How did you prepare your dogs for the baby!?

Question

I will be a first time mommy in January and I have 3 adult pitbulls. They are really sweet and for the most part well behaved. I’m just wondering for anyone has anything special they did to prepare for the baby coming home? I’d like to say my dogs are angels.. but I have THREE.. sometimes they get wild! 
So far I have set boundaries such as, no more couch or bedroom, training 15 min a day (even if it’s just sit and stay), trying to give less attention (so they won’t be shocked when the baby comes) and will be putting up a baby gate in the hall where the baby’s room will be. 
Anything I’m missing? What did you do?

Answer

Play videos of babies crying so they know the sound

Answer

We got dolls and put her diaper wipes, shampoo, and diapers on them and had them interact with it. It got them used to what would be her smells and would tell them no when they would try and paw at it. We have 4 dogs including 2 german shepherds and never had an issue. 
I'd highly recommend bringing somethibg home that baby wore or had on them so they can smell her. And you should enter the house first alone and then have your husband or whoever come in 2nd with the baby.

Answer

I have a pit shepherd mix, and he has always been a little crazy. We made sure to set baby stuff up around the house several weeks before the baby came so our dog was used to it being around as well as some of the new smells. We also played baby crying noises, sometimes with one of us holding a doll and trying to comfort it. While I was setting up the nursery, which was a room he would be closed in when we had certain company over, I always let him in and explore. I even got him a bed and toy bin for in there. We sent a hat home from the hospital for him to smell, but he really didn’t care about that. I had special treats for him to praise him for being calm around the baby when we did bring her home. The first week or so was a little nerve racking while he tried to get used to her and was so interested in her, mostly because he doesn’t realize his size and he can be a little too much. The second I put her in her crib when we brought her home the dog jumped in with her. He also doesn’t know when he has given too many kisses, or when he is being a little too rough. But now he sleeps in his bed outside her bedroom door every night and always has to be wherever she is.

Answer

I have two pit mixes. We played crying baby YouTube videos so they were used to the sound. When my daughter was born my husband brought a hat home so they could smell her ahead of us coming home. I made sure I gave them attention the first day back home (since they hadn’t seen me for 3 days). We tried to keep their routine as normal as possible. 
I really understand now why they called this breed the “nanny dog” one of mine follows her from room to room and has since day one. 😊

Answer

We put out some of the baby's things (bassinet in our room, pack n play in the living room) a few weeks/ a month before baby arrived so our dog would get used to them being there. Other than that we brought the baby's hospital blankets home & let our dog smell them before bringing baby in. We also each went in separately to greet our dog before bringing baby in the house.

Answer

We didn’t do much. My parents brought a baby blanket home for him to smell before we brought the baby home. We tried to continue with walks and giving him attention. We have always had boundaries for our dog so we didn’t change anything.

Answer

We didn't do anything. We didn't even introduce our dogs to baby until a day after coming home from the hospital. They know there is something new in the house and every so often we let them smell and see him but other than that its business as usual in our house.

Answer

I didn't really do anything before my son was born. We still let them on the couches and other furniture. They definitely knew baby was in there. I had a homebirth, though, with my dogs present, so we also never had to study about introducing him to the dogs. My younger dog was scared of my son for like 2 months, but just hid from him. My older dog was the proudest big sister.
Have your dogs been around kids before? If you have friends with young kids, socializing your dogs with them could also be good. My dogs have been around kids their whole lives so I guess that's also why I didn't do anything special.

How did you prepare your dogs for the baby!?

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