My baby is 1 month old and he is currently with his mom (my wife) at their home. She would be coming back at my place in 15 days.
I have a german spitz dog who is pretty healthy. What are the risks associated for an infant around a dog.
My dog does lose lots of hair and could that be a problem.
If you know any good articles dealing on this subject, please let me know. My ped told me that it is very risky to have a dog around. I am concerned.
2007-10-09 01:12:36 · 12 answers · asked by Reference-Man 2 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
children who are around animals have less allergies
2007-10-09 01:15:45 · answer #1 · answered by mel7996 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There are many risks with dogs and children.
Mostly it depends on the temperment of the dog and close supervision. If you dog is very demanding and wants a lot of attention, it can become very jealous of a new baby. A dog that has never been around children or other "delicate" people or animals will not know how to act.
As long as you watch the dog and the baby closely when they are in the same space, there shouldn't be too many problems. Keep in mind that the baby will not know how to act with the dog either. Most dog bites are a result of how the child treats the dog. Don't let you baby, pull on the dogs hair or ears or poke it in the eyes or nose.
For the Hair loss, groom your dog on a regular basis. Give it a bath once a week or every two weeks and brush the hair out. The bath will losen up the dead hair and keep the coat healthy. He may also need a higher quality dog food. Extreme shedding can be due to a lack of quality nutrition.
Check out yahoo! pets section. i think they have some good articles.
2007-10-09 01:30:02 · answer #2 · answered by kelloggs322 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've never heard of it being risky to have a normal healthy dog around a baby unless the dog is out of control and not well behaved, that would be a different story. If your dog is well behaved you should introduce the dog to the baby in small steps because believe it or not there could be some jealousy issues. make sure you still give your dog plenty of attention! You will have to teach the dog not to get on the babies blanket,bedding,carrier etc... at least until the baby is older. You will need to keep your rugs and floors vaccumed regularly, and your furniture if the dog is allowed on it. Never leave the baby allone in the room with the dog. Always wash your hands after attending to the dog. Eventually everyone will get used to each other and I think it's a wonderful experience for a child to grow up with a pet.
2007-10-09 01:26:21 · answer #3 · answered by thisaintall07 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just keep the house clean and brush the dog (outside) to help get rid of some of the shedding. Put up a baby gate in front of the baby's room or your room if thats where the baby will sleep and don't let the dog in there at all anymore, that will be the baby's space now. Other than that it should be fine, use a little common sense and you shouldn't have any problems. I would recommend getting one of the baby's blankets from the mother, make sure it smells like the baby, and introduce it to the dog so it becomes familiar with baby's scent. Congrat's.
2007-10-09 02:59:03 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
We have a Pitt bull and my son is 7months old.
(we had had dog before he was born)
As was mentioned earlier kids that are around animals have less allergies, make sure that you keep your dog groomed.
You know what personality your dog has and can judge from there how he will react to the baby. Just be careful when baby starts crawling around after the dog and grabbing its tail (",)
2007-10-09 01:28:32 · answer #5 · answered by Tasha C 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Things will be fine.
Just keep a close eye on the dog and baby and make sure you clean up the hair. LOts of people have dogs and babies soooo relax. I have 4 cats and 3 kids and I always worried that something would go wrong or they would have allergies. JUST BE WATCHFUL AND ENJOY YOUR BABY. AND YOUR NEW KID TOO. LOL
Sorry about the CAPS lock.
Peace
GG
2007-10-10 16:50:16 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've always heard that children who grow up around animals are less likely to have allergies.
You don't have to get rid of your pets so long as they don't show any aggression toward your child. Just take precautions, you will have to teach both the pet and the child what is acceptable when they are around one another.
I don't have any animals but whenever my friends w/ dogs are around I take every opportunity to introduce them if the animal is nice. My daughter loves animals, I'm trying to teach her how not to hit them when she gets excited as babies tend to do because they don't have complete muscle control yet.
2007-10-09 02:26:20 · answer #7 · answered by gypsy g 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's risky until you eliminate all potential problems...allergies, for one...then make sure the dog doesn't lick his face etc...and for sure that he won't bite him...my son was bitten by the family dog and had over 100 stitches in his face...happens soooooo quickly...just watch and be careful...they will probably get along famously!!!
2007-10-09 01:17:10 · answer #8 · answered by madsmaha1 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's perfectly fine, its only a dog.
Just don't let the baby sleep with the dog.
2007-10-09 01:17:46 · answer #9 · answered by cutie53 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As long as you keep your house clean and vaccuum regularly it shouldn't be a problem. Just obviously never leave the dog and the child alone together.
2007-10-09 01:16:00 · answer #10 · answered by Sophie T 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
i found this website u might wanna have a look at:
http://www.leerburg.com/dogs-babies.htm
click on the Free Ebook link and there's a pdf it's got pretty good tips. it's worth a read
2007-10-09 01:27:17 · answer #11 · answered by nuggeteli 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋