Droopy CD,- RA, HH, TDI,- CGC
 I didn't do it | 
| Barked: Thu Nov 8, '12 11:26am PST |  |  |  |  |  Congratulations!
My little girl is almost two now, so we have recently gone through the baby preparation with the dogs. We put up a lot of gates throughout the house, so we could separate the baby from the dogs when needed. We put up the crib, swing, and all the endless paraphernalia out early, so the dogs could get used to it. We played baby crying cd's and made sure the dogs had really good down stays. We practiced spending some time in the house where the dogs couldn't be with us. We would watch tv for awhile in the living room with the dogs gated out of it. Of course we made sure they also got plenty of time with us and walks. I also had to start transitioning Droopy from being a performance dog trialing in open and training in utility to being a pet. He had the hardest time with reducing his work load. As my pregnancy progressed, I just didn't have the energy to train, and when the baby came, I didn't have the energy or time. We put up a doggie door, which was a life saver. We also put up a smaller potty area fence outside, so the dogs were double fenced in the back yard. My guys were not big door dashers, but as hounds if they got outside, they were going hunting. We put up a gate near our front door to allow us to get in and out of the house with all of the stroller and endless assortment of gear needed for the little one without worrying about the dogs getting out the front door. We also got in the habit of crating the dogs whenever food was out. Droopy gets a little carried away about food, so we have just managed it through prevention.
Before I came home from the hospital, my husband brought home a blanket from the baby and a dirty diaper. Let them acclimate to some of the smells.
We would also do random weird things to the dogs and then click and treat them. I would pull and ear and treat or randomly pull a tail and treat. Even watching a small child like a hawk, they are fast. As my little girl has grown, I have continued to highly reward the dogs anytime she falls on them or grabs them. Droopy has become obnoxious about it. He follows her around trying to get her to do something to him, so he will get a treat. They run around the house together. He howls and she giggles. We still have all of our gates up so the pups have plenty of interaction time with her, but they also have plenty of quiet time away from her.
Good Luck! |  |  |  |  |
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