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Is it okay to have dogs and cats around a newborn baby?
I have not had the baby yet, but I’m a few months away. I basically need advice whether it is safe to have animals in the same household as a newborn. I have two male pitbulls that are sort of jealous of me, and I am not sure how they will behave with my newborn taking all of my attention. Also, Im not sure about the cat either, I dont want the cat in my baby’s face. I need advice. Thanks!
Yes! It is perfectly fine!
You may want to take them to some obedience classes to re-assert your dominance, and keep them on leashes for the first few days (just so you have easy access to give corrections), but contrary to popular belief, pits are GREAT family dogs if socialized and trained. Are they getting enough exercise? Remember, tired dogs are good dogs!
Just remember, if your dogs see you as Alpha, then you will have no problems. You said that you are a few months away, that should get you plenty of time to clear up any issues!
About the cat, they are very adaptable creatures, just keep pushing her away if she gets to close, but be sure to let her investigate to. Cats are very curious, just let her sniff and get a good look while you hold the baby.
if the pitbulls are dominent and jealous of you, then you may want to reconsider keeping them.
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We had to get rid of our cat due to moving to a bigger place that would not allow cats. I can’t give you much actual advice,except my 2 brothers and i grew up in a house with multiple cats and dogs our whole life and turned out fine. Good luck!
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Give the dogs away, as you say they already have jealousy issues…..Don’t take them to the pound, actually make an effort to find them a good home.
The cat…You can’t have the litter around the baby…If you keep the litter box in another room like a laundry room, you should be fine. Keep an eye on the baby and if the baby is in a bedroom keep the door shut and use a baby monitor.
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Healthwise, it is safe. You do need to be careful since you admit your dogs may have jealousy issues. Keep an eye on them and the baby out of the dogs’ reach at ALL times. Watch the cat, too- not because he might "steal the baby’s breath" or other nonsense, but just because all animals can be unpredictable.
I have a dog and 3 cats who have done extremely well with my daughter (1 year old). They are very tolerant- she loves to hug them these days, and if they don’t want to be bothered they just get out of her way. But one of them seems to like her attention!
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former vet tech
Pitbulls are a type of dog that I wouldn’t ever have around me and especially my baby if the dog was jealous at all. See if you can give them to a family member or a friend.
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Pitbulls that are well behaved are not a problem but since you describe them as jealous of you i would personally be worried.
We have 5 cats and have never had a problem with them. We kept them out of the babies room when he was an infant, and they generally ignore him when he is up, besides playing with him and running away from him when he is being devilish.
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Never have these animals around a baby. The dogs will pose a big problem. The cats may not scratch but they could curl up in the crib alongside the baby. There have been incidents of pit bulls attacking small children in my town and terrible injuries have been inflicted. I am not a dog hater by any means but a baby is far more important than the animals. Think very hard on this one.
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Yes as long as the animals are well behaved. As for the dogs, make sure they get lots and lots of exercise. Them knowing basic commands helps a lot too (sit, down, leave it, back). The hardest thing is getting the exercise for them. Remember to NEVER leave the baby unattended where the dogs have access to the baby. If in the nursery, make sure the door is closed. Not that I don’t trust your pups… you’d rather be safe than sorry. I am also not going after the breed… I heard a horror story about a boston terrier that attacked a 9 month olds face. As for the cats, I have no experience. Good luck.
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I grew up with cats and dogs as well as my brothers and sisters. My youngest grew up with a German Shepherd (the dog was protective, not jealous).
If the dog has issues, DO NOT keep them, sorry, call animal rescue.
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The cats should be fine, but be careful about the dogs because they might get territorial with you.
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The cat shouldn’t be a problem – most cats stay well away from little babies (and even further away from toddlers!). As long as you keep an eye on the pair of them (cat & baby) and teach them both how to behave around each other then it will be peachy.
When I was pregnant, I’m sure the cat knew – she spent a lot of time lying on my tummy getting kicked. When our son was born my husband brought home a blanket that we’d been using with him to get her used to the new smell. When I came home with our son, husband sorted out the baby and I spent some time with the cat, so she didn’t feel left out and so she could smell him on me. Our cat is aware of the baby but really doesn’t pay him that much attention, he’d love to get his hands on her and give her a good cuddle but he’s too little to understand how to do that nicely so we intervene and ’show’ him how to stroke her.
The dogs are another matter altogether. Pitbulls can be dangerous and unpredictable around babies/children and if they are already jealous of your time then it is a risk I would not be happy to take. Even a seemingly placid pitbull can suddenly turn, whether you see it coming or not and the results are always tragic.
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Yes! It is perfectly fine!
You may want to take them to some obedience classes to re-assert your dominance, and keep them on leashes for the first few days (just so you have easy access to give corrections), but contrary to popular belief, pits are GREAT family dogs if socialized and trained. Are they getting enough exercise? Remember, tired dogs are good dogs!
Just remember, if your dogs see you as Alpha, then you will have no problems. You said that you are a few months away, that should get you plenty of time to clear up any issues!
About the cat, they are very adaptable creatures, just keep pushing her away if she gets to close, but be sure to let her investigate to. Cats are very curious, just let her sniff and get a good look while you hold the baby.
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I have worked at 2 boarding kennels with LOTS of pits, none have ever been a problem, and yet I have seen more vicious labs than I care to count. I am also raising a 16 month old son with 2 dogs
Well, it is impossible to say how any dog will react to a child. Some dogs that are very passive have a difficult time adjusting to a new baby in the home. But most of the time, most dogs will adjust. I have four dogs and they all handled the birth of our first differently. The smallest was the worst. He would pee on our baby occasionally for the first few weeks. So we really had to give him special attention when he was good and then we kenneled him up when he was naughty. He now ignores her completely. My pitbull/lab mix was wonderful. Very loving- although with all dogs you need to monitor 24/7 them around your child especially for the two years or so.
If you think your dogs will be a problem then take them to obedience training if they have not already been trained. If they have been trained then just watch them very, very closely. And try to prepare the dogs for the arrival- by putting up all the baby furniture and toys etc weeks before your due date. And when the baby is first born take a blanket or two that your new baby as touched and send it home with your husband. Let the dogs and cats get a good smell of the baby before he/she comes home.
As long as you are extra careful, then having pets generally is not a problem.
I agree with Jude’s Mama- the breed is really not the issue. It is how each individual dog reacts. My parents have a 5 pound Maltese that is menace. He bits everyone he doesn’t like (and that is just about everyone). The only reason he has not been put down is that he is not so old he hardly has any teeth so the bits really don’t hurt.
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As long as their are no allergies and the house is kept clean then animals are fine.
I wouldn’t want pit bulls around a newborn or any kid for that matter though…sorry, can you find them a good home??
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Are you the pack leader in your house? Do the dogs do everything you want? Have then not shown aggression in the past? Then you are probably fine. But if you cannot control them and they don’t listen to you, you need to reconsider.
Most dogs will be fine if the owner knows what they are doing. If you wait until the baby is in the house to have control over them, you may have a real problem.
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Never let animals near the baby, you can keep them in the house but don’t leave them alone with the baby and don’t let them lick the baby or make any direct contact.
Cats carry germs that can make babies very sick so make sure you keep litter trays and such out of kitchens and away from food preparation areas.
Some animals will get jealous, some won’t. You must bear in mind that having dogs in the house is like sharing a house with wolves, they can turn at any moment. I’m not saying your dogs are horrid but you’ve said they get jealous. Is it possible to get your partner to spend lots of time doting on them? If you are in any real doubt and concerned then you could try and find them a new home, sad as it is you don’t want to risk your baby’s safety. There are plenty of incidents where dogs have attacked babies (albeit times when adults have perhaps irresponsibily allowed them access to babies when they should know better, such as if the dog has been aggressive before), you know your dogs hopefully.
It is okay to have pets in the house, you just have to be sensible and vigilant and maximise distance between them and the baby.
If you’re in any doubt but don’t want to lose your animals then just keep them out of the room the baby’s in until he/she is much older or keep baby out of reach of them (and to reiterate, don’t leave baby alone with them).
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I have two cats and they are fine with the baby. One doesn’t go near him the other is jealous, will want to lay on my lap when I have him. I grew up with dogs, as long as you are careful with them and the baby, you are fine.
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Normally I would say dogs are ok, but since they are pitbulls AND they are already showing jealousy, you might want to be careful and see how they react to the baby before deciding what to do with them.
You need to be more careful with cats, because cats have been known to suffocate babies. Some people say that the cats smell the milk on the baby and try to get it out of the baby’s mouth. Others say the cat gets jealous or just doesn’t know any better and can lay on the baby’s face and suffocate him/her.
So… dogs are fine, cat’s are not. But in your situation, I’d be careful with the dogs, too.
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if the pets are jealous then you might want to consider not having them around the baby or you just have to be extra carefull when their around the baby and train them
we have 2 cats and they keep trying to sit on my lap when im feeding my son or lay next to him when hes on the bed but they dont get in his face or hurt him they are just facinated with him
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mummy to a 7 week old
the cat is probably ok if you keep it out of the bed and things where the baby sleeps to keep the hair out; the pitbulls, sorry i wouldn’t trust them with the cat, much less my baby, esp. if they tend to be jealous…
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