring an extra receiving blanket that you can wrap the baby in, then have hubby take it home so the dog can smell it and get used to the smell. We just made sure that we included the dog in everything when we got home, not lock him up or send him to another room. Kept his routine as normal as possible, you know how the dogs know their routines! LOL
 
2Paws

2Paws

New member
Congratulations! How exciting for you!

Don't have any experience in this as my kids are all grown but when I've introduced my newfies to the grandchildren, I've had absolutely no problems at all. These truly are nanny dogs. BUT....anytime there are kids and dogs together, there is ALWAYS adult supervision.
 
new_2_newf

new_2_newf

New member
Nessa??? She just did this with her boys. I know her husband brought baby things home from the hospital for the boys to smell before he came home and that they got to smell him a soon as he came home. I'm not sure what else they did.
 
YorkvilleNewfie

YorkvilleNewfie

New member
My Mila was only 5 months old when I brought my son home from the hospital last year so honestly, I really didn't do any sort of preparation and it was fine. But she was a puppy. I wouldn't recommend doing nothing for a grown dog :eek: Sorry that I don't have any advice for you, but I do have cute baby/newf vids to whet your appetite...

I don't like to have my YouTube videos available for public veiwing, so the the only way to watch them is to check out my old threads :)

http://www.newf.net/Forums/showthread.php?t=98420

http://www.newf.net/Forums/showthread.php?t=99265

http://www.newf.net/Forums/showthread.php?t=101619
 
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YorkvilleNewfie

YorkvilleNewfie

New member
Ooh, I do have one bit of advice...

Teach your Newf a command to stop licking and back off. It's a variation of the Leave It command. Mila would lick Rowan non-stop if I let her. No joke. So I've taught her to stop licking him and step away. The word I use is "Enough". I let her lick him and greet him, but after a short while I tell her Enough and she knows to stop licking him and step back. Very, very handy! I would start working on that now, before the little one comes home :)
 
Wash

Wash

New member
We did the whole playing audio of babies crying thing, it made the dog very protective of the speakers...

TBH we really did nothing different once baby came aside from make sure the dogs get alone spoil me time, and make sure the baby is not left unattended with the dogs. We have had no problems at all in the 6 months we've had the baby. Things turned out differently than we thought with the dogs, but nothing bad. Wash the Newf has turned from over protective with my wife when she was pregnant, to treating the baby like shes made of glass. He is interested in her, will come around for a real quick sniff, but he walks on eggshells around her. Zoey on the other hand....Shes barely as old as the baby, 8 months. Shes a rambuncious destructive 80lb ball of terror, until she gets close to the baby. She will not get more than 10 feet from the baby if she can help it. She does not like other people picking up HER baby. She wants to kiss the baby. The baby, will not reach for mom or dad, she will however reach for her puppy. They bonded very quickly and I have no idea why.
 
LeahO

LeahO

New member
Thanks! It's going to be so interesting to see. I got lost on Youtube for a while after following links. :)

We'll be doing a homebirth and I suppose my in laws have to watch Ben for that part - he wouldn't like to be shut out of the bedroom for hours on end while something is quite apparently happening in that room. Maybe I'll have someone bring him out a blanket before he sees me and the baby.

Interesting factoid - new research is finding that the baby secretes a pheromone throughout pregnancy which is then excreted in the mom's urine. When the baby comes out, the same pheromone is secreted and the mom's actually been smelling it for months, so she knows her baby. ...not that I'm going to go urinate in the back yard for Ben to smell or something, but it's cool to know. :)

Kristen, Ben usually doesn't watch screens, but he was pretty interested in Rowan and Mila clips - pretty funny! I think you're right about the licking - I already see a fair amount of it with random small children.

Leah
 
LeahO

LeahO

New member
Oh, and for all the people who are horrified by the unsanitary love that pets provide I'm armed with research articles saying my kids' will have fewer allergies. ;) 'Course, I'm going to give my baby probiotics to avoid allergies too, but both are awesome.
 
luvmynwfy

luvmynwfy

New member
Hi
Congratulations on the new baby!
My little guy is 3 now and Callum and Timber are best buds. When I came home from the hospital with him I only let Timber sniff him while I was holding him and sitting in a chair - praising her lavishly with 'good girl' and lots of pats and rubs. I wanted Timber to associate the baby with lots of good things to come her way. Even when my son was sitting up on his own, down on the floor with his toys - I was always there watching Timber - and giving praise when she was calm around him. Cal would feed her little bits of food while he was in his high chair, Timber learned a new kind of patience and gentleness. I never ever took my eyes off the two of them though - I still dont. I'm not so worried she'd bite him but she's so big. When she steps on my foot it really hurts or when sits and leans against me she is really heavy. Timber knows (for the most part) her "leave it" command and her "go to your mat" command. So if the baby was fussy or didn't want to be licked that helped that Timber did what I needed her to do (most of the time anyway). It helped that Timber was 5 years old by the time Cal came along.

As an aside, I just want to mention my girl really took care of me in those first 6 months. Timber never once missed a nightly feeding with us (which is more than I can say for my darling hubby) - I came to really appreciate her even more during that time.
All the best and congratulations again!
Marina
 
NinaA

NinaA

New member
Congratulations, and I think you are in for a wonderful experience with your dog and your baby. Newfs aren't said to be "nannies" for nothing. My Newfs love babies. When my grand daughter (newborn) came to live at our house, we did all of the above, but once the dogs were used to seeing the baby, I spread a quilt on the floor and sat in the middle with the baby. The dogs gathered around and laid down on the quilt. Then I put the baby down and moved off the quilt. They took over and moved near her and went to sleep. She was accepted into their pack, and that was that. No excess curiosity, no jealousy, and they all have always known that toddlers mean dropped food. After that they were all the best of friends. I have done this with all my dogs and all my children, plus all four of my grand children. My four grand daughters (all 5 and under) can walk through a crowd of dogs (5) at will. Their mother is saying "don't lick, don't lick", but the grand daughters know that Mamaw and Paw Paw don't mind doggie kisses, and at least two of the four encourage kisses. As the baby becomes a toddler you do need to supervise quite a bit because the toddler can easily be knocked down by accident, but they soon learn to wave their arms, talk to the dogs, and just push the dogs out of the way. It's amazing to see. Enjoy.
 
new_2_newf

new_2_newf

New member
lol...honey, you probably don't have to pee in the yard...he can probably 'smell you' just from when you pee in the toilet :)
 
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