pet dogs and babies

ok so i have a puppy (he's really a dog now but i cant look at him that way :( ) he's a jack russel and ever since we have had him he has been our baby. he sleeps in our bed most nights ( no need for the lecture i know alot of people disagree with that) he is everywhere i am. he watches TV with us and pretty much has run of the house.
Now i know with a baby comming along some things (probly alot) are goign to have to change. i realise he wont be sleeping in our bed anymore, which in the next coupke of weeks im going to ween him out, i tried the whole "cold turkey" thing and just kicking him out of the room and shutting the door on him but we did this for a couple of nights and he started to act strange, like he was in constant trouble (walking around with his ears back and such) he is an innside dog and we already have alot of the rooms blocked off to him, he does go in these rooms but only when we are in there.
i just want to keep both my babies happy, and i dont want Milo (my dog) assosiating the baby with all the changes that are going to happen towards him, coz i dont want him to hate the baby. i know once the baby is alot older that milo will love to have a little friend to play with. we have alot of friends with kids and milo loves to play with them.
Thansk for you help guys :)
xxx

i think its a good idea to keep doing what your doing, it might feel mean kicking him out of your room but he needs to learn that there will be another person around, and dogs are very adaptable...maybe get him one of those cushy dog beds and put it in the lounge so he has a special spot to sleep...and doesnt feel like hes just been kicked out for being naughty.
and make sure he does not ever go into babies nursery cause he will associate this with a 'fun' area and may jump on your baby, not to mention get dog hair all over stuff which is annoying and can irritate baby....GL

Okay, I have the exact same situation except we are a little bit ahead of you and have 2 dogs.
Winston (our Jack russell cross ****zu) is our baby and thinks he is human! One thing we did was get him used to not going for walks before bubs came as he's lucky if he goes once a week now.

With the sleeping arrangements we were the same with the dogs on the king sized bed. He even used to put his head on the pillow! We bought some dog beds and put them in our room on the ground next to the bed, we sort of just found they started sleeping in them. I also put their own little pillow in their beds and got us new ones which they liked. I have noticed them sneaking up now in the early hours of the morning but I think its because it is getting colder.

I was told by people to start putting the dogs outside and stop them from being in our room before the baby arrived so they dont associate the changes with the baby but I just couldnt do it.

Our dogs know that the baby is above them in the pack, they are very cautious but curious about her. Our other dog is in love with her and whereever she is, he is there to make sure she is okay. Winston just wants to play with his ball.

We always make sure that we give the dogs plenty of cuddles so they know that they are still loved.

I will write more later but have to go as DD is crying

thanks tattoo_mama
yes the babies room is one of the rooms that is blocked off by baby gates, he will never EVER set a paw in my beans room. (mainly for the fur aspect)
he does have a bed thats ine a big cage in the room thats off the kitchen, its there for when we go out or if he's been very naughty.
i know i need to be very firm and stick to this routine but its soo very hard. when DH gets back from work this week, we will both do it togther so i wont feel like that nasty one all by myself :)

omg Alibaby, Milo sleep with his head on the pillow as well :rofl:
thats so very funny.
yes he too thinks he is human and when he does get in trouble or when he gets put out of the room he makes it look as if he's taken it to heart with this hurt little look in his eyes :(
Thanks for telling me about your dogs too, it makes me feel better to know im not the only one who cant do that to my gorgeous lil' puppy :)
xx

stevie, maybe you will have to make another bed for him, if he is now having to sleep in the bed which is associated as the 'naughty bed' then maybe thats why hes looking abit sad? perhaps make a different spot and encourage him to lie there and praise and treat him when he does, so he associates his new spot with being good

ahh your right tattoo_mama.. i never really thought about it like that!!
I'll def give that a go, thanks heaps :)

I have always included our dogs (kelpie, jack Russell) where our babys are concerned . When I bought my DD home from the hospital I introduced her to them by letting them smell her and they also licked her feet and legs, similar to what they would do to their own pups. My dogs became quite protective of both my DDs and would always let me know when they were fussy. Sometimes they would get up and run to the bassinet before my DDs made a sound. I have never seen my dogs be aggressive to anyone or any animal, but they are animals after all and I would never leave them alone with a baby.
I think if your dogs are already a big part of your life then that dosnt have to change when a bub enters the family

When I was pregnant I started out doing a lot of what you are doing no couch time, block off the baby's room etc. The couch time wasn't successful but we did manage to keep the dogs out of the room.

We also introduced the baby to the dogs and yes, there was the occassional lick on the face, feet etc and we NEVER left the dogs alone with the baby (tho if I left the room they were likely to follow me and ignore the baby anyway).

18 months on we have 2 dogs that are very patient with DS and interact with him very well. But more importantly we have a child who is very good with the dogs and pats them gently, respects their food, hand feeds them and doesn't take their toys.

Good luck....

We are currently in the same situation. We have a jack russell she is 3 and VERY hyperactive and jealous. I do believe we are going to have a hard time trying to get her to be gentle with bubs when he is born, so we are trying to take steps with her now to settle her.
She used to be able to go into our room but we have completely blocked her out of it. We tried putting her into the garage and she doesnt howl or anything but its way too cold out there for her, even with the blankets! She is allowed on the couch sometimes. Although she sits on it when we are not here anyway but I would never leave a baby there so Im ok with that for now.
The jealously thing is going to be hard to combat for us IMO. She jumps and scratches and howls, its quite bad. But baby will come first and if worse comes to worse we will take her to DP's parents house and slowly introduce her back to us. She just needs to know that baby comes first, and Im hoping it doesnt get too bad!