[NAGDU] Dog and New Baby

[Jeff Crouch]

Hello.
My wife and I brought our first baby home from the hospital a month ago. I
have a guide dog from the foundation. The experience was interesting to
say. I was out of town when my wife went into labor and therefore my dog
and I went right to the hospital. The staff was very professional and left
my dog alone. We were there for 7 days and my partner in crime absolutely
had no issues with the whole experience and took it like a champ. Upon
arriving home the only thing that I needed to watch was my dog wanting to
lick my daughter. Every now and then I will let Mitsi sniff my daughter
when she is swaddled but don't let her nose get close to her face. Other
than that she does excellent. You know your dog the best and what he or she
will do. Our dogs are very in tuned to what happens when my wife or in your
case you are pregnant. The only other big tip I can suggest is making sure
that you have a garbage can that locks like a diaper genie or something
similar that way your four-legged friend will attempt to get into it. If
you would like any advice or want to talk please email me off list. I wish
you a happy healthy and safe pregnancy.

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.

Thanks and warmest regards.

Jeff Crouch

Board Member: National Federation of the Blind of Michigan

Vice President, Michigan Association of Blind Students



On Wed, Nov 14, 2018, 18:12 Alysha via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I'm interested to hear anyone's experiences of bringing home a new baby
> with
> a guide dog. I'm due with my first baby in January and want to make sure
> thins go smoothly for everyone involved. Did you find any strategies
> particularly helpful in introducing and accustoming your dog to the baby?
> Were there any unexpected struggles or things you wish you had done with
> your dog to help the transition go well? Everything I've read online says
> it's important to very closely supervise all interactions between kids and
> dogs no matter how much you trust your dog, but much of that advice relies
> on reading body language that I might not notice unless I was in constant
> physical contact with my dog. Especially as your child became mobile, did
> you find it easy to know if your dog was becoming stressed or anxious du to
> the child's actions? I'd appreciate any thoughts or advice!
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Alysha
>
> _______________________________________________
> NAGDU mailing list
> NAGDU at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> NAGDU:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/k8tvv2%40gmail.com
>