W e have a 7yr old Labrador & a 13yr old chuaua x corgi. I'm not too worried about the Lab but i do worry about my little guy as he's a jealous type & getting grumpier every year now.
I've noticed our Lab is becoming even more affectionate towards me lately. Yesterdsy while i was laying down he had to sleep either on me or against me. He doesn't usually do this.
I won't be changing too much totheir routines i don't think,i'll let them into the nursery for a sniff around. I don't want toban them from the room as i fear this will cause issues.
My cousin did this with her dog too,allowed him to sniff all the baby things too. Would always talk to him about the baby too. He was one of the most protective dogs i've seen when her twins came home. If they went for a sleep,he was in the room with them till they woke. If they cried he'd go find my cousin & wouldn't settle till the babies did. This is what i'm aiming for with our dogs,for them to feel relaxed around our baby.
blueiris, thats the key i think not to change their routine or life once bubs is home. If there are changes you'd like to make do them now, so they won't associate the changes with bubs.
Our dog was quite jealous, before DD was born I couldn't even give DH a hug without him jumping up or trying to wedge in between us! So everyday we would stand and cuddle until he stopped. I also let him in the nursery when ever he wanted, he wasn't banned from it at all, even now DD is home.
He is so excellent with DD. He leaves her and her toys alone. The worst he'll do is the odd lick as he walks past her. He is still an inside dog and is walked every day, we haven't changed his life.
I can update you all on how my pets have coped with Bub's arrival.
As I mentioned in my earlier posts I have a Lab and a tortie cat. As predicted the dog Tyson has taken to Jett very well. When I first came home from hospital he was a bit confused as to what this thing was that cried and made funny grunting noises, but he was always curious not jealous. And very quickly he became protective of him. I didn't change his routine, I don't stop him sniffing Jett as long as I am holding him or supervising. He has now accepted him as part of the 'pack' and when he comes in at night and does his rounds he goes to DH, myself and then to Jett and gives him a lick on the back of the head to say hello. He also follows us to the changetable and sits quietly and patiently on the floor while we change Jett's nappy. But he always follows me out of the room, even if I have left Jett in his bed. When Jett cries alot he even brings him his toys because they cheer him up!! I just have to watch that he doesn't drop the heavy Kong toys on his head!! But all in all, he has just been fantastic with our new arrival.
My cat has not been put out too much by bubs arrival either. Again I haven't changed her routine, and I haven't been able to keep her out of bubs room. But if I enter the room she is in with Jett crying she gets up and stalks out. She has only taken a couple of sniffs of him, but prefers to keep her distance. We put a towel down over the central heating vent in an effort to keep Jett's room an even temp, but the cat thinks this is wonderfully warm and cosy so since then we haven't had any problems with her in the cot or on the changetable.
Blueiris - I hope you have as much joy with your dogs. Maybe your 13 yo will be like my cat and prefer to keep his distance, but as Kristin said, if you are going to change anything, change it now before bubs arrival. Good luck!
Well i've had to make one major change now for the dogs & this is for my own sanity. Our Lab has become really affectionate towards me now & all of a sudden he's gone back to needing to sleep on the bed again.
Only problem here is that since becoming pregnant i've gone from a deep sleeper to a light sleeper. For 5 night i had constant broken sleep as every time our Lab got on the bed it woke me up. The last night it was almost hourly. So i made the decision to kick them out of the bedroom & they now sleep in the spareroom. They don't like it but i'm now getting some decent sleep.
I'll see how things are when bubs is born,they might find their way back into the bedroom again. I do miss them too,they've always slept in the bedroom with us so i held off for as long as i could before kicking them out.
Blueiris, it sounds like a sensible thing to do. Especially if you end up like me co-sleeping with your baby in your bed. We never planned it, as far as we were concerned bubs was going in his cot in his room, but he hasn't yet slept a night in there. It felt very natural to put him in our bed with us and that is where he stayed. My cat used to sleep on my bed most nights but now she just sleeps in the dogs bed with him.
What a sweet thread.
At around 5 months when my cat (long haired tortie) realised what was happening, she was quite angry, wouldn't give me any affection!!
She's always been very independant but would still give me a few cuddles per day. Now she's back to normal, if not slightly more affectionate. Still very independant of a day but she has always been kept inside overnight (ever since she went missing for 5 whole days!!), and she sometimes sleeps on the bed with me and comes to give me some love & cuddles of an evening.
When DP went away for 5 nights recently she was even more protective, following me around, going back and forth to bed as if to say 'please come with me, I'm ready to sleep'.
This Sat and last we had a afternoon nap on my bed togethor which is unlike her.
I love her so much, she's about 14 so very treasured and I really hope she copes ok when babe is here.
When I had DS3, we had this beautiful pure bred Rotti named Jack. We got Jack a couple of years before hand in January when he turned up on our doorstep as a 6 month old pup. Someone had just dumped him at the lake near our place and he walked from there, past several other houses and chose to sit on our doorstep like a Chinese dragon. At first we were concerned he may be dangerous and wouldn't let the kids out. We didn't feed him at all and hoped it would encourage him to "go home". After 2 days, my DH couldn't stand seeing the poor guy sat there looking at us longingly and starving and went out and got some food for him. After he had eaten, DH took him to the vet to check for a microchip. There was nothing at all. He turned up at an interesting time though because we were due to move only a couple of days later, and the day we moved, I left DH with the option. Take him to the pound, or bring him with us. DH turned up with the last load and a big black dog in the back seat.
Jack was there for my whole pregnancy with Harry, but we felt horribly guilty because the townhouse we were only meant to be in for 6 months didn't go away after 6 months, and Jack was still left with very little room. I pondered sending him to my sisters to live because his coat was rough and dry and it just didn't feel right, but Jack refused to leave.
Not long after, Harry was born. Jack would look at us through the window, but I kept Harry inside and warm the first few weeks of his life. I did worry how this would make Jack react to him though, and did try my level best to ensure Jack got the same amount of attention he got before. Jack first met Harry a month later when I had to hang out some washing. I took Harry out first and introduced them. Jack took a good whiff and his tail wagged, so I got DD1 to get the washing and put Harry next to me in the bouncer. Jack lay down next to the bouncer and watched Harry smiling at mum and the "goggie".
2 years later, Harry would lay down on the veranda and play with his cars, and his goggie Jack would be lay down next to him. We could talk to people over the fence without any problems, until Harry would walk down - then Jack spent the rest of the visit 'warning' them to stay away from Harry. He had given many 'warnings' to people playing with Harry, and my favourite moments would be seeing Jack laying on his (Jacks) bed, perfectly still but watching everyone walking around while Harry slept soundly next to him.
Sadly, May last year our Jack walked up to the back of the yard and died silently of a brain tumor. The kids were all heartbroken, and Harry now clings to a small rotti coloured stuffed toy we got him for Easter. For several months, if he saw DD1 with the toy he would snatch it off her proclaiming "My Jack!".
We have since gotten a new pet, a German Shepherd cross with Alaskan Malamute. She doesnt seem as bright as Jack, but then again, she is still very young too. She knows I am pregnant and has definitely been more gentle with me since she worked it out. Hopefully she will feel as protective of this baby as Jack was of Harry.
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