Setting Boundaries: Pets and your newborn baby
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My ex mother-in-law once told me that if I had a baby I would have to get rid of my cats. I replied, “No cats, no baby.” My step-brother's cats mysteriously disappeared once his firstborn was old enough to crawl. Doug and I have two cats and two dogs and no intention of giving them up or sending them outdoors once the baby arrives. Sure, there’s dog hair all over the floors and it’s going to be a hassle learning to manage new and old responsibilities – and much more difficult to keep pet hair out of the baby’s mouth once she’s mobile. But we committed to the pets long ago and have been working on teaching them their order in the home. The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan, recommends that the dogs not even be allowed near the baby’s belongings at first to teach them that Baby is Alpha. Let them sniff at a distance until they know their place. When the dogs go for a walk, it should be behind the stroller, and they shouldn’t get unsupervised visitation, if they are allowed at all, in the baby’s room. It’s all about setting boundaries.
The Worms and Germs Blog by Doug’s ex-hockey buddy Scott Weese (he’s still a buddy but no hockey for Doug in Manhattan) recommends in “Old pet, new baby...new problems?” that we visit our veterinarian and the humane society to get advice on introducing the dogs and cats to the baby. Scott provides relevant downloadable pamphlets from the Calgary Humane Society in his blog post.
We want all four pets and the three of us to survive the transition without nips, scratches, or territory marking. We get enough of that from our friends and colleagues.
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Hi guys, congrats on the new one on the way. I know about cats (and cat poop) and I'm sure that you want to keep the baby out of the dog bowl and bed, but kids and pets have been hangin' together for thousands of years and we're still multiplying. As our kids interacted with assorted animals, we watched for allergic reactions and tried to clean 'em up as best we could afterwards. Guinea pigs were the killer in our house. We had more fun keeping our older daughter out of the diaper pail after our son came along.
Bryan
Amy,
You and Doug must be getting so excited (and nervous)! Not too much longer to wait!
As a parent of two still living and breathing children, I can tell you that you have very little to worry about with your pets and the new little one. Both of my kids grew up around cats and dogs (plus a few small birds, rabbits, and believe it or not, a fawn) and I believe they are better because of it. They learned love for little creatures, responsibility for having to help care for them as they got older, and respect for living things in general.
My only advice is to keep the baby out of the litter box. They will, however, inevitably eat the pet food...but I promise, its more gross than harmful!!
Good luck and congrats again!!!
Congratulations on your new baby! We went through this ourselves not long ago. We found that the key is as Cesar says... you have to be the pack leader and establish the hierarchy with the pets so that they know - without a doubt - that the baby is above them in the pecking order.
Good luck and congratulations on your new life...
Kendra McCord
animallovepets.com