Banjo and The New Baby

[Carol and Banjo]

....Over The River and Through The Woods...To Grandmother's House We Go......    My daughter and SIL came for Sunday dinner with the new baby yesterday.    I was so excited to have them visit Grammy for the first time since his birth on the 23rd.   I was also excited to have Banjo meet his new future best bud.

Unfortunately things didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped.   My daughter didn't want Banjo close to the baby and definitely didn't want him to lick the baby.   He got a couple of "sniffs" in but clearly wanted to "explore".    I understand my daughter's reluctance to have a dog licking her infant.   I would have been the same way.    My instinct tells me that if she would have let me bring the baby to Banjo's level and let him sniff and lick, just as he does when people come to the house, he would have lost interest and "moved on".    As it turned out we ended up leashing him and he spent the whole visit clearly wanting to explore the new addition.    He isn't a "barker", but he did bark several times out of frustration. I could almost hear him saying "Just let me near him....I just want to get to know him"!    Mommy and Daddy kept remarking at how "loud" he was....baby was blissfully oblivious.   

So, I'm feeling disappointed that we didn't have a smoother intro and wondering what I could/should have done to facilitate a better first meeting.

I plan to talk to my daughter about allowing Banjo (totally supervised) to sniff and lick and get it out of his system on the next visit.  I'll be equipped with wash cloths to "clean up" the doggie licks.  Do you think it's wrong to allow this?    

I'm interested to hear what others have done in this situation.  

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Spud will just continue to bark at them as if to say, " HEY, Hey. Look at me. Pet Me. Don't ignore me"

I just wish people would get the greeting over with so we can get on with it.

But I think Spud really turns people off with barking and persistence. 

I think Banjo would pick the baby as the favorite person  :)  

[Carol and Banjo]

Awwww......poor Spud. I wish it were easier to explain to people what our dogs are saying. I do think Aidan is going to be Banjo's best friend some day!

[Ginny Nightingale]

I am in the same boat Joanne--no grandkids yet, but overly exuberant greeters--I too have tried everything and the worst part is to try to control three at once--it isn't possible--when you get one to stay down, the other uses that as an opportunity to jump in there!

It will be interesting to see what happens when grandkids come along--since my girls are cat lovers and already are somewhat annoyed by my "smelly" dogs--hey, I don't smell anything!! My son is way too young yet and I am afraid these three doodles will be long gone before he gets that far....oh, dear, too sad to think about.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Ginnny, I am so glad to hear that you flunked calm dog greetings.  When we only have one dog around or even the two doodles minus the Springer, door greetings are manageable, but with all three...... not good.  All three mob our now 2-year old granddaughter (and anyone else)  when she enters but she is really calm around dogs and just tells them no and pushes them aside.

[Jennifer Tramell]

My sister brought her baby boy to our house on the way home from the hospital.  Conner was in his car carrier and my sister set him down in the foyer.  Webster immediately went to the baby and gave him a thorough sniffing.  He started licking but we only let him lick Conner's bare feet.  When my sister came into the house for a short visit, Webster positioned himself as "baby guard" and never his post in front of the baby.  My sister actually had to scoot Web away so she could pick her newborn up :-)

Conner is now 2 1/2 and he and Webster are fast friends.  Of course, Conner has his own giant goldendoodle, so he has a double dose of giant doodle love!

[Carol and Banjo]

Jennifer,  Webster sounds like the perfect "BFF".

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Luckily my dil was really laid back about dogs checking out the baby.  One thing we did was invest in a 'coral' for the baby and got in with the baby and left the dogs outside so that they were free to sniff around.  At first our guys were really upset about baby crying, but they got used to it.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Carol, I can suggest what I share with new parents at the hospital. I have them bring something home that the baby has worn, to let their pets get familiar with the "new pack leader" who is now here. They can sniff and lick and take as long as they want to a baby blanket or t-shirt or hat. Most dads report the next day that the dog just sniffed for awhile and walked away, but they can safely get it out of their system. So maybe that will help. I hope so. Congrats again and I agree, when it comes to new mommies....tread very lightly.......we all pick our words very carefully when talking to them the first few days and the hormones aren't even in full swing yet. She needs you especially to totally agree with her to validate that she is doing what is best for her new baby and is being a good mommy. She's going to hear that Banjo is more important to you than her mothering decisions. Why go there.?

[Carol and Banjo]

Thanks Sue,  You're so right....why go there?    She is being such a good Mommy....I'm  so in awe .... that this is my daughter....and she's doing it!   

As for bringing something home....well, I didn't do that but the other day when I returned from visiting and holding the baby Banjo greeted me as usual with tail wags and two licks to my chin and then he began sniffing my shirt where I'd held the baby against me....and then started carefully licking it!    It was so cute~

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Awww. He sensed a sweet new baby scent and knew to be gentle. Maybe bring him something next time? I have a video in my photos you can watch of my DD's new baby meeting her doodle on her first day home. SIL held her and let Marley lick, grandma got on video for mommy who was taking a nap. I had Marley at my house and after i tucked her in I went to get him and had just brought him home. I did bring him a blanket from the hospital the night before.
I must admit, DD is as crunchy and organic as they come, so I wasn't sure if she'd freak out at the sight of her brand new ( like about 28 hrs old) baby being licked by her 80# dog, but she just saw how precious it was and didn't mention it.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Sue, I need you to remind me to "keep my big mouth shut," when my DD has a baby :) This is excellent advice.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Oh Laurie, you will be an amazing grandma when the time comes. What fun we will all have with blogs about grand babies and doodles! Can hardly wait. Do you really want me to squelch that which makes you uniquely you?
If I even did advise you to "keep your big mouth shut", don't you think your DD would be asking her dad "Who Is this woman and what have you done with my real mother"?
BTW, I'm sure they already know any new family member will have to get the seal of approval from Fudge and Vern first before being considered worthy. Lol