We have two dogs. They're pretty old, and they've always been our babies. I was just wondering what to expect from them when we actually have a child. Will they be jealous? Did you guys have pets when you had your first child, and if so, how did they react?

We dont have any pets, I could imagine if I had a big dog I would be nervous to let him around the baby. just in case the baby ever pulled his tail or something to upset him.

Ive always been more of a cat person. I still like dogs it just cats seem more easy to handle. I have two cats.

We currently do not have any pets. I am trying to find a pet to give my brother.

We always had pets in our house. Didn't really need stuffed animals...lol My husband and I had cats before the 1st baby was born. Everything that was brought into the house we let the cats look over. If it was powder or lotion we would let the cats sniff at it. It seemed to help when we brought the baby home. They recognized the smells of the powders and lotions. We kept the cats claws clipped to be on the safe side. We never had problems with jealousies

Seeker

If you have pets when you find out you're expecting, of course you're going to do everything within your power to assure that your entire family can blend together. But, if you don't already have pets, then I'd suggest waiting til your baby is a little older before bringing a pet into the house. Raising a baby is going to be hard enough without trying to train a puppy at that same time.

My ex and I had a cat we had taken from a coworker of ours (she was moving), and had told us she thought the cat had been beaten by previous owners (adopted). The only way the cat and my ex could be near one another, is my ex lay down on the floor - to the cats eye level and just lay there and do nothing.

This female cat was severely beaten by the past owners (of course, we think male, as she acted like this, only when males were around). We ended up getting rid of her (to SPCA) about a week after our son was born.

With my girl (and different father), we had 3 cats, all outside, sometimes they came in when she was born (last Oct.), never an issue with any of them. By the time she started to sit up on her own and lunge all different ways, she would try to lounge for the youngest of the cats (1.5yrs) and he would just get up and walk away.

I still think my girl thought "O a stuffed toy that moves on its own".
And the cat though "O WTH is that thing". :D

I kept my pets. They never seemed too jealous. Just don't suddenly forget you have them when you bring the baby home. There are tricks for getting an unhappy animal around. Like giving them a treat every time the babe is in the room.

I was actually told from hospital staff, after my girl was born, to take one of her blankets - unwashed - and let the dog and the cats sniff it, so they knew there was a new person around. The dog and cats are all outside animals, so I never really had an issue with it. :)