are there any negatives to allowing a newborn around pets???

Question

just had a baby and have heard different opions please help!

Answer 1

Negative:
1) Pets are still wild. They have been domesticated, but they still have a wild instinct. While they may be nice and tame around you, a baby could be deemd as prey or sub-dominate to them.

2) You have one baby already spitting up, Do you really have time to clean up after more than one?

3) Pets do bring in quite a bit of diseases--fleas, ticks, worms. Think your child won't be eating the pets' feces or food? Think again.

4) It's far too easy for a cat or dog to seriously injure a child by accident. A child pulls on a dog's tail too hard and the dog bites.

Positives:
1) Your child gets used to pets. It's never a bad thing.

2) Your child's system has pet dander introducted into their system.

3) You'll be able to teach your child responsibility as s/he grows older.

Answer 2

We had a dog, 3 cats, fish, turtles, and a snake when our son was born 11 years ago.

Now we have a different dog- the other one died, 3 different cats- the others died, and fish with our 15 month old.

Our animals are wonderful with the baby- and the baby is wonderful with the animals. From the time she was a newborn we said things like, "nice, gentle," etc. to teach her from day one about how you treat animals. She is just as kind as her brother and we did the same thing for him.

Snakes and turtles do carry disease- so our son was not allowed to touch them- just to look.

If your pet is inside, they bring in no disease. You could actually pet a stray cat and carry distemper to your animal.

Our cats- all but one is fixed. The youngest is a kitten and is getting spayed in 2 weeks. All are gentle with the baby.

NO, they will not suffocate a baby. When our daughter was a newborn they seemed frightened of her and didn't go near when she was asleep.

Our oldest cat is 4 and protects the baby- he walks with her in our yard and wraps his tail around her leg. When she wakes up from a nap or cries- he runs to her immediately- even from a sound sleep.

Our dog is also 4 and is my buddy- but he has never been jealous of the baby. When she was born, my husband brought home the hospital outfit she wore so he could smell it. He took right to her immediately. He is a beagle and has no aggressive tendencies- but once when we were walking her he became aggressive when man approached and I had baby in the sling. He had never done that before- ever.

So, I think it is wonderful. I love my animals and to not have them is not an option. They have been raised to be loving creatures as have our children who are being raised the same.

Good luck!

Answer 3

You need to know your pet very well and even if you think you know your pet, you might be surprised. What if your pet is feeling jealous because of the new baby and a lack of attention. Can you guarantee the pet won't scratch or bite the baby? I wouldn't leave the baby alone with the pet for a while, until you can see the interaction.

Also, the baby may have allergies. Do you or the other parent have allergies? If so, I wouldn't subject the baby to the risk.

Answer 4

It depends on the pet, and it depends on the baby. If it's a skiddish dog, or an angry breed of dog, then yes, I think there's something wrong with that.

There are certain things about guinea pig and hamster cages that should not be around babies, the urine, etc. in the cages is not good for a baby's respiratory system.

Some babies are allergic to dog and/or cat dander, but certainly not all babies are.

What pets are you considering having around your child? That could have been part of your question.

You can always ask your child's pediatrician.

Good luck~

Answer 5

We had a dog when we gave birth to our son. We introduced them, but didn't let the dog in the same room as him when our son was on the floor, just because our dog is big and clumsy. We never had a problem with it, and by the time our son was crawling he was crawling after the dog. We NEVER left our son in the room with the dog alone, and still don't.
This time we have the dog and a cat, and we plan on doing the same. Our cat is going to be declawed, not because of the baby, but because of another issue, so I don't imagine it'll be a problem either as long as it stays out of the crib.
As long as you keep the house clean, keep the litterboxes and food bowls out of baby's reach, and keep an eye on your pets, you shouldn't have a problem.
By the way, cats don't smother babies. If your cat won't stay out of the crib, get netting to put over the crib. They look like a canopy and are quite pretty, I bought one for our baby's crib.
No one in my family really avoided having animals around the babies either.

Answer 6

as long as the pets are nice I don't see why not as long as you are sitting right there. I have herd that children might get allergy's form having pets around. But I don't know if that is true or not. I have 3 cats and a dog and I am 29 weeks preg I am in the same boat.

Answer 7

there are always going to be different opinions because each baby and pet is different....some things that might occur are: allergies to pet, fleas from pet, pet is jealous and bites baby, etc
From my experience tho, most newborns and pets get along fine....just keep the pet bathed and free of bugs etc

Answer 8

If pets are healthy, should be no problem. Fleas can get on the baby and bite. Should keep pets away from the bedding area and not allow them near when feeding. They are attacted to the bottle because of the smell of the formula if it is available and will try to drink from the bottle.

Answer 9

I have never denied a child to be around animals. I would have concerns if there was a risk of injury from bites, etc. Or possibly an infestation of fleas.YUCK. But animals will get along fine with newborns. Our German Shepard became my son's guardian when he was born and he just "knew" it was his job to protect him. A lot of the old-wives tales you hear are nothing but that....just tales.

Answer 10

there probably is a hundred reasons not to have pets around a new born; however, studies in sweden ( where they keep detailed health records) they found that young children who are around animals have a more active immune system. something about the animals stimulates the child's immune system.