Keep pet away from your newborn baby?
By vingyan06
@vingyan06 (2486)
Malaysia
August 28, 2009 5:31am CST
Generally speaking, it's all right to allow your pet near your new baby, as long as the pet is well behaved and you are there to supervise.
It's common for a pet, who has until recently been the focus of the family's attention, to become jealous of a new baby. You should allow your pet to become accustomed to this new member of your household while in your presence. Continue to give your pet plenty of attention, both when your baby is present and when you have time alone with your pet. This will keep the jealous behavior to a minimum.
OR
you will just keep the pet away from your new born baby because of some health issues?
Please share, and discuss, thanks in advance.
1 person likes this
17 responses
@JamesKYTan (1605)
• Malaysia
13 Oct 09
To allow pet near your new born baby is not a wise move. Your pet may have lice on its body. Cats or dogs have furs that tend to fly all over the place. It may lead to your baby breathing in the dust and furs causing asthma.
1 person likes this
@vingyan06 (2486)
• Malaysia
13 Oct 09
Hello james,
Thanks for your response. For me, I am not fancy on keeping any pets at home. So I definitely wouldn't like to let my baby goes near to the pets or animal. I did read some responses here stated it is something good to expose the baby to the pet. Perhaps they are great pet lovers. 
@submerryn (1304)
• Malaysia
28 Aug 09
Hello vingyan06,
I am never a pet person. I dont like animals. Sorry to all animal lovers out there. The only animal I love are fishes and that is because they are confined to the aquarium and will not run around. I will never let a dog or a cat near my baby. I heard it causes ashma. I don't know. But I'll never let that happen as I myself don't like animals. I wont harm them though. Just dont fancy them..
@vingyan06 (2486)
• Malaysia
29 Aug 09
Hello Submerryn,
I am having the same thinking like you, I heard animals like cats and dogs causes ashma too. And I am not fancy on any pets. I get no idea why my god sister and her hubs like pets a lot and they already have a pair of adorable daughter, they still keep so many pets at home, They have dogs, hamsters and turtles.
But for me, I don't want any pet at home, not a fish or a dog...
@vingyan06 (2486)
• Malaysia
29 Aug 09
Galena, I think people with asthma should avoid from animals. The symptoms often appear to be caused by the body's reaction to a trigger such as an allergen commonly pollen, house dust and animal dander.
My baby boy was suffering from skin allergy before. The skin specialist asked if we have any pets or plants at home. So I can see from there pets is no good for small baby that has health issue.
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
28 Aug 09
I would advise keeping the pet away from a newborn because animals carry germs that are transmitted to humans. For the same reason, people should stay away from newborn pets, such as when the cat has kittens, for example, except for experts assisting with the birth and care of the little ones.
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
28 Aug 09
Welcome to myLot, Coach, and thank you for your opinion. I had a cat that I loved very much when I was a teenager and just starting to go out with boys. Well one boy I liked already planned to be a doctor and he was very fastidious about germs, so when he came to pick me up to go out one night, he told me that if I wanted to be his girlfriend I'd have to get rid of the cat.
I got rid of him instead.
@coach7172 (43)
• United States
28 Aug 09
Yes, animals do have germs, but there really isn't any way that they could pass them to the little one unless you are letting them lick the baby's hands or face. I don't think animals should be that close to an infant's face in the first place. As long as you maintain a distance between the pet and the baby, those germs aren't going to hurt the baby in any way.
@ibuemma (2953)
• United States
28 Aug 09
Interesting! It's just so happened that I didn't have pet when both of my kids were babies. Before they were born me and my husband used to have a pitbull and I told him to let the dog go.
If it's small pet I might let it play with my baby. And obviously not that pitbull!
@vingyan06 (2486)
• Malaysia
29 Aug 09
Hello Ibuemma, thanks for your time here.
Glad to hear that you are so care about your kids. And your hubs is willing to let go his pitbull! Sometimes kids will be happy to play with the small pet, but not for baby! Most baby needs to be pets free, this is what I suggest!
Happy Mylotting and have a great weekend!
@Jilic1013 (11)
•
29 Aug 09
There seems to be alot of prejudice around pitbulls or bulldogs or staffys or rotweilers being aggresive and dangerous for children, most of the time they are fine around kids and they do recognise a small child as being vulnerable and often protect them, if your husband had this pitbull for some time then he must of known the personality of the dog... fair enough it was an aggresive terrotorial dog, but i say that as long as you know your dog then you should be ok with letting it around your children/babies of course they should be supervised though as well.
@fscott0421 (10)
• United States
29 Aug 09
I noticed the talk about pitbulls as well. I myself had a pit and she absolutely loved my neighbors kids. Most of the kids were small, around 3-6 years old. But my girl Gypsy was so great with them. I ended up giving her to a friend of mine, because I had to move to an apartment and couldn't take her with me, and my friend has three small children of her own. Ages 4, 8. and 11 at the time. She loved them very much. :)
I saw her a year or so after I had given her to my friend and she was even being all motherly to a litter of newborn kittens. It was really cute! I guess it depends on where the dog is raised, I have known other pitbulls that were very mean.
I suppose as long as the dog is raised well, and trained early, then you can have most breeds around kids. Even normally aggressive breeds can be sweet and loving. :)
@ic3pr1nc3ss5 (37)
• United States
29 Aug 09
you probably should keep your pet away from your baby.
who knows; your baby might have an allergic reaction, or get injured by the pet.
babies are delicate; maybe get some advice from a doctor or vet that you trust.
@Galena (9110)
•
17 Oct 09
it's a known fact. children that grow up with pets have less health problems than those that don't.
the vast majority of children with allergies and asthma have never had pets. this is why their bodies can't cope with it when they are exposed to anything outside their too sanitised lifestyle.
not only that, they miss out on all the emotional benefits, learning responsibility and care, and exercise you get through having pets.
it's not something I say just because I love animals, but because it's a known fact.
and quite apart from anything else, it must be really sad to grow up with no animals in your life. how boring.
@vingyan06 (2486)
• Malaysia
30 Aug 09
Hello Ic3, thanks for your response. Yeah, I just reply some responses just now talking about the allergic reaction from the pets. It is wisely not to keep pet with the new born baby at home.
This is what I think, but still I can see some members here suggest to get the pet at home even though there is a new born around. 
Happy Mylotting!
Happy Mylotting! @coach7172 (43)
• United States
28 Aug 09
I do not think that you have to necessarily keep the pet away from the baby. They need time to adjust to the new little one that you have brought into "their" home. I think that as long as you are there in the room to supervise, and NEVER leave them near the baby alone, then it is fine. They will eventually get used to the baby, as the baby isn't going to go anywhere. I can't stress enough though to never leave the pet with the baby in the same room unattended. Even if the baby is in the crib or bassinet, or in a swing. That pet, no matter how gentle, can hurt, or even kill your baby very quickly. Just recently, I heard of a couple who had brought their baby home, and the baby was in the bassinet sleeping, and the mother left the room for just a couple moments, and when she came back in, their dog had gotten into the bassinet and killed the poor baby. It is truly a devastating story, and it is just not worth it to trust our beloved animals with our even more beloved baby unsupervised.
@fscott0421 (10)
• United States
29 Aug 09
I agree with you coach7172, a pet and a baby should never be left unsupervised, that is exactly how tragic things like that occur.
I love animals very much, I have two cats, and I wouldn't want to every get rid of them, but I don't have any children right now, so I also don't have to worry about anything that could happen.
Still, I would never leave my cats in a room with a child if I wasn't there with them. Particularly because I KNOW my cats, they are constantly getting into trouble, and one of them is very big.
I think that if you take the proper precautions, though, then it would be fine to have pets and children. As long as you remember to watch them very carefully.
@kaka135 (14931)
• Malaysia
14 Oct 09
Well, I do not really let my dog gets near my newborn baby simply because my dog is big sized and she's very playful, she may hurt my baby without knowing. She always likes to play with me but have a lot of scratches on my hands.
I think my dog likes my baby too. I have been talking to my dog since I'm pregnant, telling her about my baby. I still remember the day I brought home my newborn baby, my dog didn't come and play with me or bark at me, but just lying down keeping quiet and looking at my baby. I felt so touched when I saw the scene.
Now, I still always bring my dog out for a walk, together with my baby. But definitely, I spend lesser time with my dog now. I'm grateful that she's such a understanding dog. ^_^
@maximax8 (31046)
• United Kingdom
29 Aug 09
I think that a pet needs to feel positive towards the new born baby of the household. Providing that dogs and cats are well behaved I think it is lovely to let them be supervised around the new addition to the family. Good hygiene should be followed like washing hands. Soon the dog or cat will hopefully get over the jealousy. I let my dogs sniff my baby's head. They now like her I think. My toddler son still has some jealousy issues though. My dogs Secret and Magic are miniature poodles. It will be Secret's fifth birthday on 31st August. My baby girl was born on 27th June.
@mrakobesie (1246)
• United States
30 Aug 09
I think it really depends on the pet, i wouldn't trust some pets with babies, but other's are ok. It also depends on how many pets you have. I have 3 cats and tehy are all very loving, they are used to being one of the babies and not the only one, so they have no problem sharing. I think they wil actually try to take care of the baby if i have one. I can immagine Baron cleaning the baby for examply, he likes cleaning the other two cats. Rocky might be a little bit of a problem if baby poops and smells bad, he doesn't like it. He might actually smack the baby for smelling bad, but most likely will just give a dirty look. Boss will most likely be a protective sibiling kind of guy, he likes to protect those who are weaker and will most likely keep Rocky away from the baby if it smells bad lol.
@bamrahkirti (1821)
• India
29 Aug 09
I have never kept animals at pet and i personally like them only at zoos but if i have to face the situation,then i will keep my pet away from my baby because of health issues.Pets like human beings are also become jealous if someone else starts sharing the love,care and affection but slowly and steadily they can be taught to get familiar to the new arrival.
Anyhow i will never allow my pet to lick the baby or make any type of touch since infants and small babies are prone to viruses and pets are the carriers.
@my_name_is_coco (4333)
• Philippines
5 Dec 09
you should properly introduce a new human member to a pet,and vice versa.pets are like siblings.they will feel jealous when they see a new member.just let the pet know that even if there's a new human in the family,s/he is still important to the family.sooner,s/he will be protective of the new baby.
@grace118224 (1038)
• China
29 Aug 09
I don't keep pets . And in our country keep pets such as dogs are not common and only some rich people would buy some expensive pets . And it's also not convenient to keep pets because most of us live in apartment and no enough room for pets. When i was pregnant the doctor asked me not to be close to any pets because they would bring some disease to my baby . And i'm also against letting the pets close to newborn baby which is very dangerous.
@vingyan06 (2486)
• Malaysia
29 Aug 09
Hello, thanks for your response.
For those who are pet lovers, they will get the pet live in most comfortable, buy them expensive stuff and food. But for me, I don't like to have pets. Taking care small kids already not easy and the expenses on milk formula, diapers, clothing and education already can cause a bomb to us.
More ever it is not good to keep pets if you have a health issue baby at home.
@vingyan06 (2486)
• Malaysia
29 Aug 09
Hello Kb5000, thanks for your response.
I agree with you, wild animals should be keeping away from small kids. We will not know what and how the animals can harm the kids.
Hope to see you again in my other discussion! Happy mylotting!
@winorak5109 (33)
• United States
29 Aug 09
From what I have always understood when a new baby is brought into a home where the pet was the only "baby", the family needs to be very vigilant with the pet around the baby. The Pet Trainers state to let the pet smell the scent of the baby on something like a cloth. Then pay attention to the pet - playing with its toys and taking it for a walk. Definitely NEVER leave the baby alone with the pet in the same room!
@carolbee (16230)
• United States
28 Aug 09
Our daughter has a very well behaved Bassethound. She has the cutest personality and is very friendly. I am babysitting our grandbaby this morning. She's 10 months old and really not interested in crawling yet so the dog just sits by her and seems to protect her. I would be terribly surprised if the dog would bite the baby or even growl. I always make certain the dog gets my undivided attention as soon as I come in the door first. Our daughter and son-in-law always acknowledge the dog first. This satisfies the dog and then they go directly to the baby. I have seen some jealousy on the part of the dog but think paying attention to her first thing has helped. All is going well over here with a baby and a dog who is about 5 yrs. old.
When our kids were small we always had a dog or dogs. We never had a problem even if the kids were getting into the dog food. We were fortunate to have good pets that seemed to understand the kids really didn't want the dog food...lol However, I have heard some nasty stories on the news. The dogs who are taught to fight and protect can be a hazard around kids. More than once I've seen little boys who were almost torn apart by pit bulls. My intent here is not to bash pit bulls.
Finally, all parents should be careful with little ones around and pets. Can't ever be too cautious.
@Galena (9110)
•
28 Aug 09
on the whole, I think it's good to introduce children and animals as young as possible.
being around animals is very beneficial for children, as they are less likely to develop athsma or allergies later in life when they have been exposed when young. they will probably get more exercise while growing up, and be healthier in that way too, and also grow up knowing how to care for animals and behave with them.
so long as they are supervised, so that neither harms the other, which could go either way, then it's purely beneficial for pets and babies to share their lives. after all, they are a part of the same family
@med889 (5941)
•
28 Aug 09
If the pet is small like the baby then only I might allow the pet to come forward to my baby as I know that maybe the pet wants to play with the baby and after all it should get familiar with the baby. Thye even supervise babies too as I know it very well. I will never seperate both as if to discriminate or to make one feel jealous but I will love both.
