Three Dogs and A Baby

'Wow, you've got your hands full haven't you?!'

If I had a pound for every time I had heard this, I would be very rich indeed!
I suppose I do make quite a spectacle, walking around with a Jake and his three fur siblings. A lot of people tell me they don't know how I cope, especially as springers aren't known for being calm.

So here are the tips and tricks I used to make life easier with three dogs and a baby....

Lets start at the very beginning...

We got our dogs very early on in our relationship. We both knew we were in it for the long haul, and would one day wants kids together. But having a puppy and a baby at the same time, is generally not a great idea. Even with my vet nursing background, I didn't want to be dealing with a hyper one year old springer, and a newborn.
Elsa, our youngest dog, was 3 when Jake was born. In springer terms, she had just come out of the extra hyper stage! English springers are basically puppy like until they're about 16 years old but there is definately an early stage of extra energy. They also have a 'naughty' phase at 18months old, where they try to push the boundaries and see what they get away with (not unlike toddlers!)

All our dogs are trained off the lead. It's a definite must for working dog breeds. They can run off their own energy a lot faster than being on the lead, and comes in handy when heavily pregnant or carrying a baby!

Preparation...

Once we knew I was pregnant, we started changing up the daily routine with the pups. Walks stopped being at the same time every day. We also stopped walking them every single day, changing to 5 walks a week. This was in case there were ever times when Jake was unwell and we couldn't take them out.

By starting this early, they had 8 months to get used to walks of different length. They never knew when a walk would happen, so instead of getting hyper in the house if their walk hadn't happened by 10am, they mellowed out and started being chilled on days where they didn't get a walk.
Some walks were also just up to the local park for a ball throw. To most this probably still sounds like plenty (and it is) but our dogs were used to minimum 4 miles a day! I had also just gotten them into a great canicross (running with dogs) training routine, which abruptly stopped.

Although, to be honest, by the time I was 8 months pregnant, I walked so slowly that they probably easily covered 4 miles running ahead and back to check on me.

In the run up to the birth, we didn't change anything else. Dogs are very intuitive and they knew I was pregnant. They knew a baby would arrive. After all, they could hear his heartbeat inside my stomach.
Some people suggest playing baby noises, but I didn't feel the need to. All our dogs are very relaxed. Had they been nervous dogs, then I would have used this exposure therapy to reduce anxiety about the upcoming change.


A week or so before my due date, we did put the bassinet in the living room. Mainly to train our chihuahua to not jump in it!
None of them were really that interested in it. Except Guinness....he did try to pee on it a few times...(we stopped him in time)

And Baby Makes Three...

Really it makes six in our family.

As I was induced, it meant the dogs weren't stressed about me being in the early stages of labour. We dropped them with relatives as if we were going out for the day.
Thanks to a prolonged induction and c-section, we ended up spending several days in hospital. I missed the pups a lot. We were aware that they would be very excited to see us, so when we got home late wednesday afternoon, we decided to leave the dogs where they were for one more night. It gave us a chance to settle back in at home, and make it a calm environment for them to come into.

Mr B went to fetch the dogs to help get rid of some of their excitement. I greeted them at our door alone, so they weren't jumping up and potentially scratching Jake in their desperation to reach me.

Jake was at the other end of our living room (a long room) in his bassinet. It had tall sides to protect him and meant there was no jealousy from the dogs, as he wasn't in my arms.
We took the dogs over and let them sniff at him, We praised them for being calm and gentle. Once they had said hello, we lifted him out for them to have a closer inspection.
All three stay so calm and even gave him little kisses.

Walkies!

Before Jake arrived, we started doing a lot more road walking with the dogs. This was probably the hardest part of prep, because we normally drive to spaces where they can run free. Springers are no known for being great on the lead. They pull....a lot! (Which is why they're great for running with)
We loop our leads over their noses, like a halti. This means when they pull, they don't yank you forwards and end up pulling their own nose towards the ground. Barney hates it. He will constantly try to scratch it off his nose. It doesn't hurt him, but he hates being restrained. He was born to run as fast as a greyhound round a race course.
Teaching them to walk nicely on the lead, meant when I attached them to the pram, they wouldn't pull it over. Barney is by no means perfect still, but its a vast improvement on before.

 I highly recommend getting one of those large 'mummy' clips. It's like a climbing Carabiner but massive! They're meant to help you clip shopping bags onto your pram, but they're perfect for dog leads.
This is where the training came in though. If both dogs pulled, I'm certain the pram would tip over. So you have to be confident they wont. And maybe keep a tight grip on the pram! Always put the breaks on if you plan to let go. Even if it's flat ground, if something catches the dog's eyes, you don't want them running off with your baby.
You can also consider having one dog on each side. It's more balanced when they're walking with the pram. When we changed to a smaller pushchair, we had to do this because we found we were walking wonky.

Carriers

 Before I get into each one, I just want to say, that when I'm walking on my own with the dogs, I avoid fields with cows and horses in. With company, I feel safer walking through (with the dogs on leads obviously) because if anything happens, there is someone else there to help. Always be safe when walking through the countryside! Animals can be unpredictable. Always think, what would I do if one of the dogs was hurt. Its not as simple as carrying them because you're already carrying a baby!

There have been three carriers in our dog walking journey so far. Each has been amazing at different points.

We started with a beautiful fabric wrap from Freerider . We had this blue one and a plain grey one. They do the most gorgeous designs in strong but soft fabric. It came with a little guide on how to use the wrap. I was so easy to follow, I managed it the first time I tried.
I loved having his so close to me. He certainly loved being snug as a bug. If he was ever having a bad day at home, it was perfect to pop him in, and still get my jobs done. I even baked a cake with him in this!


Jake gained weight quite quickly, so after a few months we changed to a more structured carrier. You can use the wraps for a long time, but with the dogs walks we were doing (a lot of climbing over gates) we felt it was time to change once he could support his own head.

This is when we got the Ergo carrier
It was made of a breathable mesh (handy for the warmer months) and we could carrier Jake forward facing, rear facing, on our hip or on our back.
He loved being able to see where we were going. Once he could support his head, he started being more aware and looking around him. So the change came at the perfect time.
This is also the carrier I used for my workouts with Carifit (the baby wearing workouts).

The only issue I had with this carrier, is despite the breathable material, Jake and myself would still get sweaty from where he was against me. This is most likely an issue with all baby wearing, not this carrier. Doing an hour long walk (at a quick pace) with a baby against you, makes you very hot and sweaty. I actually worry how sweaty I would make Jake, had the carrier not been so breathable. I think for a general stroll, you would be fine. But in the hottest summer Britain has seen, with the long walks we do, we would both be drenched.
This carrier felt very supportive though. I could easily walk around without feeling the need to have a hand under his bum. It was perfect for the in between stage of the wrap and our big backpack carrier.

 Once we were back in the swing of our usual exploration routes, we invested in a Little Life Carrier
We bought the voyager s4 because we will be doing quite a lot of hiking holidays as a family. It has a pillow for Jake to sleep against, a rain cover, and an in built sunshade.
The extra backpack is detachable. We put Jake's bits in this, and then the bits for the dogs in the bottom compartment

This is by far my favourite carrier! Jake is able to see everything on the walk easily. I found wearing him in the ergo on our backs, meant he was just looking at our back and not able to see where we were going.
He has a little seat, which means he isn't against our skin, so doesn't get sweaty as we get hot.
It has a 5 point harness so he is very secure. We can bend to pick things up without worrying he'll fall out. It's also reassuring, that should we ever slip, he will be safe in his carrier. It is very comfortable to wear. It's only Jake's weight that begins to make it difficult past the 90 minute mark. But at this point, we simply switch between us.
I can't wait to take this hiking with us in Scotland!

Pushchairs

The final thing we bought was our Out n About Pushchair
This was a game changer! I was able to go running with Jake and the dogs at the same time. So the whole family got a workout in one go (except Guinness, because he can't run.)
Beyond the exercise benefits, this pushchair is great for off road walks too. Those kind where the path is made of lots of stones, or grass, but there are no gates to climb over. If I know it's a marked path, I always take this with me. It means we can be out for longer when I'm walking the dogs solo, as I'm not carrying Jake's weight. It is so easy to push! I highly recommend this for anyone with dogs. We have a lot of national forests around us, with bumpy pathways. Again, this has a 5 point harness for added security. I can also lay Jake fully back if he falls asleep. There are plenty of zip up compartments for my keys/phone/leads.

Final Thoughts...

It can be hard work having dogs and a baby, but with planning (and training) it can be so rewarding! Because of the dogs, we get out nearly everyday. Jake and I get some fresh air, and the dogs get to run around. In fact, Jake constantly watches the dogs and giggles at them as they play, It's amazing to hear. Even on the hardest days, a quick dog walk can lift our mood.

The dogs have the best relationship with Jake. The treat him like one of the pack. As you will see below, Barney has definitely got a life long best friend. He's just waiting for him to learn how to throw a ball now!