The Dog Doula

09/11/2024

Need some pointers on raising a new baby when you also have dogs? I created a guide just for that! The "So, You're Bringing Home a Baby" Guide focuses on not only tips and safety measures for your baby, but also asks you to get to know your dog a little better before everything changes.

09/09/2024

Did you know I offer F R E E consultations? Let's chat! What are you most worried about? Where do you need more help or advice?

09/03/2024

I had the pleasure of meeting this handsome boy, Maverick, and his humans today! Maverick is a Mastador (English Mastiff/Lab), and will be a big brother to a human baby here soon.

Today, his parents and I covered ALL the things. From safe management techniques for baby and dog - to additional training that could be beneficial before baby comes home - to introducing dog and baby that first day and more.

08/30/2024

Let's chat about your top concerns and steps you can take to feel more confident about adding a child into your life with pets!

08/28/2024

Hi 👋 A little about how The Dog Doula got started!

08/27/2024

With all the excitement and other feelings that go along with bringing home a new baby, I think we can often forget to consider how it will impact our pets as well. Putting thought into this in advance can set everyone up for success!

08/26/2024

It's National Dog Day. Here's one of my goofballs, Brody!

07/29/2024

First blog post is up on my site 😍 I list my top 4 things you should REALLY know about your dog!

https://www.thedogdoula.org/blog/coming-soon

07/27/2024

Did you know I offer consultations at no cost to you? ⬇️

07/26/2024

Did you know I created a guide to help prepare expecting families for life with a new baby and dogs? This guide breaks it ALL down, and is my recommendation on where to go if you don't know where to start.

In it I included so many tips, tricks, video links, product recommendations and more. My goal with this guide is to get you thinking more about who your dog is, how this change could impact them, tools to utilize to help everyone with this change, and to help you feel more confident before baby comes!

🔗in comments

07/25/2024

Using this rehoming post as a teaching moment. They are correct that teaching small children to respect boundaries with animals is difficult at certain ages. However, it IS easy to kennel the dog or separate in another room while visitors are over.

Management techniques are key when existing with children and animals because you can not have your eyes on them all in every moment or completely control what a toddler/animal might do.

It would also be far more beneficial/less stressful for the dog you've had their entire life, to utilize management tools rather than completely uproot them from their home. I'm not saying there are no other special circumstances where that might be the best answer for everyone. However, the majority of the time, it comes down to a lack of education on management or lack of willingness to manage with a fairly simple change. If you need help on the best way to manage life with dogs and kids, please reach out for help!

06/23/2024

In my opinion, this should also apply to any life changes as well.
-Having a baby
-Losing another household member (animal or human)
-Moving to a new home
-Adding another family member (animal or human)
-Schedule changes

Dogs are affected by change and need time to adjust just like we do. Allow them the time to do that and give them grace.

06/15/2024

Again, it isn't about how tolerant, friendly, etc you think your dog is. It's about creating a safe and respectful environment between your kids and your dogs.

Let's talk about this photo. It's cute, except it's not. I see a dog who cannot get up without telling the child to get off. How do you think a dog is going to do that?

The 7 Golden Toddler Dog Rules:
#1: If a dog walks away from you, you DO NOT FOLLOW.
#2: Always leave room for the dog to walk away from you.
---that right there is 90+% of dog bites eliminated---
#3: We do not climb on the dog.
#4: We do not grab or pull on the dog.
#5: We do not hit or throw anything at the dog.
#6: We do not touch the dog's food.
#7: We do not go into the dog's kennel.

I promise these are not overly difficult concepts for littles, nor will they rob a kid of their bond with the family dog. It will deepen that bond, while keeping everyone safe.

"Oh, it looks like Moose is walking away from you. She is saying she wants a break. Let's play with this instead!"

"It's Moose's dinner time! Let's give her space to enjoy her yummies."

"That is Moose's room(kennel) and only she is allowed to go in there."

"If Moose wanted a break, could she walk away from you right now? No she really couldn't. Let's move away from the play house. You can keep playing but now she can leave when she wants a break."

In conclusion, ***parent your child or your dog will do it for you, and you will not like how they do it.***

06/12/2024

One thing I wish more people stopped to think about more.

Is your dog-
•Constantly getting in the trash?
•Digging holes in unwanted areas all over your yard?
•Chewing everything in sight?

These are just some examples of what we consider *bad* behavior with dogs, when in reality, there is an unmet need that your dog is expressing. This is why it is SO important to understand your dog's genetics, their personal preferences, and the environment you have created for them.

06/10/2024

Hi followers 👋 I'm still here living my life with dogs and a toddler! To be honest, life has been a little rough since losing our sweet Ella girl, and I'm still working on getting back into my "normal" routine.

I'm sharing this funny picture to show you guys that I'm not perfect. This is my son and our foster dog, Timber. They are two trouble-making peas, and I made the mistake of leaving them unsupervised for two minutes. $%*t happens, lol.

If you are expecting a child via pregnancy, surrogacy, or adoption (or know someone who is) and you have pets at home, I'm here to help!

05/08/2024

It's hard to believe I'm posting this after just sharing her with you. We lost our sweet girl, Ella, very suddenly and unexpectedly last Friday. She was my heart dog, my baby girl. Hug your pets tight.

05/01/2024

One of the most important questions you should ask yourself!

Have you really taken the time to see your dog for who they are based on their breed(s) and their individual personality? How much do you really know about their needs?

The first section in my "So You're Bringing Home a Baby" Guide, we dive straight into this question!
www.thedogdoula.org

04/29/2024

Last, but most certainly not least. My Ella ❤️ aka Ella Bean, aka Bean. My heart dog, my soul mate dog.

Ella is our 5 yr old pittie/beagle rescue. We foster-failed her after having her for months as a very sick puppy. Day 3 is when I knew she was mine. She looks like a small pittie, but that voice is ALL beagle LOL. She is the most stubborn, smart, needy, clingy girl in the world and I love it.

She was the dog I worried about most while I was pregnant. I worried that jealousy would be a huge issue for her. I worried she would hate our baby because she is actually quite scared of children.

Our little one is almost 2, and she adores him. Our biggest challenge has been teaching her not to smother him in kisses 😅.

04/28/2024

Next up on my 'baby' before my baby list.... Moose!

Aka Moosifer, Aka the Street Rat (as he is lovingly called). Moose is one of our rescue dogs. He will be 7 this year. Moose came from an animal hoarding situation. He is feisty, scrappy, yippy, an escape artist, thinks he's 100lbs when he's really only 12lbs 😅, has a thing for biting booties (a lovely phase we had to tackle) and is just hilarious. He is a chihuahua, pomeranian, terrier mix with never ending energy for patrolling his yard.

I know, I know... doesn't sound like a very appealing pup, but he stole my heart at an adoption event 6 years ago and came right home with us! He adores our other dogs and needs to be as close as possible to them or us. He can wedge himself into any little space for some snuggles. He is also the only dog in our house who will choose my husband over me LOL (sometimes 😉).

Raising a baby with Moose has been challenging at times. He really likes his space to be respected and having a mobile, jumpy, toddler now means some extra management!

04/27/2024

My next "baby" before my baby.

Brody, aka Brody Bear, aka Bro D. Y. Our very handsome German Shorthair Pointer. To know a GSP is to love a GSP for all their weirdness 😂.

Brody was my husband and I's very first dog together almost 7 years ago! He spends half his life wishing he was only 10lbs vs a very leggy 70lbs- he likes to snuggle (those elbows are deadly). The other half, he wants to be in a constant state of motion, lol.

I honestly didn't have many concerns with Brody when we had our son. He's a goof, but has an amazing, patient demeanor. Something I see a lot with all the foster dogs we've had over the years. My biggest challenge came with still finding ways to meet his needs after having a baby.

04/26/2024

Let me introduce you to my "babies" before my baby.

Bentley, our *almost* 14 yr old Miniature Pinscher. I got Bentley when I was 18. When I truly had no business getting a dog, here we are, 14 years later. He's been with me through 7 moves, 3 relationships, and many other life moments.

He has always adored kids, so he was the least of my worries with having a baby. Before my son was mobile, it was great. However, having a mobile baby turned toddler has proven to be a challenge with my senior dog!

04/26/2024

Now on Instagram too!

04/21/2024

When you take the time to foster a healthy relationship between your pets and your child, you get to do fun things together ❤️

04/18/2024

What are my goals when working with clients?

♡Help you truly understand your dog for who they are based on their breed(s) and individual personality.
♡Ease fears/concerns in regard to raising a baby with pets.
♡Help keep pets in their home by helping you develop a plan BEFORE bringing baby home.
♡Educate on safe pet/child interactions.

04/17/2024

I may be a bit of a dog whisperer 😅
Anyone else's home look like this with your pets? My husband quite often feels left out from snuggles lol.