Dogs and Babies

There are a few things that we've done in the last couple weeks or so that all merit their own posts. So, while the posts haven't be as timely as I would have liked, there will be a few over the next few days talking about the classes we've taken and the baby registry we started.

The easiest place to start is the short afternoon class we took through Sharp Hospital called Dogs and Babies. When I was reviewing the booklet of offered classes, I was most excited about this one - mainly because it never would have occurred to me that such a class was available.

For almost 11 years, Jenny has been a significant member of our little family. We aren't concerned about her being mean to Lloyd when he comes. But we were concerned about potential jealousy issues (she's been known to be jealous when we give attention to other dogs or cats - she'll come over and say 'hey look at me now, look at me!!' - when normally the last thing she wants is to hang out with other dogs.) as well as fear issues (she hasn't exactly spent a lot of time around kids).

However, we were comforted last Thanksgiving when our nieces and nephew were visiting from France. At first, she wasn't exactly pleased they were there and would mostly avoid them when they came round to check her out...That is, at least, until she realized that people that close to the ground have a tendency to drop more food. Once this light bulb went off in her head, she turned the tables on the situation and began to chase our Nephew around the living room rather than the other way around as had been the case earlier in the week. We've already noticed the change in her when we are at the park and she's much more interested in the small kids, but then, they are usually eating.

Anyway...the class. Our instructor is a dog trainer for the San Diego Humane Society and began to teach the dogs and babies class when she began her own family. Her goal was to develop a program to help avoid the potentially bad things that can happen between dogs and babies that result in the dog needing to find a new home. In the vast majority of situations, these 'bad things' are completely avoidable as long as the parents know the warning signs.

The fundamental thing, which I will 100% admit that I had never thought about like this, was to understand that babies and small children are not able to have the same relationship we have with our dogs until they are about 5 years old. They just don't have the abilities in their tool chest yet. So this means that the relationships in the house form a sort of open-ended triangle, with a strong relationship between the parents and the dog and a separate strong relationship between the parents and the baby, but not a direct relationship between the baby and the dog. Furthermore, the role of the parents is to keep the baby (and subsequent toddler) from becoming sensitized to the dog. This not only helps with developing a relaxed relationship between the dog and the baby, but also keeps the baby from being overly drawn to other people's dogs, thus preventing potential biting accidents.


The end goal is a house where the baby/toddler can do its thing without involving the dog in its uncontrolled and uncoordinated games and the dog can feel safe and secure that it isn't going to be pulled, pinched, yanked or otherwise involved in the baby/toddler's play...and thus be calm and happier around the child. We both think this method will be perfect for Jenny given that she has a tendency to worry. We aren't worried at all about her being aggressive toward Lloyd, however, she also does not need to spend her golden years always concerned about what that mini-human is going to do to her. Hopefully she will just enjoy the fact that she will likely have food at her disposal at all times once he is walking around...can hardly wait! ;)