[blparent] (introducing guide dog to baby) it somces closer

[Jo Elizabeth Pinto]

Hi.  I hope you don't have any trouble introducing your guide dog to the new 
baby.  Michael and Eva have given you some good tips on how to get started. 
Just know that the transition doesn't always go as smoothly as you might 
hope.  It might be easier since you are the father and have a guide dog, 
than it was for me as the mother.

My guide dog, a black Lab, is wonderful.  But she had gotten sort of used to 
the fact that it was just the two of us.  Gerald moved into my condo in 
December, and Sarah was born that next March.  Ballad made the adjustment to 
having Gerald around well enough, but she got really jealous when the baby 
was born.  First, her jealousy manifested itself in bouts of vomiting and 
diarrhea.  This happened about every six weeks, and at first, we thought 
Ballad must have been eating something she shouldn't have.  But we were very 
careful about her food, and obsessive about leaving nothing around that she 
could get into, and still the sick spells went on.  Eventually, Ballad 
started having blood in her stools.  She was diagnosed with colitis.  She 
may have been prone to colitis anyway, but my local vet and the doctors at 
the guide dog school think the attacks were triggered by stress over the new 
baby in the house.  We've had to put Ballad on a small daily dose of ptyalin 
powder, plus a strict diet of specially formulated dog food that costs $87 
for 25 pounds.

The next thing that happened was that Ballad started chewing the baby's 
toys.  At first, I thought it was just nervous dog behavior, although Ballad 
had never been a chewer.  But she's a smart dog, and the chewing has been 
very systematic.  Wood blocks and a stuffed animal have been munched, but 
what has gotten me is that Ballad has depopulated Noah's Ark, one animal at 
a time.  Noah is left alone now with one turtle.  (I'm ordering some new 
animals to keep the poor man company.)  All I can do is keep the toys picked 
up as much as possible, but the thing is, Ballad has never tried to chew 
anything else of mine or Gerald's even if it happens to be left out.  She's 
never been much interested in chew toys of her own, either.  So I have to 
chalk it up to ongoing jealousy.  I can only pay as much attention to Ballad 
as possible and hope for the best, but it's been hard because as a baby, 
Sarah needed a lot of my time.  Now as a toddler, she's interested in making 
friends with Ballad.  The dog has never gotten aggressive at all, but she's 
remained aloof.

As
I said, it might be easier with you as the father, but I've also found that 
working a dog while trying to lug around a baby, a diaper bag, a car seat, 
and who knows what else can be a real challenge.  Hopefully your situation 
will go smoothly, but be ready to keep in touch with the school where you 
got the dog in case problems crop up.  Good luck!

Jo Elizabeth

Until lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify 
the hunters.--African Proverb

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Babcock, Michael A." <michael.babcock at gwhosting.net>
Sent: Monday, December 14, 2009 8:36 AM
To: "NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [blparent] it somces closer

> guys;
> I went to an ultra sound last week, oh and let me tell you, that, was, an 
> experience. I was amazed.
> Second of all, i'm doing shopping for christmas gifts for my friends and 
> family right now and it made me think, wow, next christmas, my kid will be 
> about 8 months old, that's scary as hell.
> (pardon the language)
> I'm excited but very scared also. I'm curious however, do you guys any of 
> you, have guide dogs, and how are your dogs around babies? I ask because 
> mine, sheffield, i think will be ok. My soon to be wife's aunt's kid who 
> was like a year and a half would pole his tail, and smile. Sheffield laid 
> there, and i think he didn't get tired of it, but at one point he reached 
> up and licked JR. in the face, this scared JR. and he ran away, but what 
> do you guys think is the best way to introduce a guide dog to a baby? I 
> know this isn't a guide dog list, but i thought that that is a relevant 
> question. I fear sheffield will be very very protective.
> thanks a lot
> Mike
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