Our baby dog has some issues with our baby boy. We had to have him stay with some friends for the past week because he isn't coping very well with the new addition. He does fine as long as the baby is sleeping, but as soon as Dexter moves or starts to cry Squee gets upset and barks and whines for several minutes. This is especially problematic at 2 am. His barking is just enough to set someone over the edge because he barks and once he finally stops barking, he huffs for 5 or 10 minutes. Pair that with the stress of calming a newborn and it's just too much to handle. No amount of obedience training has worked. We've tried putting him in a separate room, lots of negative reinforcement and then positive reinforcement. We even threatened him with a bath and he still didn't stop barking and huffing. We sent him away for a bit so we wouldn't go crazy and so he could relax.
We visited him at our friends' to see if things would be better on neutral ground. Unfortunately, if dogs can have panic attacks, then Squee is an excellent candidate for Prozac. He panted and whined when the baby started making noise. It's really sad to see him so upset. He's been the only dog and is partial to me to boot. He can't figure out if the baby is a threat or a rival. I try to get him to sit in my lap while I nurse, but he only stays for a little bit and pants and paces the entire time. He already has a heart problem, so it is especially worrisome for him to get that upset for a long period of time.
We bought a plug-in pheromone that is supposed to calm dogs down. We also ordered a collar that has calming herbs in it that will be here this week. If neither of those work we are seriously considering doggie Prozac. I'm sure he'll adjust with some time, but it's the adjustment period that is going to be tough to deal with. We're both more relaxed with Dexter now, so maybe the dog barking won't make us crazy. Squee is coming home tonight. I'm crossing my fingers that we won't be putting him outside to save our sanity like we did a week ago.
