Question to those with kids and dogs (sorry long with a few questions) would appreciate your imput?

We had 2 whippets when my 1st was born - they were about 7. They had not been around kids much either and were well trained, big part of the family, slept on our bed at night, etc. We were still the pack leaders of course but we were a family. My main goal when we had kids was to first, disrupt the dogs' schedule as little as possible. They still go their meals when they were supposed to and though the daily walk moved around as far as time of day and maybe duration, they still were walked. THey were not confined or restricted but of course were well supervised with the baby. I allowed them to sniff as much as they wanted.

As the babies got older and could crawl or toddle, I was constantly watching more for the dogs' sake instead of the baby - babies are rough! My 1st kid pretty much ignored them but #2 loved them. As soon as she could crawl, she'd crawl into their bed with them with her books and sit and 'read'. I taught her to be gentle and they tolerated the clumsy hands supremely well. I don't think they ever felt threatened and they had trust in me to be the pack 'leader' and supervise the newest member of the 'pack'. I also always made sure that the kids left them alone when they slept and ate - it is just common sense.

As far as sleeping with them - my dogs were way too attached to me to want to sleep with the kids. But I think whatever age a child would be in a big bed - maybe 2 or 3? But it would depend on the child and the dog - cross that bridge when you come to it.

I would caution you that you do have 2 smallish dogs who do tend to feel a bit more threatened by youngesters since they are more likely to hurt a smaller animal based on sheer size. Poodles are smart and usually tolerant of kids but Jacks are terriers and often kind of possessive of things such as food or toys. You know them best so you can probably better judge how they might react to little hands reaching for them.

I would say you get a dog used to a new baby much the same way you would a toddler. Make a point to spend some extra time with the dog when you have some spare time. I would also have your husband vring a baby blanket home from the hospital so the dogs can get used to the scent. As for interaction a baby can really "interact" by 6 months. They'll wonder what the dog is, what happens when you touch it ect. Just keep a close eye on both the baby and the dog in order to intervene of the bay starts poking. As for keeping the dog and baby supervised, you have a few months before the baby will be unsupervised at all, however when that time comes just watch the dog and baby, and move the baby to another room if things get heated.

when i had my children my partner took home a blanket that the baby had been wrapped in for the dogs to sniff, when we got home i sat down with the baby and the dogs could come up and sniff also the dogs got a treat while we were busy with the baby for the first day or so,now they are best friends.you really shouldnt leave a dog unsupervised around young children because you never know ehat could happen the child could accidently hurt the dog and cause it to bite or the dog could turn all of a sudden.you dont need to lock the dogs away just because the baby is up if you lock a dog away . isuggest if you want them to taake a backseat start slowly doing it noe,although still give them attention and treats when the baby is born.it has been proven that kids that are around pets from a young age are less likely to suffer from allergies and athsma,also breastfeeding will help.at about 9 months my daughter started to interact and play with the dogs and we had been taking her hand and showing her how to pat the dogs from the time she was about 4 months and we are doing the same with my son my daughter is so gentle with the dogs because of that.i remember from about age five my mum let our family dog sleep in the room with me,she always left the door open so she could hear and the dog knew to sleep on the floor.good luck i am sure your dogs and baby will get along great.

We had a heinz 57 (I really don't think that covered all breeds in there) and a 1/2 chow 1/2 pit bull when we had our first baby. The day we brought my daughter home from the hospital, we brought the dogs to her and let them figure her out. The Heinz,Rocky, was horribly afraid and didn't go back to her for over a week. Then he loved her and was always close-by. The chow/pit,Shadow,(the best dog EVER) crept up to her, sniffed her and sat down. Then started wagging her tail. The dogs will smell that that baby is yours. They love you and they will at least give the baby a chance. I never felt uncomfortable leaving my kids alone with the dogs until the kids were old enough to start smacking them or pulling ears. Teach your kids that's a no-no quick and you should have no problems. As for the sleeping with your kids, my oldest has had a chihuahua,TJ, since she was three, I don't think the dog has ever not slept in her bed.TJ protects her sleep and will growl at any one who comes into my daughters room. Even us. and no she doesn't attack anyone just warns you to leave my daughter alone. Just make sure that you give the dogs as much love as you can when the baby is new. They will learn to love your kid as much as you do( almost anyway) and everybody is better off for it.

good for you, wanting to include the whole family in your joy. I am no expert, but we have an 11 year old jack russell and he was always first, the vet warned us that Jack russells were not the best dogs around the children. that vet was dead wrong. When we had our first, we brought her home, Shamrock (our dog) sniffed around and we out our daughter at 2 days old on the floor in her car seat, He sniffed her for a bit and then licked her face and curled up by her seat and staid there, til we moved her, he followed us everywhere with the baby, and we let him. If your dogs have a positive reaction to the new baby give them a treat, and make sure you devote time to them too. The baby will keep your hands full but they always sleep and this is the time to devote to your dogs. Shamrock has gone thru us bringing home 5 babies and he loves everyone of them, he has never nipped at them when they pulled on his ears or tail, he just laid there and let them. I think that is why he has lived so long and is still so strong, another thing our vet was wrong about. She said that jack russells average age is 9 and here shamrock is about to turn 12 and he is still going strong. I hope this helps, it did for us. Good luck

Introduce the baby like one of the pack. Try to take them out to Petco, or Petsmart. There are usually children there, or the park. Let the dogs see you getting ready for the baby to come. Let them smell the baby things. Before you bring the baby home from the hospital, bring a blanket, of anything with it's smell home first for the dogs to smell. Just ease the transition for them as much as you can.

The hardest part for us, has been as my daughter has gotten older, I worry about her falling on the dogs. I worry more about her hurting them, then the other way around. We have a 5 year old Shih Tzu, 5 year old daughter, and an elderly very cranky Miniature Schnauzer. There is a bit of rivalry between my daughter and the Shih Tzu. They steal each other's toys, and fight over my lap. :-)

Our dogs have been like children to us, so we really didn't think about it, it just had to work, so we made it work.

I don't know about the allergy part though. Talk to your pediatrician

well first of all, it's pretty easy to introduce your dog to your baby... especially if it is a nice, normal dog. they will want to sniff for a while, and that's okay... we have 3 dogs, all of which we got after my son was born, but i my hubby and i lived with my parents when we had our son and they have a jack russell terrier. he was nosy at first, especially when the baby would cry, but then he got used to it...

second, you don't have to lock the dog up to keep him away from the baby when you are showering or cleaning the house... whatever. just put the baby somewhere you can see it at all times, a lifesaver for me was a bassinet that had wheels! when my son got older i'd put him in his highchair when i took a shower... we never even had to put our dog in a box/kennel. you can still give them lots of attention while taking care of a newborn because babies sleep A LOT!! lol, there will be plenty of time for walks and playtime with them.

babies can interact with dogs pretty much as soon as they learn to notice them... we taught our son to pet the dog when he was very young (i want to say 3 months, but i'm not sure) and that was good because we could also teach him to not pull on the dogs ears and tail... we would say things like "aw, nice puppy!" while petting the dog and he would just smile away, and of course the dog loved it too!!

as far as allergies go, you can cross that bridge when you come to it... unless they are severe allergies, you should be able to work with your pediatrician if you child has any issues... don't worry about it, though. both my hubby and i are allergic to cats and our son is not. it's not hereditary as far as i know, but you can always ask a pediatrician. :)

We took ours in from the hospital and laid her in the floor for the dog to inspect. She did and adopted her at that point. She was interested in everything the baby was doing. She became very protective of her and they were best friends. The hard part is explaining that dogs don't live forever.

I agree with Fonz, thats how we always did it, good luck