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Big Change Coming - Anything To Look Out For?


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Hello All!

 

Lots of changes happening. My daughter, Nakoma and I have moved into my fiance's (Jeff) house who has service dog named Atlas ... Nakoma and Atlas get along great (Atlas is an American Dingo... which is awesome); they are the best of friends. :wub: One of the hard parts is that Atlas always has to be with Jeff, so when we are leaving the house, Nakoma has to stay and watch us leave with Atlas. Nakoma is fine when we get home, but when we leave, it kills me to see Nakoma watch us leave without him. I'm sure he does not understand. :(

 

Jeff and I learned a month ago that we are going to have a baby!!! OMG!!! We are due in less than two months!!!! (This explains why I've been tired and my pants have been snug, and why I've been out of breath lately when running, lol.... .... And ooohhhh.. ... so that wasn't the stomach flu? Oops). :D

 

Anyway, we exercise the heck out of Nakoma and Atlas (really really exercise them), and they are both wonderful dogs and in great health, and they are very energetic. Nakoma is also very protective of my daughter (who is 10) (which is a good thing. He just doesn't understand that when I go to tickle her or pick her up for any reason, or to chase her around, that it's all fun and play, and not hurting her).

 

Nakoma and Atlas do seem to compete for attention from Jeff and I at certain times (usually at the end of the day, just before bedtime). And we deal with that.

 

Now that we have a little one on the way, I want to know if there is anything I should watch out for. To sum it up: they are great, intelligent, loving and wonderful dogs, they are protective of my daughter, and they compete for attention when it's time to wind down. How do I make sure to let them know that the little one is not a puppy on the low end of the totem pole, but is to be treated like the rest of us?

 

Or... am I overthinking?

 

Thanks!

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not sure if this helps,but when my daughter had my first grand daughter mooka just new it was a baby and was extra gentle around her,and when she made any noise and i mean any noise at all he would look at my daughter like why are you not moving ,and he would go to the bedroom door and sit there and whine and whine till she went and got the baby,he would then just go back to his bed or the couch and lay down and go to sleep,but if she would sneeze or cough he was right there sniffing her,he is still like that and my grand daughters will be 2 and 4,and he has never had a mean bone in him towards them

and also congrats and good luck

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Thank you Sherab.

 

And thank you, too, Oocahtah. I know they do not have a mean bone in their body. I just see them already competing for attention between themselves, and I just hope that they don't see this new little one as one they can compete with too. Nakoma has alerted me once to a baby crying once when we stayed a friend's house; kind of in the same manner as you explained it with the "why aren't you moving" urgency. So that is comforting.

 

I also know for sure that we will not be cutting out their exercise time, so their energy will be spent for sure (as will mine, lol). I haven't stopped running with them (though I am just a bit slower these days) and I already signed up for a race that will require training (they are my training buddies). I think I'm just nervous about jealousy and looking to see what I can do to ease their minds. .... one more month to go.

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Congratulations on bringing a new person into this world. Awesome.

I have some thoughts

....My three AIdogs know exactly where I am 24/7 when I'm home. My mission is to know where they are 24/7 as well.

....I always observe their behavior when new friends arrive, big, small and tiny (especially the tiny babies) to make sure they behave with good manners. They know the drill.

....I find that my three are very gentle with the littlest ones, very gentle and playful with the toddlers, play, follow, and protect the older children and respectful to the elders. It's a beautiful thing.

I have a strong feeling that Nakoma will learn the pattern of your life with your guidance.

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Congratulations! Agree with miz Molly...the AI dogs are SO perceptive. As I've stated before, Kaposia knows the difference between the little granddaughter and the bigger grandsons, and plays with them very differently. Very gentle with the little girl. She will be bossy with me sometimes (not filling that Kong Toy right away, nudge, nudge!) but I've never seen her try to boss the children. In contrast, I didn't bring our Golden Retriever puppy in to the family until our youngest was four years old, and even then the Golden DID try to dominate and boss the little guy. We really had to watch and train and train until the dog realized that even the tiny human out ranked her in the pack. That said, you have a real mix of energies with the two dogs. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. As you know, parenting is 7/24/365 vigilance. Wishing you much joy, and lots of strength and energy to stay on top of it all!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Congrats to you and all the new family!

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  • 4 weeks later...

I see what you are asking, the competition between the dogs, and how might that effect their behavior to the babe? Congratulations, by the way.

 

I feel certain that if you police them at the beginning, everything will work out okay.

 

I suspect they will split up the duties. I mean, Nakoma may take on babysitting, knowing that this is an important job, while Atlas sees it as clear sailing to get you guys to himself. It could work perfectly...until the little one is in the high chair throwing food. Then the competition begins again!

 

Best of luck, and please keep us in mind for pictures. We will want to know how you are doing.

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