[NAGDU] Guide Dogs and Babies

[Star Gazer]

				You’ve gotten some good suggestions. 
My dog was a rock star when I was pregnant with my first. Unfortunately, she wasn’t happy once the baby was here which earned her a career change. 
She didn’t hurt the baby, she just wasn’t happy guiding, she’d run me into things, pooped on the floor, woke me up just as I’d fallen asleep that sort of thing.  
I’m not sure there is much you can do, some dogs (and this applies to pet dogs too) adjust and some don’t. 

There is a reason you see and hear of people looking for new homes for pets once a baby happens, very few of them say “aww, f**ck it, I don’t want this dog anymore”. 

Whatever happens, things will be fine. 
The dog that wasn’t happy with my baby died about ten years ago after living her last few years as a beloved pet.  That baby is now a teenager and loves dogs.  We adopted a pet dog a couple years ago largely at her request and she’s been wonderful with him.  She’s deeply interested in dogs and how they help with ptsd as well as dogs assisting with search and rescue. She loves pit bulls who are one most misunderstood and mistreated breeds acording to a friend of mine. 

This may not be what you want to hear. All I can say is that success has a broad definition. 

I don’t use a dog anymore and I don’t miss it.  If you had told me this would happen when I was pregnant with my first, I would have told you you were crazy. What I found for me was that the kid architecture and the guide dog architecture didn’t integrate well. The dog wants to work but it’s butt cold out, too cold for you to want to take the baby out.  While the school solution is “have the fiancé help” that may not be what you want to do. You may *want* to be snuggled up with the baby.  

As your kid gets older they may develop interests that are easier to do without a guide dog. 

I found maintaining the dog’s schedule very difficult.  Doing anything with kids takes a very long time, it is an experience v. a task. Much of what you do is about bonding… when my son was a baby, I used to tell him I was getting him ready for prom when I was bathing him.  It was fun to say and is one of those things that makes no sense.  My preschooler would hang out with me during bath time and one day she asked “Is he going to prom tonight?” and then she and I talked about what prom was.  It was fun. 
Even going out is more about the experience, taking a kid to eat ice crem at mcdonald’s can take a good hour, the ketchup dispenser is new, everybody there is there to eat but that doesn’t mean they all want to interact, the world is literally a new place for them every day. 

As kids get older you switch from physical tasks to emotional ones.  I can remember explaining tort law to one of my kids at 9”30 at night one evening. Yes, I could have put the discussion off, but we were rolling so why stop? 

A lot of this will make emotional sense when you get there. People speak of babies and children like objects “take the kids to the library” “bring the baby with you” “leave the baby” “get help with the baby” just like they speak of luggage or a house project.  That’s not how you feel, it’s just the language we use and language is powerful.     


Deffinately talk with women who have fulfilled what you want to do. Maybe things will work the way you want. The worst that can happen is you think “this was a dumb idea” and then you do something else.  
Sent from Mail for Windows 10

From: Julie McGinnity via NAGDU
Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2021 6:29 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Julie McGinnity
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

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