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HELP: Newborn & dogs
Hi ladies! I used to be a regular here, but with the surprise of twins, life has been crazy! I am usually not one to cry HELP so any advice would be awesome. One twin came home from the NICU yesterday and we hope the other one can come home in about a week.
At first the dogs weren't that interested. The black lab is a therapy dog and tentatively keeps her distance with a little curiosity here and there. The yellow lab has started to give the baby licks on her toes, etc. and smell her head A LOT. I'm not crazy about the licking.
I have started to notice perhaps guarding behavior with the yellow lab? The yellow lab was smelling the baby in the Rock and Play (which is kind of low to the ground) , the black lab came up on the other side to investigate, and she showed her teeth and growled right over the baby.
This is very scary! What can we do besides the extreme of keeping everyone separated?
Re: HELP: Newborn & dogs
I had the same issue with my dogs. When my pit bull came over to sniff the baby, my Aussie shepherd growled and snapped at him.
Whenever she growled or snapped, she was removed from the room. If Carl sniffed the baby and Reese didn't growl or snap, she was rewarded with praise and a treat. I don't remember how long it took her to realize that it wasn't her job to guard the baby but it was less than a week because by the time S.O. had to go back to work (his job gave him a week off), I was able to have the baby and both dogs in the living room with no issues.
That sounds promising, redheadbaker! We have to stock up on some more treats anyways.