Expecting? Prepared Your Hound For Life With A Newborn

None  of us are parents, not to human children at least, so we do not know  the true depth of hardship that a person, or family, go through during  pregnancy and in raising a newborn baby…but in consoling numerous dog  owners when they have made the immensely difficult decision to surrender  their hound back for rehoming due to a pregnancy, the struggle from  raising a child, or the financial strain that comes with it, we can  imagine.

Pregnancy, or new  children in the home, is one of the most common reasons for a dog to be  returned or surrendered for rehoming.  This can simply be situational or  financial, but it can often be because of conflict between the dog and  child.  This doesn’t just apply to greyhounds; we’ve seen it in many  other rehoming situations as well.

While  it is a terrible shame, and it can be easy to pass judgement on people  who make this decision, sometimes the circumstances are just not  compatible with hound ownership…and that’s okay.

Many  people try to make it work, surrendering isn’t their first option, but  it can be hard to know how to prepare.  There is a lot of stress and  worry, a lot of unknowns, especially when it comes to a retired racing  greyhound who has probably never seen a baby before in their life!

While  greyhounds make the most amazing family companions (we literally cannot  stress this enough!), they are not raised around children.  They  weren’t bred with the intention of being good with children, they are  trained to race.  Their phenomenal, gentle, calm and laid-back  personalities that make them the perfect family pet is just a bonus!  
Most  of the time, a greyhound has never set eyes on a child prior to  retiring, which adds an extra level of worry to the parent(s) and the  dog.

No one can truly predict how  a dog is going to respond to a child…and the main issues that arise  between children and dogs is oftentimes not the dog’s fault (sorry  parents, don’t come for us!).  

Greyhounds  are often sensitive to environmental and routine changes, and there is  nothing more unpredictable and upsetting to an environment and routine  than a newborn baby.  

That baby  also grows, soon they are crawling around.  This can be very  disconcerting to a hound, more so when that baby starts to learn to walk  and climb.  The sofa which was previously your hounds safe space  becomes unsafe.  
Young children are also unable to  read, or understand, a dog’s body language and signals.  They are  grabby, they don’t know their own strength and can pinch or hit instead  of stroke.  They are loud, unpredictable and quick in their movements  which is unsettling and have no concept of personal space.  Many  children seek close contact with their faces, which can be very  threatening to a dog.

While we do  not doubt for one second that raising a child is not easy, and  immensely stressful, it is also very stressful for your hound.  So, it’s  not hard to understand why people feel it is unfair on the dog and  surrender them.

But if you are  expecting, and surrendering is not a route you want to consider, how can  you prepare your hound for life with a newborn?  How can you manage  their interactions as the child grows to prevent any incidents?

Well,  as we always say, it is not a one size fits all answer.  We’re going to  give you some general tips on things that might help, but there are  countless intricacies to take into consideration with each situation end  environment.  If you do want to make it work, it is strongly advisable  to consider a consultation with a qualified positive reinforcement  behaviourist to help set your hound up for success in your specific home  environment.

One key thing to  consider is that greyhounds are creatures of habit and that they thrive  on routine.  As we’ve discussed numerous times, a lot of greyhounds can  really struggle with sudden changes to their daily schedule…so leaving  everything to the last minute and rocking up with a baby can be a shock  to the system!

You want to make a  plan and make gradual positive changes to their routine such as  altering their feeding and walking times and make any changes to where  they sleep if necessary.  When changing their schedule, do so slowly and  in only changing one thing at a time to not stack the stress onto your  hound.  
Babies are unpredictable, so, for instance,  try to get your hound used to a more flexible walking arrangement rather  than set times.  Take the for walks at different times a day, and  change the lengths of the walk, so to not establish a consistent  expectation.  Once your baby is a bit more settled and your routine more  predictable, you can return to a more structured lifestyle.

You  will also want to consider giving your hound access to baby free zones.   Putting an extra bed in a quiet corner or another room, where they can  be away from the noise and activity if they wish.  You can designate  this safe space by creating positive associations with it such as  providing them their treats or enrichment on this spot.  Encouraging  them to be calm and at peace in choosing this area.

Depending  on the level of independence your hound has, you may need to start  gradually introducing time alone or encouraging more independent comfort  rather than being a lap dog.  One of the biggest struggles we hear from  dog owners when they have a new baby is that the dog is ‘jealous’ of  the baby.  That they aren’t the centre of attention anymore, that they  aren’t getting the same level of affection they are used to and are  trying to push in.

Goodness knows  it hurts the heart to even consider pushing them away even a little  bit, but you do want to teach your hound to be comfortable and calm when  you are in the room without being in your personal space by providing  alternative entertainment such as toys, enrichment, chews, and other  mental stimulation.  While we would 100% recommend providing the same  level of interaction, love and attention they are used to…it is just not  practical and chances are you just will not be able to achieve it in  those early days, weeks and potentially months of having your newborn  home.  
If you can, fantastic, but if you can’t…it’s okay!

Just  make sure to provide them what attention you can, even if it’s just in  smaller bursts throughout the day rather than long cuddles on the sofa.   

If you are able to, try to be  proactive in having pre-made enrichment ready in the freezer or a good  amount of long lasting chews in the cupboard that you can bring out as  necessary after the baby is born.

Discouraging  jumping up is also an important one, as you don’t want to be gut  punched while pregnant!  You also don’t want them jumping onto, knocking  into or knocking over the little one.  Thankfully, teaching them not to  jump up is a fairly straightforward process!  Although you will no  doubt miss their cuddles, it is for everyone’s safety that they keep  their four paws on the floor!

While  it may sound bizarre, much in the way that dogs are desensitised to  fireworks, playing recordings of baby sounds at a low volume that you  gradually increase can help prepare them for the unfamiliar noises and  cries that will come from the baby once it arrives.  

Start  early in gradually introducing change to the environment.  Don’t fill  the house with baby items all in a oner.  As you bring in the pram, car  seat, cot, nappy changing unit and any other new furniture and in  changing a room into a nursey, let your hound investigate and be  involved.  This will help reduce their anxiety.  Let them be curious and  smell everything.  Be sure to introduce them to the pram carefully,  stationary first, then moving, and then over time teach them how to walk  alongside it.  
The last thing a new parent needs is  to be battling their greyhound having a panic over the pram being near  them on a walk.  Not all hounds will take to this straight away!

Similarly,  exposing them to the various scents of the products you will use on the  baby such as wipes, creams and other such things can also help with  accepting the changes in the home when the baby arrives.  

All these actions, done gradually, will help your hound accept and cope with the changes in a much more positive fashion.

But then, how do you introduce them to the baby itself?

There  is nothing more dangerous than forcing interactions between dogs and  children.  They need to be given the freedom to decide…and even then,  this should be done slowly and carefully to reduce the stress on the  family, the baby and the dog.

If  possible, take a blanket or some other item that the baby’s scent is on,  into the home first.  Let the greyhound sniff this and become familiar  with the scent.  You can reward them during this too.

In  bringing the baby physically into the home, there are several ways in  which you can do this, but one such way would be to keep your greyhound  on a loose lead for a controlled first interaction.  Avoid having any  pressure on the lead so that the dog stays at ease and you don’t create  tension during the interaction.  If, and only if they want to, you can  let them approach to sniff the baby.  Keep this very calm, brief and  gentle.  Once they’ve sniffed, call them away and treat and praise them  for their calm behaviour.

Keep every interaction supervised and calm and reward your hound for good behaviour.  Do not let the baby grab at the dog.

Ensure  the atmosphere is kept calm, don’t overwhelm your dog with too much  excitement and while the entirety of your friend and family circle will  want to come and meet the new arrival, consider staggering these visits  over time after your hound has had a minute to adjust to the new  paradigm.  

Constantly reinforce your hounds calm and gentle behaviour, even well past those initial interactions.

You  want to ensure to constantly reinforce positive interactions between  your baby as it grows, and your hound to ensure their long-term  relationship.

But despite best intentions, there can still be issues.

If  you are finding that your hound is nervous of the baby, make sure to  give them plenty of breaks away from the noise and activity by  encouraging them to retreat to their safe space as needed.  This is  where those pre-prepared enrichment items and chews will come in handy!

Additionally,  there are numerous calming tools you could utilise such as  ThunderShirts, Adaptil or Rescue Remedy diffusers and sprays and  supplemental anti-anxiety treats or tablets such as Zyklene.

If  you think your hound is likely to be nervous or worried, setting up a  plug in diffuser in advance of bringing the baby home can give it time  to settle in the house and help them adapt to the change.

As  we mentioned, jealousy (attention seeking behaviours) is one of the  most common issues people face.  This could be vocalising, nudging or  pawing at you when you’re giving the baby attention, or displaying other  unwanted behaviours such as chewing, peeing in the house and struggling  to settle.
Resource guarding, or signs of defensive or aggressive behaviour whenever the baby is present can also develop.

These  can also be signs of anxiety, stress and discomfort, and telling them  off or otherwise punishing, or trying to correct them, in these moments  can lead to further issues down the line.  

Your  hound is trying to communicate their discomfort, and punishment does  not address the root cause of that, which means the behaviour can  reoccur, often times in worse ways.  If your hound growls, or shows any  signs of discomfort, be calm and immediately separate your hound and  baby.  Baby gates can be incredibly helpful in maintaining a boundary  while you come up with a plan.

As  it’s normally when the dog growls at the child that people immediately  panic and surrender their hound…circumstantially, the warning signs were  there, but they were missed.  Which is easily done!  Between the  baby-brain and exhaustion, when would someone have time to make a mental  note of how often their dog is yawning or licking their lips.  There is  also the ‘kissing’ where a dog licks the child and everyone things it  is positively adorable…when in fact they are extremely uncomfortable  (we’re going to be discussing this in our next post!)

While  it is a perfectly understandable reaction, in panicking, to a dog  growling…it doesn’t mean your hound hates your baby, that things are  going to escalate further or that you cannot come back from this point.   

With the appropriate steps,  this situation is redeemable, and your hound can go on to have a long,  healthy and happy relationship with the children.  While this is  achievable without assistance, we would really recommend seeking  professional help.  

I you had a  behaviourist out before the baby was born, absolutely go right back to  them and ask for further assistance, but should you be looking for the  first time, a qualified positive reinforcement dog trainer or  behaviourist can evaluate your dog’s behaviour and offer tailored  strategies to address any issues.

Make  sure that they have previous experience in handling situations like  this and are using positive reinforcement techniques that will help  build a positive relationship between your greyhound and the baby and  not create further fear, anxiety or stress.

However,  it isn’t always possible for people to financially cope with the added  pressure of hiring a behaviourist.  It is also not always possible for  people to see the light at the end of the tunnel in situations like this  or that it is fair on the hound to be maintained in that situation.

This is where rehoming might be considered, and in some cases, necessary.

If  despite best efforts (and professional help if you seek it) that you  cannot get your hound and baby to safely co-exist, returning them or  surrendering them to a rehoming centre might be the only decision.
It  isn’t an easy one, but if the situation poses a risk to the babies’  safety or the wellbeing of your greyhound…it might be the best one.

Should  this be the case.  When contacting the rehoming centre, be honest about  your hound’s behaviour and what has occurred to date.  They will need  this information to be able to find them the most appropriate home for  them moving forward.

Make sure  to send your hounds belongings with them, such as their bed, favourite  toys and blankets so that they have familiar items and scents to assist  in transitioning into kennels or foster.

It  is a devastating decision, but it is a selfless one, when someone  chooses to put a hound’s welfare in front of their personal feelings and  attachment to them.  Having stood hugging and crying with many owners  who have made this decision…the hounds are loved; surrendering isn’t a  case of them not being loved.  They will just be happier in a different  environment.