[NAGDU] Guide Dogs and Babies

[nellie at culodge.com]

Hello Julie,

I can't speak about having a guide dog when pregnant.  I do know when I was
pregnant my doctor and many guide owners that I knew said:
Before baby gets there, take the dog into the nursery and play with him.
Let him smell the crib/bassinette and give tons of praises
Let him smell blankets and give lots of positive vibes.  Do that several
times a day.

Be sure when you get home with baby, you give puppy lots of your undivided
attention, which I know is hard with a new precious one.  Maybe give your
dog lots of new toys so he doesn't feel left out.

HTH, Janell
-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Julie McGinnity via
NAGDU
Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2021 5:28 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Julie McGinnity <kaybaycar at gmail.com>
Subject: [NAGDU] Guide Dogs and Babies

Hi everyone,

I'm not trying to be cute, though I suppose the subject line is pretty
adorable. My fiance and I are expecting a baby in November, our first baby.
I am, of course, excited and terrified all at once. My current, second, dog
is 9 years old and going relatively strong. He seems unphased by all the
changes that have happened thus far. He is a big yellow labrador who clings
to me pretty fiercely. Although I'm not concerned he will hurt the baby, I
am hoping I can find ways to make the changes easier for him. I just moved,
so we are learning a new area. I am sensitive to his age and want to take
care with him as much as possible.

I have a couple of questions:

Have any of you successfully gone through big transitions with older dogs?

I've heard that some guide dog handlers cannot work their dogs after a
certain point in their pregnancies? Is this common? My dog is large with a
strong pull, but he has slowed down a little bit in the last year, though
nothing I can't or don't want to work with.

Are there ways I should be preparing my dog for baby's arrival? Are there
ways I should introduce him to the baby? Are these questions silly? Lol

I plan on babywearing as much as possible and figure I can do this with a
dog. Are there baby carriers that make working a dog easier?

Ok, I think that's all for now. Thank you so much for any responses.

Julie



--
Julie A. McGinnity
MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of Law,
JD Candidate 2023

_______________________________________________
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/nellie%40culodge.com