Is anybody doing things to get your dog accustomed to having a baby around?

We are expecting April 1st but the latest sonogram said she was a week ahead of schedule.

We moved Hans's bed out of our bedroom and into the bathroom where it was before and he seems to like his own room as long as it is near us. DW bought a tape of baby noises but have not used that yet. Then yesterday she brought in a doll that cried and it was actually pretty funny how he reacted. He was very excited and he wanted sniff the baby and when it cried he sort of cocked his head. After about 10 minutes of this he just laid down on the floor.

sounds like you are on the right track. i tried to make any major changes way before the baby came, including rearranging of furniture, installing of baby gates, etc. so that the dogs were not overwhelmed. also, i use a play pen (i think they call them "pack and play" now)... im not a big fan of confining the baby to a pen, i prefer to baby proof the house and let him explore his environment, but the play pen is a good way for the dogs and the baby to get used to each other and be seperate and safe at the same time. also, if you feed your dog at the same time every day... it might be a good idea to start changing the routine a little bit, half hour earlier one day, half hour later the next... because sometimes you just cant put the baby down to feed the dog on time.

We are getting the furniture in soon for the room. I think Hans will be happy to have a rug since we have hardwood floors. We already use baby gates for him since when we leave we put him in the kitchen. As far as feeding the same time every day it is more of around 6 or so. If he is really hungry he lets us know.

Thanks for the advice.
Bill

I used a doll and treated it like a baby, did a bed time routine etc.

I recommend carrying the infant carrier in and out as you come and go for a few days before the baby comes. Then when you bring the baby home, the routine w/ the carrier will be familiar w/ the dog(s).

We set up all noisey gear, swing, bouncey, etc. and turned them on for a short period here and there. (I put the doll in ours.) That way when you first put the baby in it, the sounds and movement aren't a shock.

I talked about the baby, a lot, and used his name a lot. That way Olive was familiar w/ the name when my son came home.

We encouraged her to explore everything we brought home so she felt like she was a part of all the changes.