dogs and babies

Question
Hello--My husband and I are expecting our first child in June and we also have 2 dogs, both rescued, a english bulldog and australian cattledog--we have a small house and want to be careful with the baby and the dogs so we were wondering if you could help us.  The dogs sleep upstairs with us-not in bed-but in their own little beds alongside our bed--when the baby comes, we think it would be safer if the dogs were not in the same room while we all slept--so how do we start to separate them from our bedroom and how far in advance before the baby comes?  We do not want to upset the dogs but we realize that we should be taking some percautions since this will be a big change for us and them.  Thanks for your help!

Answer
Good question, Sunny, and kudos to you and your husband for not just ditching the dogs because you're expecting a baby. Way too many dogs are surrendered to shelters because their owners were having a baby and didn't want to take the time to work with their pet to help them to accept the baby as a new member of the family. Very sad.

Anyway, on to your question: How to get the dogs used to sleeping outside the bedroom?

If it were me, I would start by gradually moving their beds closer and closer to the door. Each night, move it about a foot or so. Don't make a big deal about it; act as if nothing is different. Eventually, the beds will be right at the door. At that time, you can move them just outside the door. Do you plan on keeping your bedroom door closed at night when the baby arrives? If so, don't start closing it just yet. You want the dogs to get used to sleeping outside the open door first. Praise them when they go and lie on their beds. Leave their beds just outside the bedroom door for a few days before moving them again. Once outside the bedroom, you'll want to leave the beds in one spot for at least 2 or 3 nights before you move them again. Otherwise, the dogs may just stop using them altogether and just come and sleep in the floor in your bedroom. You can use a baby gate across your bedroom door to keep them out as well.

For more ideas, try going to www.google.com or www.yahoo.com and doing a search for dogs and babies, or introducing dogs to babies. You should get many helpful sites that way.

Good luck, and please let me know if there's anything else I can help you with!



Kristen