Showing posts with label Introducing Baby into Home with Pets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Introducing Baby into Home with Pets. Show all posts

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Need Some Advice


Okay, here's the deal: Off and on since we've been expecting little M the dogs have been relieving themselves the house. We aren't sure if it is one or both dogs, but we are getting rather annoyed by the repeat occurrences. D has threatened to get rid of the guilty culprit, but I am rather hesitant. Other than the messing, we have great dogs that we both love very much.

I did a little research to see if the accidents were related to pregnancy. What I discovered was not too surprising to me. Dogs have a very acute sense of smell and can smell the different hormones that a pregnant woman produces. It is not unusual for dogs (and other pets) to behave differently when a family is expecting. The behavior may vary from remoteness, overprotectiveness, behavioral changes (such as accidents), etc.

Do dogs (and other pets) sometimes see a pregnant woman and/or the unborn child as a threat or do they simply sense change and feel the need to react? Regardless, does anyone have any practical advice for us on how to stop this unacceptable behavior? I desperately want to introduce our new baby into our home with acceptance from all our pets.