Homebirth and your dog

Hi there

I am planning a home birth in March and have an exhuberant lab puppy. He is 10 months old now and is really kind of obsessed with me, he doesn't like to leave my side. He is a bit of a barker as well when anxious which we are trying to train him out of. I'm not sure what to do with him when I am going to give birth, I have a few months to work it out I guess.

I will be setting up the birthing pool in the lounge room (being a lab I am a bit concerned that he will want to jump in for a swim!) and this overlooks our smallish courtyard garden. I could put him out into the garden but he is an inside dog so this might make him stressed out if he is out for long periods. I could also section off a bit of the house using the baby gates or shutting the door so that he is still inside and has access to outside but I have a feeling that he might make him stressed out as well. Or I could just let him be in the loungeroom with me and hope he settles down or make it my husband's responsibility to settle him down/ take care of him. Or I could arrange for the brother in law to take him away to have a sleepover with his dog.

I presume my cat will avoid the whole scene like the plague as she mostly does her own thing.

What are your thoughts? Has anyone had furrbabies at their homebirth? How did you manage it?

My first though would be to put him in a boarding kennel for when you suspect you are going into labor

But Slightly off topic, Labrador who is inside & only has a small courtyard? Eek.. You must spend all your time taking him for walks. Make sure you are able to continue with that as he will end up with a lot of behaviour issues from being bored/under stimulated.

Thanks, yes I do take him for long walks and swims every day but I agree that the yard size isn't sustainable. The house is big and when I say the backyard is small its only because the house I used to live in had a massive backyard. This one is bigger than a townhouse size courtyard but yeah we will definitely need to move soon, this house was only ever going to be temporary.

I plan to hire a daily dog walker for the first few weeks after the birth so if SS or my parents, husband or sister can't take him then at least he will still get to have a walk. I know a lot more mental stimulation will be critical until we get settled into a routine.

We have a lab x and a cat and have had 2 homebirths....furbabies can be awesome company during this special time. i have found that having the babies at home really helped the dog and cat adjust much better to the new baby (my first was in hossy and the dog was quite anxious when we brought home the baby...she was really concerned that i wouldnt be able to take care of the baby :lol:).

I recommend setting up some rules for the dog now that you would like to maintain throughout the birth and with new baby (ie, no sleeping on the bed...if you are cosleeping), set up the birth space around a month before bubs is due and introduce the dog to the area but do not let them be the 'boss' of the space (ie no jumping on couches, only allowed in when invited).

When i did go into labour i put the dog and cat outside in the beginning as i found that they both wanted to just hang out by my side and fret...which in early labour was AOK, but as i went further into labour it became a bit annoying lol. Also, when the midwife arrives you dont want a big barking exuberant chunk of labrador love hurtling through the house towards the front door (especially if it is midnight lol).

we then brought the dog back in within minutes of birth and she would have a sniff and a celebration and then be on her way.

It's all good! And lovely to share the moment with them!

Thanks Cassius its good to hear that your dog & cat coped so well with it! I really don't want to put my dog in a boarding kennel as he has never been before and I think it would stress us both out. At worst I was thinking of sending him off to hang out with his doggie cousin.

They are helpful tips about the space etc- I'm guessing my dog will fret if I'm crying out, he has become really needy all of a sudden. Not sure if he knows that he is only the baby for a little while longer or he just loves hanging out with me because I work from home. I guess we can always put him out so he has half the house and the backyard and if he is getting stressed he can go hang out with his cousin.

My only caution with sending him away is that he may view as punishment or being pushed away because of the baby and this could cause resentment towards the baby (extreme situation).

Does he go with his doggy cousin often? If not, then might be a good idea for him to have quite a few sleepovers in the coming months so that he doesnt associate being sent away with the arrival of a baby.

Oh good point. But they really do love each other- they have sleepovers all the time- he stayed there last weekend and she is staying here with us for the whole week next week.

It is a good point though- I do want to make sure he doesn't have any resentment to the new bub