Remind me again why it's a good idea to have dogs and a baby????

TooManyDogs

So I'm not a hygiene freak (you can't be with 6 dogs!) but as my baby is only 10 months I try and keep her from putting the mucky things in her mouth as much as I can. This involves keeping dog toys and baby toys seperate, which the dogs understand but the baby doesnt. This morning I found her licking one of the dogs rubber balls, took it off her to put away, baby cries, and one of the dogs brings her another toy!!!!! One of their own cos they know they're not allowed touch hers!

I guess me and hubby are the only ones in the house who think its not sensible for her to be licking the dogs toys, licking the dogs as the pass (!), chew on their feet if they're lying upside down....... :rolleyes: Loosing battle me thinks!

i-digress

I love the fact that the dog brought another toy! That's just so sweet!

liquoriceall

You have to laugh theres another thread about a licky dog but the baby licking the dogs is another story altogether!

sunshiner

awh thats so adorable about the dog bringing her a toy. well they way i see it is as long the dogs have uptodate shots and are clean. Your child is building up her immune system, we all played in muck as kids and it did no harm to us.Be worse if u bleached everything, dont see the harm in it.

TooManyDogs

sunshiner wrote: »

awh thats so adorable about the dog bringing her a toy. well they way i see it is as long the dogs have uptodate shots and are clean. Your child is building up her immune system, we all played in muck as kids and it did no harm to us.Be worse if u bleached everything, dont see the harm in it.

Yeah, that's the way we try to think of it too, but sometimes wish she wasn't so intent on building her immune system up at light speed! Just so funny to see 7 faces looking at me and hubby clearly saying 'jeez, what's your problem?'!!

yankinlk

+1 for the immune system.
Also great for kids to have no dog fear early on. Plus dog walking is great for the whole family. I always laff when I see entire families cringing when my dog approaches them. He pays no attention.

kildareash

That is Soo sweet. That little girl is going to grow up with 6 older, very protective brothers!
I agree with the other posters about building up her immune system. I know too many people who are a bit too quick to pull out the disinfectant wipes and the baby picks up every bug going.

mymo

When we were all kids we had a dog who used to sit by the pram and fetch all the baby toys that were chucked out.
He also liked to lie under the high chair so he could keep the floor clean, my youngest brother used to love to fling the food as far as he could, just to watch the dog trying to get all his legs in order on a shiny wooden floor, then race after the food and skid to a halt, just missing the food, scrabble like mad to turn and get back to the food, eat it and return to the chair before the next spoon full.
I love the idea of the dog fetching another toy:D
Was very funny to watch, and we all grew up fine and healthy, while sharing pretty much everything with several hairy family members, so don't worry, just enjoy the chaos. (my parents had 4 kids in 6 years, 2 dogs, 7 cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, gerbils and various other pets)

Just to ad, when one of my brothers started school he cried every day for the first week, the teacher eventually asked when his brother 5 year old Sam would be starting school, as it was upsetting him being apart.....Sam was the dog!

LucyBliss

It sounds like you are giving your little lady a great start, TooManyDogs, by surrounding her with so much positive dog energy. No doubt she'll be an excellent dog wrangler by the time she starts school!

mymo, love that story about your brother. That's so cute!

TooManyDogs

mymo wrote: »

Just to ad, when one of my brothers started school he cried every day for the first week, the teacher eventually asked when his brother 5 year old Sam would be starting school, as it was upsetting him being apart.....Sam was the dog!

Hilarious!

Yep, think my little lady is going to go the same way as your brother. Already she has a better greeting for the dogs than us, hubby went away for a week on business and he got a smile from her when we collected him from the airport, when we got back to the house she started shrieking and flapping her arms and legs when she saw the dogs, cos she hadnt seen them in 2 hours!! Hubby not impressed They're banned from the kitchen when she's eating cos she throws them so much food, she only greets peoples dogs, not them!

Interceptor

TooManyDogs wrote: »

So I'm not a hygiene freak ... I guess me and hubby are the only ones in the house who think its not sensible for her to be licking the dogs toys!

No, I don't think its sensible either so I'm with you and your hubby.

Theres a happy medium between dog-phobia, clean-freakiness and squalor but I'd err on the side of caution if I were you. While a healthy immune system is desirable, the other risks might be considered too. You can't effectively worm your 10 month old and although you can worm dogs routinely, you won't always be certain that egg transmission is prevented or where in the egg development cycle you are interupting. Dogs are mostly fairly clean but they don't wash after going to the toilet and there is a reason why humans do.

I'm all for encouraging animal contact (I have two kids; 12yr and 7yr old, two dogs, eight gerbils, a hamster, two mice and twenty chickens) but I'd try to limit access to anything dogs had chewed for a few years just in case.

'cptr

syklops

but I'd try to limit access to anything dogs had chewed for a few years just in case.

I'm not a dentist but I disagree here. Why wait a few years? Where is the child going to pick up the defence mechanisms to fight off any infections from dog saliva in the interim?

Tallon

You must rare your dogs very well

So cute

dan_d

Mwah!!! I'd keep trying to keep her away from their toys, mind you, but so cute!
The odd chew behind your back probably won't do her too much harm. But licking the dogs as they pass?? That's got to be tough to manage!;)

Cherry Blossom

My 4 yr old niece went through a phase of trying to lick people as a greeting :rolleyes:. The dog licks her, she licks the dog back She also jumps off furniture, crawls around on the floor and tries to lick things that have fallen on to the table from her plate, the usual excuse is 'but Poppy's doing it' :rolleyes:

I have to say though I never cease to be amazed at the number of tiny doggie and pony behaviour issues she picks up on that have completely passed over my head: If you press poppy's nose she licks off any food stuck around her mouth, if you put your hand down low and wiggle your fingers she'll come, daisy doesn't like that headcollar because it catches on her hair, she likes the other one etc, etc . . .

kaiser sauze

As long as your dogs are vaccinated & wormed you have nothing to worry about.

This is good for your baby's immunity, too; we used to get our dogs to clean our babies' faces whenever they were messy/post-vomit etc etc

magentas

awh that is seriously sooo sweet!!!