1st Time DaddyMy own experience of becoming a first time parent

We have a dog, a Labrador who was around 4 years old when the baby arrived. She hadn’t really been around babies before so we were anxious about how she would react. The trouble is, although she is a great dog and always happy to see you when you walk through the door, she can sometimes be a little “too” happy. Hyper, I suppose is the word I’m looking for.

It can be unsettling for anyone, even adults for a big Labrador dog to come running up to them at full speed. She is just wanting to play and meet a new friend to lick and slobber on, but even so it can make people uneasy. It must be 100x times worse for a baby looking up at this big hairy goofy looking monster.

We spoke about what would happen if the dog acted badly around the baby. What if the baby was scared? What if she growled at the baby? What if she bit the baby? We knew if anything happened we would have to get rid of the dog, and even had one of our friends lined up to take her if we needed to.

It would be heartbreaking, but the baby would always come first.

However, as we soon found out, there was absolutely nothing to worry about. I keep forgetting that dogs are way more clever than I think. Our dog knew straight away that this was a baby, this was our baby and she had to protect it. Ever since our son first came home, the dog has been brilliant. I have to say, for the first few months while we were settling into life with a baby the dog was ignored a lot more than I care to remember. It must have been miserable for her no longer getting the attention she used to get.

Yet through all that she still acted perfectly around the baby.

Dog toys and baby toys

Our dog, like many dogs, has a lot of toys. Rubber rings, tennis balls, footballs, even teddy bears. She is a spoilt dog and our garden is evidence, as it is full of her toys scattered all over the place.

We have always been strict on her going anywhere near any of our sons toys, and it definitely is working. She knows which toy are hers. She can be in the middle of the room full of baby toys, you say “where’s your toy” and she will go around sniffing the toys to make sure she gets the right one. Of course, sometimes she gets it wrong, but generally she knows which toys to avoid.

The same cannot be said for our baby. He is just about starting to crawl now and grab and play with things. Anything lying about gets picked up and anything that is picked up goes straight in the mouth. We really have to watch him to make sure he doesn’t go near the dog toys. It’s funny, I thought it would have been the other way around!

Growing up in a house with a dog

I never really had a pet when I grew up. We had a goldfish (actually we had several as we didn’t really know what we were doing and they kept dying), and I had a rabbit when I got a bit older but never really played with it.

Now I have a dog I’m pleased to see my son growing up with a dog in the house. He is not scared of her. In fact he bursts out laughing and reaches for her whenever he sees the dog. It’s so funny to watch, he loves that dog.

Obviously with any dog you should not leave them alone with a baby, but we are lucky to have a dog and baby that get on so well. Just wait until he starts walking and running around, they will be thick as thieves!

We have a dog, a labridor who was around 4 years old when the baby arrived. She hadn’t really been around babies before so we were anxious about how she would react. The trouble is, although she is a great dog and always happy to see you when you walk through the door, she can sometimes be a little “too” happy. Hyper, I suppose is the word I’m looking for.
It can be unsettling for anyone, even adults for a big labridor dog to come running up to them at full speed. She is just wanting to play and meet a new friend to lick and slober on, but even so it can make people uneasy. It must be 100x times worse for a baby looking up at this big hairy goofy looking monster.
We spoke about what would happen if the dog acted badly around the baby. What if the baby was scared? What if she growled at the baby? What if she bit the baby? We knew if anything happened we would have to get rid of the dog, and even had one of our friends lined up to take her if we needed to.
It would be heartbreaking, but the baby would always come first.
However, as we soon found out, there was absolutely nothing to worry about. I keep forgetting that dogs are way more clever than I think. Our dog knew straight away that this was a baby, this was our baby and she had to protect it. Ever since our son first came home, the dog has been brilliant. I have to say, for the first few months while we were settling into life with a baby the dog was ignored a lot more than I care to remember. It must have been miserable for her no longer getting the attention she used to get.
Yet through all that she still acted perfectly around the baby.
Dog toys and baby toys
Our dog, like many dogs, has a lot of toys. Rubber rings, tennis balls, footballs, even teddy bears. She is a spoilt dog and our garden is evidence, as it is full of her toys scattered all over the place.
We have always been strict on her going anywhere near any of our sons toys, and it definitely is working. She knows which toy are hers. She can be in the middle of the room full of baby toys, you say “where’s your toy” and she will go around sniffing the toys to make sure she gets the right one. Of course, soemtimes she gets it wrong, but generally she knows which toys to avoid.
The same cannot be said for our baby. He is just about starting to crawl now and grab and play with things. Anything lying about gets picked up and anything that is picked up goes straight in the mouth. We really have to watch him to make sure he doesn’t go near the dog toys. It’s funny, I thought it would have been the other way around!
Growing up in a house with a dog
I never really had a pet when I grew up. We had a goldfish (actually we had several as we didn’t really know what we were doing and they kept dying), and I had a rabbit when I got a bit older but never really played with it.
Now I have a dog I’m pleased to see my son growing up with a dog in the house. He is not scared of her. In fact he bursts out laughing and reaches for her whenever he sees the dog. It’s so funny to watch, he loves that dog.
Obviously with any dog you should not leave them alone with a baby, but we are lucky to have a dog and baby that ge ton so well. Just wait til he starts walking and running around, they will be thick as thieves!