dogs and homebirth

[Honey693]

For those of you that have dogs what did you do with them during labor? We don't have anyone in town that can watch our dog, boarding isn't an option since we would have to make a reservation and I can't think of anything besides crating him in the laundry room. I'd feel really bad if he was crated during my entire labor though. With our hospital birth he was crated for 10 hours and I made my dad stop at the house and let him out before he came to the hospital.

[Engineering_Mama]

We didn't do anything with our dogs during my labor. They just hung out on the couch like they normally do. They must have gone by the birth pool several times over the course of the day. It was on the path from the couch to the doggie door, but honestly I don't even remember seeing them.

[CoopersMommy0308]

We're not planning on doing anything with our dog during our birth. Not really sure why you want the dog out of the house while your laboring? I imagine our dog will sleep on the couch or go hide if it gets too "scary"/noisy for her.

[Honey693]

Originally Posted by CoopersMommy0308

We're not planning on doing anything with our dog during our birth. Not really sure why you want the dog out of the house while your laboring? I imagine our dog will sleep on the couch or go hide if it gets too "scary"/noisy for her.

He's a jumper/barker. Whenever anyone new shows up (so midwife and assistant) he goes insane for 30 minutes. If I thought he'd just relax on the couch or nap in a bedroom I'd be fine with him just hanging out.

[Cuau]

We didn't do anything special , she was just around. She was the one leting us know when the midwifer arrived, otherwise mw would've waited outside for a while.

[bluebirdiemama]

Our dogs stayed in the basement. I didn't want them around me when I was laboring. I would have found it terribly aggravating.
Does your midwife have a helper coming with her? Or anyone else coming to the birth that could let the dog out a couple times?

Although, my second birth was only about 6 hours, my first being 18. Maybe it will happen so fast that the dog would be fine in the crate?

[goldenwillow]

We did nothing with ours. He got in my face just prior to birth, just had him go outside. I can't imagine crating our dog while in labor. I think that would cause more stress/anxiety because it is caged. Our dog instinctively knew what was happening and let us be for the most part.

[jorona]

My dogs will be baby-gated in the kitchen for the birth. This is because my girl is protective of me and will not want to let others near me when she figures out that something is going on. It will be easier on both of us to bring her in to see me and the baby afterward.

[Beltane]

This is my first home birth with 7 greyhounds in the house! They have such a short burst of energy, that I believe they will calm down about 30 minutes after the midwife arrives. I have a twin bed and the birth pool in my dining room (and a bathroom) so the puppers really don't need to be in there if I don't want them to be. I'm hoping everything goes well.....

[Rodeo Mama]

Our dog is a jumper/barker, too. Our midwife was fine with the dog bugging her for a few minutes and then the dog calmed down. She did get a bit antsy and in my face at the end when I was moaning and pushing, so we crated here for about an hour at the end.

[shelleyd]

I considered crating my dog for my homebirth too. In the end we just decided that the dog was dh's responsibility. If the dog was barking or getting in the way, he would crate him in the basement. If labor was long he would make sure the dog was let out and fed. In the end my labor was really short and I don't even remember what we did with the dog since I really left it in dh's hands. My mind was not on the dog and he never got in my face to remind me of his presence. I think the dog just stayed in our bedroom the whole time and I labored in the living room. I say just designate somebody (probably your dh who knows the dog well) to be responsible for the dog and don't worry about it. If he is crated for a long labor, he'll survive! Good luck.

[mysticmomma]

Our golden retriever quietly paced outside the door and laid on the floor near me.

[spatulagirl]

Our dogs are also very jumpy and barky. I had DH put them in the garage. They sleep in our room and they are big lickers and very hairy and I just couldn't deal with it. They were around for early labor but when things got intense, away they went.

[caned & able]

My SIL had her first baby in a water pool. The picture of the birth had my brother and the dogs welcoming the new one to the world.

It was priceless!

[momasana]

We put ours in the garage because we were fostering a dog who was a little bit spazzy. I don't think we'll do anything special this time around with our two family dogs. If they get upset or bothersome we will put them outside or in our garage.

[russsk]

I had a hospital birth last time around in part because I couldn't think of what to do with one of our dogs, who had major issues. We almost never had company over because of him, but when it was unavoidable (a repairman or something) we used to give him some valium our vet prescribed for him. He was also noise phobic and would take the valium for the Fourth of July. It really helped him relax and not freak out about things.

For a dog without major issues, though, I would first try to train him not to bark. Can you train him to go to a crate or something whenever someone knocks? Or at least sit quietly?

[macly]

A couple thoughts...I agree with previous poster about there is still time to work on things before birth. Start inviting people over who he knows (i.e. less exciting) and reward him for calm behavior. If that's too much for him, put him in the laundry room with a kong or other exciting mind occupying toy for his exciting 30 minutes, then let him out and try again. If you exercise him beforehand that will help take the edge off his excitement to hopefully help him be successful. If you can get a lot of success this way, start bringing in strangers for the same process. Remember, take small steps toward success in the beginning, and slowly increase your criteria.

Have your pup meet your midwife before the birth, ideally more than once, in your house. Repeat this process, and hopefully it will help him prepare for the actual birth.

If it's really just the first 30ish minutes that are exciting for him, put him in the laundry room (again with kongs, etc.) until he calms down and then let him out. This is what we have to do with our oldest dog when visitors come, and hearing the sounds of the house before seeing the visitors really, really helps.

If it looks like getting him prepared to be out and about for the birth is not going to work, start getting him used to the laundry room or crate as a GREAT place. Put him in there often (multiple times a day) always with great, yummy things and slowly increase the time spent there. Feed him there as well. Tire him out during early labor by taking him for walks when you're wanting to walk anyway. Buy a few kong type toys, stuff them with goodies, and put them in the freezer. When it's time to put him in the laundry room, pull the goodies out of the freezer and he will have entertainment for a long time. Couple that with the walk and chances are pup will be happy to sleep away the part of your labor where you can't have him around. You can always employ a friend whose job is to come every few hours and let pup out to potty, play, etc.

I completely understand where you are coming from. We have 3 dogs, including one pup who will be about 7 months at our HB. I think my oldest will do better this time around than our previous hospital birth because we won't have disappeared for a day and a half, and he'll hear the entire progression. My dogs are regularly crated for multiple hours at a time, but they also think of their crates as a great place and even seek them out for naps. There is still time to get your pup to this place if he is not already.

If you need anymore ideas, please feel free to ask/PM me. I teach obedience and agility classes, so I've got experience with many types of dogs. Holler if needed, and good luck!!

[WingonWing]

We plan on ours being there if it works well for everyone. He's part of our family and having him there to welcome the baby and see how she arrived is on our list of the indirect benefits of homebirth!

He generally calms down in about 10 minutes--he's a very exuberant lab.

BUT--if he starts getting nervous and thinks the midwives are trying to hurt me or something, my parents will come get him and take him home with them to play. For us, even though he spends the day in the basement while I'm at work, this is too important an event to put him down there. I think that would cause more problems than solutions in the long run.

I would suggest trying to find a pet sitter that won't mind being on call. That way you'll have someone with your dog.

[moonjunio]

I expect that we will use the garage and backyard, or maybe get a temp baby gate. My lab is spazzy with visitors, but she does calm down after overwhelming them for a minute... My real concern is that she will get out the front door because she will bolt and doesn't come back on her own.

The barking is going to be an issue though, that might drive me nuts. If possible I will have a friend pick her up, but she might be calmest in her crate if all else fails.

[corrio]

I crated my dogs during my labor, becasue I know my dog is very snoopy and would want to see/smell what is going on.. Very little barking during the whole event and was out of the crate with in half of hour after the birth.. I did have problems with my cat.. LOL She wanted to mother me