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The Unspoken Truths of Owning a Dog with a Newborn
21 Plays8 months ago
Featuring Jacob, Liz and baby Ruth Pape, they discuss the truths and misconceptions of owning a dog with a newborn.
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Transcript
00:00:00
Speaker
your dog should be a benefit yeah it shouldn't be all this hard work you are giving your dog that ultimate freedom and they you know they are the ultimate priority you're a slave to that because before we woke up took the dogs out got ready to go on and that's just not a reality anymore yeah like it's a it can't be because we gotta make sure when their had someone come over or they had family come over after a baby and they thought everything was going to fine All that work we put into Baby was for her. but Like, we are reaping the benefits.
00:00:32
Speaker
Like, all that stupid stuff we did with her, all, like, the freakouts, the getting bit by her, that the muzzle conditioning, the...
00:00:42
Speaker
We just have Baby. She's... What, three weeks? Three weeks, almost four weeks. And, uh, my gosh, it's just, it's been crazy. It's really fun and...
00:00:54
Speaker
Do you know what I'm proud that we're not? We're not the people who are taking pictures every week and counting down how many days, like, We're not doing all that. i I'm also proud of how our dogs are doing with her.
00:01:08
Speaker
Yeah. i like I think we were like in bed last night, and I think I like literally said to you, I can't believe all that work we put into baby was for her.
00:01:19
Speaker
Yeah. Right? like like We are reaping the benefits. All that stupid stuff we did with her, all like the the freak outs, the getting bit by her, that The muzzle conditioning, the the mistakes we made, like it all led to like our female pit bull who everyone's seen on our channel being aggressive towards anything that moves, loves her and is so gentle and isn't even like, isn't doing that weird protecting thing. She's not doing any of that. She's just...
00:01:49
Speaker
She's not fixating. And i think like that's a huge deal for us. It's like, you know, it's you have, you know, labs and you think like, oh, like the labs are going to be fine. It'll be fine.
00:02:00
Speaker
But I think baby was the one that you and you can correct me if I'm wrong. But I think you and I both were worried about how she might act. Always like still to this day, if she meets a stranger, it's like, hey, like these are the rules. And like and she's so far past that.
00:02:16
Speaker
Right. Like anyone can walk into our house like we just had, you know, when you have a baby, people come over. Some people more more people than you think yeah are going to come over to visit your baby.
00:02:28
Speaker
and And you have, you know, people who might have never been into our house or never met baby have to kind of like Raw dog it. You know, like. Yeah. And like learn the rules. And I mean, we're also but at that point. We're down a little bit. Like it if i'm you know, holding her, you're holding her.
00:02:45
Speaker
We're like down a man of like being able to manage the dogs, you know, and and then not only do we just have baby, we have three other ones that are like equally. They're excited about who's coming in. They want to go visit the person. and But even rush the door. Yeah.
00:03:00
Speaker
Even two plus years ago, just just two years ago, that excitement would have led to a fight. Yeah, she would have corrected one of the other dogs or tried to tag the person.
00:03:12
Speaker
Like, I remember somebody visited us a few years ago. Friendland? Yeah, we got a little bit too confident and she tagged him. Loves him. She absolutely loves him. Like, well, keep Virginia.
00:03:23
Speaker
He would watch her, like, anytime we were out, which was a lot. But she tagged him when he came in the loft we had. Yeah. Sorry, Landon. Yeah, sorry, Landon. But, you know, we we definitely, like, tightened up things to make sure that, like, you know, we were being as cautious of what she's doing and when people came in as possible.
00:03:43
Speaker
But, yeah, like, that realization that we did that all for this moment. Yeah. And we like, was just talking to Mike earlier we were talking about how like you set these boundaries and set these foundations so that way when things go off, like we have something to like rely on.
00:04:03
Speaker
Yeah. And like, it's so nice seeing her respond so well to like, baby go place, like where, you know, in the past or, you know, you hear about these other people who, who like,
00:04:14
Speaker
i' would say like, you know, 20 some odd percent of our clients come from their dog bit someone when their kids had someone come over or they had family come over after a baby and they thought everything was going to be fine. But their dog got weird.
00:04:28
Speaker
Yeah. But they had no foundation. They they thought they had a good dog. And that's where like i always go back to like your good is not my good. Like our definition is is so far different. Like even battle, like he is well-trained.
00:04:45
Speaker
Is he a good dog? Right? Like, I think of good dogs. I think of like, you know, like there's certain clients. you know, I think of Sophie. I think of like these random like little unicorns that we have all over Jack's Allen.
00:05:00
Speaker
Yeah. Right. Like these just great dogs that are just sprinkled it around that like their personality and their training is great. Yeah. They have a good temperament um to start with. And like.
00:05:13
Speaker
I think that's where people get too cocky when they have kids is because they think that, well, my dog doesn't, you know, do anything. Oh, well, your dog does. Like, your dog doesn't have a good temperament.
00:05:24
Speaker
And, like, if we ask leading questions, usually we find out it has been weird at the vet. Or with new men. or Yeah. oh It doesn't socialize. My dogs always jumped on us, but it didn't wasn't a problem until my wife was nine months pregnant.
00:05:38
Speaker
Right. Or my yeah grandma got a little too old. You're just being cocky and yeah like kind of delusional a little bit. like Super delusional.
00:05:49
Speaker
And I think like even like we went extreme, right? like So the dogs were at the facility leading up to, because we were just kind of tired. it was It was, yeah, those, like... Last week. Yeah, I was, what, 40 weeks and 40. It was just a balloon and that I was pushing around, you know?
00:06:09
Speaker
You know, and I was, like, was pretty cocky, too. i was, like, this is going good. Like, I think I'm doing really well. And I was just, like... I'm not doing great. Like mobility, you know, and I was still a veto. But yeah, there was some things. I was like, Jacob, I'm not doing that. You know, Audrey, I was like, yeah, like I'm not doing it. So I had to pick up more, which means the dogs were getting less and less. So we sent them to the facility. yeah They got a lot of work. You know, they got to hang out. They got to play with the staff here.
00:06:38
Speaker
And then, and then we made the call to bring the pitties back. Like almost immediately, like birth, we brought the pitties in. I think we brought the pitties in a few days before we gave birth. That's true. Yeah. Like, so Friday before.
00:06:51
Speaker
They're just so chill. And, you know, they're old. They're nine and ten. And they just like was weaving. And, you know, we just wanted to see how they would do. um Just, hey, come come home. And we had no idea when I was going to go into birth. You know, hey.
00:07:06
Speaker
yeah it could be When is this going to happen? But, you know, it happened two days later. to he had see i think it was Thursday or Friday. And then Saturday we went into labor. Yeah. And they were with us until we called the midwife.
00:07:18
Speaker
Yeah. And then we put them up. Yeah. And then um they, you know, I think our staff kind of helped us take them out yeah because we were like delirious that first two days. Oh, for sure. And then I think, you know, before the first week we brought ah ah everyone home.
00:07:34
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, the laughs came home pretty pretty quickly. I think once, you know, it it was, I was able to do things a little bit on my own. But, yeah you know, still resting, still in the bed, you know, resting a lot. you were But they came back and they were they they read the room.
00:07:49
Speaker
Yeah. Because they're a third. they go go Go, go, go. They're extremely high energy most of the time, especially here. Like when they're in the facility, they're so excitable because they almost like there play and train and playing with the dogs.
00:08:06
Speaker
Just a lot. It gets to be a lot. They're sprinting here. They're sprinting there. chill. But they came home and, and I mean, it was pretty evident that they were, like, number one, either tired from their time here.
00:08:19
Speaker
um But also, yeah, I think they read the room. Like, Battle was just laying at the end of the bed. Boston was laying on the side of the bed. you know, I think they definitely... They weren't even jumping up on the bed, which usually they kind of try to do. Yeah, they weren't. And, um you know, they kind of showed interest in smelling, you know, around her and me. Yeah. um And, you know. Did you stick her in their face? No.
00:08:43
Speaker
no So, like, you know, obviously it's important to, like, you know, introduce. But, like, we weren't worried about that right off the bat. Like, I think, you know, after. It took, like, a week for them.
00:08:53
Speaker
I think and it was weird. Baby was the first to, like like, really get brave and come up on the bed and, and like, sniff her and check her out. Yeah. um We let them smell her clothes. Like, after she kind of had, like, a day, you know, of, like, she's in, you know, her onesie. Like, okay, this smells like her. been.
00:09:14
Speaker
wrapped up in this, um you know, blanket or swaddle. Here, smell it It's just kind of there. I could just totally see the labs just, like, hold ears to that, you know, forever. Yeah. the The Pibbles would just tear it apart. I'm sure, like, when she has, because she has no interest in, like, toys or stuffies or anything, but she has some. I'm like, I know.
00:09:33
Speaker
yeah They're going to get, the dogs are goingnna get brave with that. But yeah, so I mean, I feel like that first like couple days, the first week, like it very chill, very relaxed, no expectations. um After maybe the second week, like two and a half weeks or so, um Boston would sleep at the end of where she was sleeping. yeah And then if she would fuss, she would kind of like crawl, sir. But she still, she did really well.
00:09:59
Speaker
Gentle. Very gentle. Very gentle. Not on me, but on everyone else. Yeah, which is good. Yeah. um You know, something that's super cool that, like, new moms have is this, like, sense work.
00:10:11
Speaker
what's going on with the baby, even if they're sleeping. um Unless you're like, you're taking Benadryl or you're like on something, like don't yeah drink or, you know, do crazy stuff like that. But like, and if you're sleep deprived, like sure, you're going to be maybe a little bit less like on on it. But like there is this crazy, like your brain chemistry changes.
00:10:31
Speaker
um And I can attest to it because that first week, I mean, there was one day he took or night you took her out And I was like, where's my baby? Yeah. And then like. I just. so Give you rest and you like came out from bed like.
00:10:45
Speaker
Where's. Where's my baby? I was just so confused. I mean, it's. I mean, it's. If you really think about it, like 40 some weeks, it's almost a year. Like. Almost a year of carrying this. 20 short of a year. Yeah.
00:10:59
Speaker
In your. In your body. Yeah. Feeling at at all times for the most part. Then they're out and they're on you at all times. They need you at all times. Like. it's and then they're just not with you I was like what is going on with my child like what happened but um and then you know if you were like bringing her back in I would like wake up almost like her startle reflex and be like she'll like trying to calm her down even though she's not What I was super proud of is in those moments, I would say six months ago, if you would have woke up like that if I would have walked into that room, the dogs wouldn't up.
00:11:34
Speaker
Yeah. But I think in that last six months, we worked on that too. Like like while you were getting more tired and while you were having to go to the bathroom more, they got used to it. Yeah. And they got used to us, like me coming out to bring you food or bring you stuff because – You know at the end, yearre you're near the bed.
00:11:51
Speaker
Yeah. Like, were walking. You were pretty mobile the whole time. Yeah. And I think the dogs all appreciated that. But at the very end, like, we were sleeping in. We were doing these other things. So I think the dogs got used to us.
00:12:07
Speaker
leaving them in a space because before i we woke up took the dogs out got ready to go on and that's just not a reality anymore yeah like it's a it can't be because we got to make sure like she's all squared away before we mess with the dogs yeah i've been just you know chaos one time you said like okay we need to like kind of focus on like what we're doing in the morning like deprioritize yeah like it sounds so awful It's not awful. There's so a high priority. There is not that first priority in the morning. Yeah, because as soon as we would wake up, we take them out and feed them. And it's like, what about you know us? like we We need go the bathroom. We need to get dressed and You need food in you so you can you know breastfeed and yeah do all these things that you need to do and you need to be healthy.
00:12:52
Speaker
We can't be Waking up tired, taking care of our dogs tired, taking care of Ruth tired. Yeah. And then getting to us. Right. it it it needs We need to be higher up in that equation.
00:13:06
Speaker
And I think a lot of owners... Need to get higher up in their own equations. I think a lot of of people get so used to caring for their animal and doing everything with their animal first.
00:13:18
Speaker
Then it deprives them of that relationship of like your dog should be a benefit. Yeah. It shouldn't be all this hard work that we have to do. like an added benefit to your life. not a pain point.
00:13:31
Speaker
Yeah. And that's where I think a lot of people like I'm going to keep i' going to probably say this everything we ever record everything we ever talk about is freedom is slavery. Like when you are giving your dog that ultimate freedom and they you know they are the ultimate priority you're a slave to them.
00:13:48
Speaker
You are, yeah. I mean, like, at the videos of, like, the dogs, like, you know, bringing their bulls out and throwing their bulls in front of their owners. Like, it's funny, but it's like, whoa, like, that's a very demanding dog. Like, for us, like, we've changed the time of when we feed the dog. We usually feed them in the morning.
00:14:05
Speaker
um Now it's, like, mid-afternoon, evening. And it's not big deal. You know, they're not freaking out and they're not overly demanding. Their pottying hasn't, like, it hasn't ruined their potty schedule. They still are, like, pretty much...
00:14:18
Speaker
p.m. and a.m. he still nothing nothing's really changed there which is good i think like that flexibility should be there she's like what's this going on i lifted her head she was like really head just so cute all of our dogs are doing pretty well we have one super jealous dog And it we kind of... He's always been a jealous dog. And he's always been a super, like, pick-ney boy.
00:14:50
Speaker
um ever It's so funny because i I would definitely have thought that he'd be, like, the nanny dog. But Boston is like nanny. Like, she wants to... That was like therapy. So if she cries, he wants to be like... He's just like, hey, what's going on? Yeah. yeah And then Boston's like, I'm Mama 2.0. I'm right here. i'm If mom fails, I'm right here to...
00:15:11
Speaker
And the other dogs are like, why is this thing crying? Baby's like, aw, cool. But Bo's just like, brother. Like, he gives us the same response that he gives us when there's thunder.
00:15:23
Speaker
Yeah. Like, when she's really wailing, he'll he'll just leave the room or place or you'll jump on me, like, yeah give me attention. or That one time he was shaking. you That was like that real bad night. He was like, what, like, he was having PTSD. Yeah.
00:15:39
Speaker
Like, uh, But he is just, I think, you know, like he's just that selfish personality. Yeah. Like he, like if you were holding her right now, he'd be like, hey. Yeah.
00:15:49
Speaker
Yeah. one One of the nights that we were having a rough night, at you know, rough nights with kids, it's usually like there's the witching hour, which is wild because I've been saying like dogs have witching hour for years and they do.
00:16:02
Speaker
So it's kind of funny when you're like, oh, like they have this too. So all those correlations, by the way, like that we've always said, like, Yeah. They were accurate.
00:16:13
Speaker
Like I can tell you now as a newborn dad, ah we were right. Yeah. What you do with poppy is a lot. All you clients that said we were going to be great parents. i like, I think we're doing it.
00:16:25
Speaker
Yeah, we do pretty good. So, um but yeah, so like i went into the bedroom with Bones and her because I'm like, you know, let's turn the lights down low. Like, let's cuddle and relax and see, you know, she'll calm down and like maybe go to bed or something or eat, you know, whatever she needs. And um Bones, I thought he was like cuddling up.
00:16:45
Speaker
next to me and being sweet nope he would have kicked your right off the bed no notice yeah he like nudged where i'm like holding her feet and like you know kind of you know they they need some movement and he was like hey like pet me and i'm like are you kidding like have a screaming child don't make this about red in the face screaming and you're gonna try to get pets like who do you think you are yeah i mean that that' that's that's bones yeah So, like, I just think it's funny. Like, you might think your very affectionate dog with you is going to be great with your baby. And there's proof that, like, that doesn't... It doesn't a slice it doesn't always pan out that way.
00:17:24
Speaker
And, like, what I would say is, like, our dog that's least affectionate has become more affectionate. Like, Badal and baby who aren't necessarily affectionate have gotten more affectionate yes since her birth.
00:17:35
Speaker
And they want to be closer to us. and Like, baby in the couch. Yeah. Like, she's like... I got to get close mom and the baby. She wants to be on the couch. I want to be behind mom and the baby, which is like fine.
00:17:47
Speaker
But sometimes it's like, baby, we're all really hot right now. You should be behind us. settle it's It's funny to see that transition for her of like, she's always been super independent, always super like on her cool hiding bed by the corner, by the sun, whatever she picks.
00:18:04
Speaker
But she's transitioned to let me be... With you guys. With you guys. Yeah. Well, she's never been her. Right. Right. Like, she's never been that. And on top of that, while also not protecting us, because you used to mean, like, a battle would have walked by us in that time she did.
00:18:22
Speaker
Yeah. mean, she'd get kicked off. But I think, you know, years, years, and years of, hey, man, you're a lot on the couch. If you're going to be a jerk, you need to get kicked out. You're all. Yeah. Yeah.
00:18:33
Speaker
And she suddenly learned, man, it's just easier to not be a jerk. Yep. On the bed. So, like... the The advice that we give and why we hold dogs to such a high standard and why we like act urgently for silly little things is that so it like in the future when we have this dog or we have this child with this dog.
00:18:55
Speaker
That we know how it's going to react when we do put pressure on it, when we do make it. We know that we can make baby get off the couch. We can make babies stop like any behavior, mid-behavior.
00:19:11
Speaker
And it's not by dumb luck. You know, it's not like, oh, the grace of God. It's well, it is. But it's also by the hard work. Yeah. Practicing that when it wasn't necessarily urgent that she did it. Yeah.
00:19:26
Speaker
I mean, we all order DoorDash and for years, ding dong. ah Last year, we've really worked on it. Now, I still put door dash. Come on.
00:19:38
Speaker
I put notes in don't knock. I have newborn and dogs. And you still knock and ring the doorbell. So that's a little frustrating. ah But they do it. And our dogs don't even react. They don't they don't jump at all.
00:19:52
Speaker
Oh, she's making her little cries. Yeah. She's like, Mom, where's head's it like in this weird little position. She just wants to like. Nuzzle in. Yeah. She wants to nuzzle in. They can be out about light probably too.
00:20:04
Speaker
Yeah. It's all right. Yeah, she's fine. She's looking this way, so she's fine. Yeah. um
00:20:15
Speaker
It's real life. Oh, little baby cries. It's like you're talking about my dog.
00:20:26
Speaker
She's just mad that she woke up. Yeah, that's it. i So what have you seen? Like, I would say I've had to do a lot more with the dogs.
00:20:40
Speaker
Yeah. have day Have I kept up my promise? Oh, yeah, for sure. yeah So just to reiterate, like all the things that we've taught people throughout the years, like just double down on them before leading up to. Yeah. And then so that way you will feel confident, right? Like put your dog in as many situations that can create stress so that way you can have success. And then be smart.
00:21:06
Speaker
Like don't stick your baby's face in your dog's face. Don't force interactions. Yeah. Take your time. Make the dog exist around. Right. The baby. Just like if you're bringing something new, like just add it in and then make it exist around. It doesn't, my dog doesn't need to interact with her like right now.
00:21:26
Speaker
Now, as slowly as it gets further and further down the line, you can have more and more interactions with them. Yeah. Focus on your recovery. Like that's a big deal. And like, you know, bonding with your baby and like breastfeeding if you're going do that.
00:21:41
Speaker
And like, you know, Soothing your child and having a fun. Like it's it's not about your dog. Yeah. It's just it doesn't have to be. It shouldn't be. And your dog should compliment you.
00:21:53
Speaker
Yeah. and And if you need space, take your dog to the boarding. Take your dog to your moms. Take your dog dog. Yes. Ask help. Ask for help. Like, hey, walk my dog. They're getting, you know, they're just I can't give them the attention that we should right now.
00:22:07
Speaker
yeah So, yeah. Well, thanks, guys. Thanks for listening. Check us out. We'll be doing this more often. And we're always on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, and I think coming to TikTok. So check us out.