introducing dogs to baby

Ok im looking for a bit of advise really. As most of you know our baby is due in 3.5 weeks, its our 1st baby and the dogs have never been around babies. They are ok with children as long as they dont start pulling at them then the dogs just wonder off which is a good thing.

But what is the best way to introduce the dogs to baby when we 1st bring him/her home???? At the moment there is no baby stuff around is it better to bring the crib down to let the dogs get used to it???

I dont think the dogs will be a problem so to speak. Yes they will be nosey and want to have a good sniff, but I know they will get jelouse at 1st which i can understand. Its going from us and them to us, baby, and them. Of course we will never leave the dogs in the room on there own with baby but i just need to know how has everyone else introduced there dogs to baby.

By the way the dogs are 3 Cavaliers and 1 X breed (Lab x whippit)

Thanks
Sarah

our first cav was 8 mths old when we brought Scott home...we allowed her to sniff all the baby things and slowly introduced them ...we were lucky they grew up together and enjoyed many afternoon naps on the sofa

Paul took home a blanket the baby had used before we went home and let our then dog sniff it, just to get used to the baby's scent

the first day our dog was really restless and my dad said she just wants to see what all the fuss is about ...we brought her into the lounge and she sniffed it all out then i held scott and she came to investigate...remember it like yesterday sarah and he is now 16..LOL

just keep on eye on them and allow them to sniff the little one.
what are they like with noises? do you think they could spook easy if the baby cries.

They might be small but they take everything as it comes, theres not much if anything (sound wise) that the dogs dont like, yes it might be a shock to them when baby cries the 1st few times but i think they will just want to see whats going on. My eldest (Barney) is the one that will just sit furhter back and watch if hes unsure of crying.

I will get a blanket that im not to fussed about for baby to use then get Ste to bring it home

We had a large GSD when Rhianna was born. We weren't planning on having any more children so it was a bit of a shock and I really worried about what Sabre would be like with the baby because when we got him my other children were about 6 and 7 years old so he had never seen a baby in his life. Well he acted strange when I was in hospital - I went Tuesday morning and came back Wednesday night so I wasn't gone that long. He looked a bit worried when the baby cried at first but he soon got used to her and the fact that she was staying and he was very gentle with her and better than I could ever have hoped for I'm sure everything will be fine

How about playing a tape of a baby crying and weird baby noises to get them used to it before baby arrives?

Also give them lots of attention as much as you can manage as you don't want them to get jealous.

Good luck!

When I brought Vicki home almost 18 years ago now,we had just the one dog.Tessa was around 2 years old at the time.I just brought baby in and placed her in the crib which Tessa had already been introduced to the day before.Then got Tess in and made a big fuss of her,got baby out of crib and placed her on floor for dog to sniff.She sniffed,decided it wasn't anything she need be bothered with and lay down next to baby with her head on the shawl and promptly went to sleep.Best thing I ever did as Vicki and Tess grew up to be the best of buddies

Hiya, Tia was only a year old when Charlotte was born. She is my only child and I was paranoid to say the least!!! We bought a 'play pen' to put the crib in, and put it in the living room, so that Tia would smell but couldn't touch so to speak. What a bloomin' waste of money that was!!! Tia sniffed Charlie when she arrived home, and that was it!!! she never paid her much attention until she was old enough to be 'interesting' and even now, the only time Tia is bothered about Charlie is if she can hear her squeal and she thinks she's being hurt, then she comes into her own!!