preparing fido

As many of my readers know, Jack & I have four big dogs. Dogs who have been the giant babies of the household for years. We also have a cat that runs the house. Even before we got pregnant, we started considering how we would all survive once baby arrived.

Soon after finding out it was a boy, we got 'Practice Jaxon' as he's called around here. Practice Jaxon is just a little kids doll that I bought (and replaced all the pink clothes with a blue onesie) that makes some baby noises. The sounds were a bit fake, but a good start. We haven't used it as often as we had planned, but have worked with the dogs so they understand what is or is not allowed while we are holding the baby. We even slathered a bunch of baby lotion on it so they could get used to the smells too.

We'd also read that you should play baby sounds, real baby sounds, to get your pets used to it. So we had ordered a CD with baby sounds. I'm not going to link to the site where I purchased it because we did have shipping issues. But if you need a CD like this, simply google 'dog baby sounds' and you'll have several to choose from. (Side note: We ordered 'preparing fido' and the CD itself is great. It arrived a month after we purchased it which is why I'm not directly recommending them. They also did not respond to my email request trying to find out where the CD was, but were very responsive once I had called to complain). Anyway, we choose a CD with various sounds. The majority are, of course, crying but it does include cooing, bathtime, laughing, etc. I'd make sure you can see the track listing including amount of time. I passed over a few selections because it was not clear what would be on the CD or it only had a few minutes worth of sounds.

Tonight we tried the CD for the first time & I have to say I was surprised at the results. With four dogs, we have a variety of personalities in the house. I expected one dog to become nervous, pace & maybe cry, another to become hyper & want my attention, one to run away & had no idea what to expect from the youngest. Instead, we got a whole lot of nothing, lol. Which is good I suppose. I played the CD on a reasonable volume (directions say to start off on a low volume for short periods and then work up to a 'true to life' volume) from my computer in the office. At the time, three dogs & the kitty were all in the office & close enough to clearly hear the sounds. The youngest (our biggest Great Dane) jumped up & ran over to my desk staring in the direction of the speakers with that cute head tilt dogs have. He sniffed around my desk for a few seconds then got bored & laid back down. Our Rottie perked up her ears & stared at my desk but within seconds she was over it. Our lab/pit mix, who I thought would be the one to be nervous & cry, didn't even move. I'm not sure how much the other Dane in the living room could hear, but no response there either. Kitty was sitting on his window perch which is pretty close to the speakers & he didn't even turn his head. Overall I was very surprised. I really thought it would take more work to get them to be that calm while the sounds played. I only played the sounds for about 10 minutes at the low volume. So I guess I'll play the sounds a little louder & a little longer tomorrow. I think I'll try it at different times of the day (since I'm WAH) and see if that makes a difference too. They might just be so tired from a long day & full tummies that they didn't respond as much as they might otherwise.

For my local ladies (StephE?) - if you want to borrow the CD, let me know. Also, here are a couple local resources that I've checked out. They also have good information for anyone not local. I had planned on attending one of the workshops but timing & money never seemed to work out. I found these folks through one of our dog trainers.
-Family Paws
-Dogs & Storks

Other tips we've read/heard but have not tried all yet:
- Setup baby items early such as the swing, bouncer, highchair, rocker, etc. early
- Let pets sniff baby items (clothes, blankets, crib, car seat, etc) & nursery
- Have Dad bring home one of the receiving blanket before baby comes home
- When home from hospital, Dad should bring in the baby (showing dogs that baby is higher in pack order) and Mom should greet dogs since she's likely been away for several days.
- Don't force dog to go near baby if he's not interested (this applies in most situations whether its a new dog, cat, baby or something else that upsets dog like the vacuum. Forcing them only scares them more).
- And of course, always supervise pets near baby!