When I adopted Scout over 6 years ago, she came with some serious luggage. With a lot of hard work, she's come from this sick little goober who would hide and refuse to come out...
to this super happy dog who still has some struggles...
I thought she was a Corgi mix. What I didn't know was that she might not even be a Corgi, but she is for sure Chow and who knows what else. She's just short... like me. Her herding instinct is huge as is the Chow protectiveness in her. She is still rather fearful and since I have become pregnant, she's gotten even more protective of me. On top of that, she's eight now. Her vision isn't what it used to be and she has a touch of arthritis.
Over the July 4th holiday, she snapped at my brother-in-law out of the blue and got him on the nose. Cue panic.
I take our adoption of Scout seriously. I made a commitment to take care of her for life. We thought that with the baby coming it might be time to find her a new home, but knowing my dog, that would be very traumatic for her. She's a smart dog and is good with her commands. She even has some rally and advanced obedience skills, but it doesn't matter how good she is at sit and stay when she gives no warning and nips someone in the face. Of course the Chipmunk's safety comes first. So we made an appointment with our vet to see what our options might be.
Our amazing vet spent about an hour and a half with us. She did a full workup on Scout and didn't find anything physically that could explain her recent uptick in aggression. She agreed that we had time to safely gauge the situation with the baby and work with a behaviorist to address her fears. I'd always known that Scout was tuned in to my pregnancy, but I just thought she knew something was different. Apparently, my vet says dogs really do know that you are pregnant and that there will be a new pack member. The problem is, that completely freaks my dog out.
The vet knows our girl well and she thinks that she will see Chipmunk as a member of our pack. We are going to work with a behaviorist one-on-one in our home to address some specific things she does (like going buck wild at the door when anyone walks by). We aren't stupid, though. Scout will be in her crate when the baby is awake. They will not hang out together... period. Since James works from home and Chipmunk will be at daycare during the week, this seems completely doable for us. Scout will still get people time outside her kennel for the vast majority of the day.
After she nipped my BIL, I was a mess until we met with the vet. I really didn't see much of an option aside from re-homing her. My mama bear instinct was in high gear and I forgot about the fact that she loves her crate and might even like being in there when the baby is around. When Chipmunk starts moving around and hits toddlerdom, we'll have to reassess the situation, but for now we're feeling pretty okay about Scout and the baby.
I am so, so happy to read this post. Georgia is my world, but I'm passionate about my animals too - so hearing you guys take all the steps to help the process along makes me happy. I agree with you; there will be growing pains along the way, but my hope is for all the babies to get along. And that means us as parents need to learn too.
ReplyDeleteI am so happy for you & little Chipmunk. :) I've missed your posts!
I hope the behaviorist can help smooth things out for Scout. I'm sure she'll be just as protective of Chipmunk as she is of you!
ReplyDeleteAccording to my MIL, the reason she knew she was pregnant with Grey and his younger brother was because the dog became super protective of her. After they were both born, this same dog took it upon herself to protect the babies from any visitors who were disruptive or stressful. More than a few butts were nipped.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I love about this post is that it's a reminder of how important it is to work with pets to acclimate to a baby. Too often, people forget about this and the stress it causes to our furry friends is usually an additional stress most new parents weren't ready for. This is something I've been thinking about a lot with my furry ones, so thank you for this reminder.
I think working with the behaviorist is a great idea. Especially in light of the fact that Scout is a nervous puppy. Though it may not be the easiest path, ultimately I think it will be worth it. Wishing you guys all the best!
I love how proactive you are being with Scout. We were proactive as well with Zoe because she is super protective of me. Now, Zoe is protective of Reagan.
ReplyDeletethis is a great post. So many folks freak out about their dogs and their kids. My dogs are very possessive of me and their space. My older dog has snapped at puppies and everyone was worried how she would be with the baby. Honestly she's never snapped at a human, occasionally growled at my husband if he tried to move her from "HER SPOT", but never snapped or nipped a human. I had no worries about her and the baby and so far we've been right. I was more worried about my boy dog who is younger and bigger and EXTREMELY possessive of mommy. He is now my daughters best friend. He's so protective of her it's crazy. I think you've done the right thing by being so proactive. I once said if my dog bites my potential kids the kid will have to go because my dogs are my life. My perspective has changed a little as my human children have trumped the furry children, but they are all so important. Good for you for thinking ahead....
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to read this and know I am not alone. My dog has a lot of fear and anxiety. One of those fears turned out to be kids. She has come a long way since we first rescued her but she will never be a happy-go-lucky dog. I have shed some tears at the thought of having to find her a new home. We are going to work with her (and perhaps a trainer as well) and hope that we can all live peacefully together. The thought of giving her up breaks my heart so I will do everything I can to make it work.
ReplyDeleteThis is so important to act on before baby is here. As someone who is working with dog boarding and often get dogs that shouldn't be matched with hosts who have children I often think about this. I'm so glad to know you will do all you can to make it work, I really hope it does.
ReplyDeleteAlso, happy to hear that pregnancy is going well :)