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Baby + Rescue pups - recs and advice please


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We lost our beautiful cattle dog X from old age this week and her sister 2 years ago (cancer). It is the first time we have not had dogs in over 11 years and we do not like it so have decided to rescue another dog (or 2). Sounds simple but this time we have a 5 month old baby (I want her  to grow up with dogs like I did) and I am keen for some advice and suggestions to get us all off to the best start possible.

We have decided on cattle dog crosses again and are familiar with their needs (exercise, mental stimulation, companionship etc) so are going in eyes wide open. 

We have found a beautiful 3 year old cattle dog X who has just had a litter of puppies and looking at adopting her + one of her pups. She has a beautiful nature and the rescue says they will choose a pup with the right nature if we want. Thinking is they will keep each other company when we return to work part time and also allow mama to keep one of her bubs with her and help her settle. 

We will be taking the pup to puppy school and botg to a dog club after but also want to get trainers into the home 1-2 times a week for the first few months to help work with us to set the right boundaries and behaviours (all round) to ensure everyone gets used to each other as they all grow.

So looking for recommendations on any good puppy schools (evenings or weekends preferable so hubby and I can both go) as well as a good in home trainer who uses positive reinforcement techniques. We are located NOR between city and joondalup.

Also anyone with any advice on integrating new dogs with babies, feel free to lay it on me. Thanks in advance. 

 

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Keep in mind not all bitches want to live with there own pups & no guarantee it will make her settle any better as the greater amount of time & energy is going to be spent on the puppy unless you work a schedule of time management for both plus a baby that will need the time aswell
I would also not recommend a female puppy .


Personally with a new born in the home i would just take on the older bitch & give her the quality time to adjust to a new life,a little person & all the other changes in her life .Train her to be a great house pet & then look at adding another family member once you have gauged her true nature in your home
Is the rescue BAER testing the puppies for deafness??
If they are potentially selecting the puppy what are they basing the criteria on ??

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Completely agree! and i'm very surprised a rescue has encouraged you to take a pup aswell, i wouldn't.

The pup and mum will be so wrapped up in each other they may not listen to you, and with a baby thats way too much to be taking on.

Females can also get protective around their pups and they don't really show their true self.

I would take the older dog or a pup, not both.

Bare in mind also the older dog may change in personality as her hormones settle after the pups go so give her time, i assume she is being desexed before you get her?

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@Dogsfevr thanks so much for responding. You have raised excellent points- exactly the type of feedback I was looking for. This is a new situation and uncharted territory so thank you for your valuable insight.

It will sound silly but I had not considered that the mum and pup might not get on. That would be a horrible situation to deal with. 

I had drawn up a draft routine to share with a trainer however reflected on it this morning and realised it leaves very little chance for us to enjoy and relax as will either be feeding, playing with, exercising, training, grooming, sleeping with one of the 3 (including baby) all day as their needs will be very different. It also does not have a lot of flex for sickness etc.

I will ask the rescue group about hearing and how they plan to select. I believe they are just getting usual vet checks and they are selecting based on litter observations. Again I looked at this more whilst doing overnight feeds and realise that how they behave in litter can be very different to the real world and does not take into account environmental factors and changes post spay/neuter.

We did adopt our other 2 as 2 y/o pups and did not miss the puppy phase at all. The shelter said the mum would help a lot with easing out puppy behaviours such as chewing and behaviour development but again on looking into it more it assumes mum is well trained and has no issues of her own (which given her circumstances is unlikely)

I really thought getting the pup for her would be in her best interests but now not so much.... hmmmmmmmm

Thinking very much adopting just the mum might be the way to go...

 

Edited by freycee
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@juice thanks also for taking the time to reply. Yes she will be desexed before we get her. I am thinking the whole thing will be a huge change for her so would still get trainers in and really ease her into socialisation so she has a chance to settle into her new body and new environment and her place in our pack. Figure we will keep the weekly in home training up for several months and then a weekly obedience club thereafter (assuming she enjoys that environment, other dogs and activities). This should give us the opportunity to respond early for any issues which might come up.

Thanks again for the reply :)

 

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Most importantly ..has the prospective dog heard/seen human babies ? Not sure what testing this rescue has in place , but it may be wise to enquire . Hopefuly she has been in a foster home and is used to some sort of family life ..and perhaps you could visit ? 
It would be awful to bring her home, pin hopes on her , only to find problems . 

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The rescue said adopting them together will stop the pup chewing ? I call bullshit , and I’d like to see what other rubbish they are spewing to offload 2 at once . 

Have they tested the Mum with kids/ babies ? 

You seem to have a very regimented routine you are planning . Why not just join a local obedience club go once a week , and enjoy the dog ? 

Why do you need an in house trainer if the dog has no issues. ? 

 

Edited by juice
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3 hours ago, persephone said:

Most importantly ..has the prospective dog heard/seen human babies ? Not sure what testing this rescue has in place , but it may be wise to enquire . Hopefuly she has been in a foster home and is used to some sort of family life ..and perhaps you could visit ? 
It would be awful to bring her home, pin hopes on her , only to find problems . 

Hi @Persephone yes we checked this. She has been in foster with a family who has several kids as young as 5 who always have kids over. We will be visiting next week for a long meet and greet and will be asked that she is tested with babies first or does a controlled meet and greet with ours. In the videos we have seen she has very relaxed and happy body language thus far :)  

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We were in a similar situation, except our child was a bit older.. around 24 months instead of 5. Pro's and con's for both sides.. But like others have suggested I would only start with one animal for now. 

 

In our case we opted for an 8 week old puppy from a rescue. Unknown mixed breed, unknown temperament etc. But figured we were starting with a clean slate, with lots of time for puppy to get used to kids, kids to puppy.. To teach them both how to respect eachother, and to desensitise any triggers as they arose. Getting through the puppy teething, chewing, etc took a bit of work for sure! Damages can be minimised with good planning. 

I would be much more cautious with an older dog and a young child. Especially one you have had limited contact with, and even more so being a working/herding breed as a cattle. They can be confident, hard headed, and nippy by nature.

Maybe even consider putting in 6 months working with rescues etc and wait for the little one to grow up some more before extending the family. A 5 month old child isn't really old enough to understand or build those bonds with a dog yet either.. 

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3 hours ago, juice said:

The rescue said adopting them together will stop the pup chewing ? I call bullshit , and I’d like to see what other rubbish they are spewing to offload 2 at once . 

Have they tested the Mum with kids/ babies ? 

You seem to have a very regimented routine you are planning . Why not just join a local obedience club go once a week , and enjoy the dog ? 

Why do you need an in house trainer if the dog has no issues. ? 

 

We have a pretty good routine with bub so it just about fitting the dog into that so that their needs are not overlooked or neglected. We anticipate areas which will need work from day 1 such as lead walking with a stroller and to ensure hubs and I are training consistently. Would prefer to have the trainer on hand and scale back rather than not have in place and then have to find one etc.

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27 minutes ago, juice said:

I’m not sure why you need a trainer to walk down the road with a buggy , it’s not hard .  You seem to be overthinking the whole thing . 

It is if they are not well lead trained, don't have good recall, react to cats/birds, have the working dog tendancy to snap or chase things with wheels etc. This is the 7th rescue I will have had in my life and all have had issues which need time and the right support to work through and I am not too proud to ask for help. It has always been worth the effort. With a baby in the house the stakes are higher than they have been before and we want this to be a success. Would prefer to do the responsible thing and have the right support to hand if we need it. It is much easier to cancel a trainer than to try to find the right one after an issue has come up. It is a personal preference and will make both hubby and I feel more comfortable. If you know a good trainer that uses positive reinforcement techniques in Perth, would love to know the details.

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@KobiD skrry i skipped your response! Great to know you had good success. I am not worried about chewing and destroying things, agree planning is key and things will get damaged along the way, but they are just possessions :) more worried about chewing the baby! 

I will be looking at the pups this week too- i know there are no guarantees despite selection but definitely don't one which is very shy or timid. The idea of them growing together and training habits in a positive environment is absolutely the big positive for getting a puppy. 

We want to get one now as the house just feels so empty without a dog in it - especially when it is just me and bub all day or if hubby is away for work. Don't think i can deal with another 6 months mat. leave in a hoise without one. Just doesn't feel like our home...

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That's understandable too! I recall the first 12 months of puppy life being a lot of hard work. Much harder than the first 12 months of child life. Just very fast paced, and when you'd think you have something sorted something else would present. 3 years on and I think that shes a great day, but in another 12 months she'll be a solid dog! I've been saying that the last 2 years. haha!

An adult dog that you have had some time with may be the right choice. You'll know what you have, and from what I gather you won't be leaving dog and child alone anyway. Then when little one gets a bit older it may be the right time to add the second.


 

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Hello! :wave: 

 

You’ll want to check out Family Paws Parent Education (and here) for their dog/baby/toddler content, and Reisner Veterinary Behaviour for stacks of dog bite prevention info. You have a few Family Paws Parent Educators in Perth so there might even be a Dogs & Storks or Dogs & Toddlers presentation you could attend.
 

Re trainers, I would enquire with

- PATS in Perth / Charlotte Smithson

- Morley Vetcenter / Laura Ryder (check out her awesome puppy socialisation video)

- Ashleigh Leece, a Family Paws Parent Educator who is SOR but may travel or have suggestions.


Best wishes!

Edited by Papillon Kisses
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1 hour ago, Papillon Kisses said:

Hello! :wave: 

 

You’ll want to check out Family Paws Parent Education (and here) for their dog/baby/toddler content, and Reisner Veterinary Behaviour for stacks of dog bite prevention info. You have a few Family Paws Parent Educators in Perth so there might even be a Dogs & Storks or Dogs & Toddlers presentation you could attend.
 

Re trainers, I would enquire with

- PATS in Perth / Charlotte Smithson

- Morley Vetcenter / Laura Ryder (check out her awesome puppy socialisation video)

- Ashleigh Leece, a Family Paws Parent Educator who is SOR but may travel or have suggestions.


Best wishes!

Thankyou soooo much!!! Those materials are great and will call those trainers tomorrow ❤❤❤

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Kalmpets training centre would be a good start & would have a good base of at home trainers .

Other things to ask is how is the dog traveling in the car especially if baby is in the back .
Nothing wrong with working with a trainer ,would be nice if more potential owners actually considered that into there pet ownership plan instead of the crap excuses we hear & work with daily in the kennels & grooming salon
.Infact groomed a client today whose dog is nearly 2 & asks the same questions every 6 weeks & seems to think the magic fairy will train the dog to not pull,behave around other dogs ,stand for him to be brushed & not destroy the garden when they go out .Inform they need a trainer to help with there communicating with there dog ,not there furbaby as they call it but hasn't bothered except decide maybe a day at doggy daycare will give them a break
Like you say easy to cancel or cut back .

Unfortunately i tend to find rescues have some strange ideas on some things & can be a bit flippant in pushing some dogs out the door especially at this busy time

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So i just thought I would give an update. Thanks to everyone for the helpful thoughts and suggestions. After seeing a number of dogs over the past 2 weeks we finally got to meet Betty the mum on Sunday. We fell in love instantly and knew she was our girl. She is calm and very sweet and was starting to bond with us by the end of our visit. We found a great trainer through the suggestions above and he is coming to us this Friday so we can make the integration as smooth as possible and he will visit again once she arrives. We have some fence proofing to do in the backyard as she is a climber and she will need a bit of work on the lead but she is super smart and food motivated so should not take a heap of work. 

 

Thanks again for all the help and wish us luck!!! 

 

P.S. decided to not adopt a puppy with her. Whilst they are divine, we want to focus our efforts on betty and giving her the home she deserves! 

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