Pregnancy and dachshunds. Whats the scoop?
People often ask do they know?
The answer is yes, they do. They will pick up in changing in your scent caused by hormonal changes in your body from very early on. Often you may see very subtle changes, and sometimes quite dramatic.
Dogs have been used for years to alert to medical issues, the things they can pick up on are absolutely amazing. They were even used to detect covid, they are commonly used to support people with unseen medical issues to alert of any fluctuations in the "norm" and to ensure their humans are safe. Their noses are phenomenal.....and as a scent hound, dachshunds noses have super powers!
But how does your pet dachshund respond?
Its been a long time since I had my son, and at the time I was trying to escape dachshunds (I managed 4 years) although my parents had several so it wasn’t quite a clean break. But, my memory is a bit sketchy so I have put some quotes in below from my clients who have happily shared their experiences. (I have changed names for anonymity). I really must thank those who shared their bump pictures, mine was of the wobbly variety so I didn't take any pics!
Over the years I have worked with many people who have noticed changes in their dogs behaviour. Some positive, some less so. Its important that you are aware of how the changes in your scent and your behaviour may influence things and give you the opportunity to make the appropriate steps.
I did do a blog on bringing your newborn home too, so please have a look at that before your baby is due to ensure you prepare your dogs.
I will be following this blog up in a few weeks with some stories people have privately shared their IVF journey. I am very overwhelmed by these amazing people sharing their stories with me to enable me to share to help others. IVF is often not spoken about, especially the challenges, loss, sadness and joy many of these parents face. For them to share their experiences with the impact on their dogs to help others is a huge gift and one that needs careful consideration and research before sharing. I am immensely privileged and grateful to be trusted with their journey's.
The science
Pregnancy triggers changes in a woman’s hormone levels as well as causing internal physiological changes to enable the body to become a host to a growing baby. There is minimal, if any, (I couldn't find any) concrete science that proves they “know.” However anecdotally dogs can tell you are pregnant before you are aware of it yourself.
Initially they may become either very attentive or potentially quite aloof where they may be confused by the change in your scent. They may become more protective over you and start showing more defensive behaviours when people or other animals approach you.
Remember some hormone plug ins, such as adaptil replicate the appeasing pheromones a female dog produces when she has a litter of puppies. These pheromones are a natural form of communicating to the litter and providing comfort. Some research supports their use in helping with anxiety issues. Humans release similar hormones to dogs when they are pregnant and when they the milk comes in. Its why when you feed your baby you get all groggy and relaxed, i always wanted to snooze. This scent can increase a dogs need to remain close to you, find safety with you, and similarly potentially become protective over you.
Changes you may see in your daxies behaviours:
Some of the below issues are things I have seen when working with pregnant mums. But it is important to emphasise the majority have no problems at all. Remember people don’t come to me when they aren’t having issues – unless they are updating some time on to let me know how they are doing. (I love those updates btw!)
Increased anxiety especially around you. This can be increased defensiveness – towards dogs or people on walks, and potentially whilst resting with you on the sofa
Conflict between dogs
Reluctance to go for walks without you
Increased attachment to you
Changes in sleeping and toileting behaviours
More clingy to others in the home
Increased problematic behaviour towards you
Changes you make
Once you are aware of your pregnancy you will naturally start making changes to your routine. You may start preparing your home by decorating, even consider moving home. You will bring in a load of furniture and start moving things around, You may become more tense about your daxies pre-existing behaviours and worry how they will respond to having a baby at home. Naturally as your pregnancy progresses you will become increasingly tired, and will definitely become emotional about things whilst your hormones take you on a bit of a roller coaster ride. Try to do what you can to support your daxie with all these changes. We all know they aren't great with change so building in subtle changes in your routine earlier on will really help them adapt.
During this time it is important to consider the following
1. Whether you need to start addressing your dogs training and behaviour NOW! Don't put it off until you are heavily pregnant. Realistically any issues you have may need time, but you won't have the energy to put in what's needed. Pregnancy is hard work. Having dogs to train whilst you are pregnant....harder still. It's important you are realistic. Get rid of those rose tinted glasses, they will not help you!
If they have never needed to be left alone, you need to start introducing this slowly now. Once your baby comes along you will start needing to pop out for visits to the health visitor, or for their jabs. You may go to a baby group or similar. It is important to prepare for that now. I know my son came a month early, and it was a bit of a panicked rush to go to hospital….I didn’t even have my baby bag ready…..the thought of sorting the dogs out whilst everyone else was flapping would have been a nightmare. Thankfully they were comfortable being left.
2. Are you worried about how your dogs noise reactivity may impact a sleeping baby? Start working on this now. Getting them used to various noises including baby noises is vital in helping your dogs. What about visitors? There's a lot of them in the early days! There's more on that in the other blog!
3. Where you will definitely not have the energy for longer walks later on in the pregnancy, or earlier if you have some of the pregnancy sicknesss -if you are a bit of a athlete and love long walks, start reducing these slowly or consider a dog walker to ensure your dog doesn’t go stir crazy from a lack of physical exercise. Top tip - make sure spaces where you rest are not areas of high energy i.e. don't play fetch in the living room!
4. Try to make some time to give constructive interactive mental stimulation to your dogs, and similarly work on their ability to relax in their beds and be independent of you.
5. Consider the set up whilst you are pregnant – I go into this more in the blog I linked to earlier. But do consider any new restrictions you will put in place and address them now. If your dog sleeps on the bed with you, certainly early on you probably won’t want this whilst you get to grips with having a baby home. Start introducing new sleeping areas as early as possible.
6. If you have multiple dogs, don’t hesitate to address any issues between them. Get professional support now. I have known a few cases where later stages of pregnancy have been a catalyst to rivalry issues.
7. I remember when I was pregnant I was “told” (I was actually told) to “get rid” of my dogs. Obviously me and these people no longer speak. Not a chance! But I made sure that the dogs I had who I had taken on with issues were my focus in ensuring that any potential safety issues were addressed. Now, when I volunteered with the Red Foundation, I remember a lot of dogs being rehomed due to a new baby. I know we all have opinions on the matter – quite strong ones, but it is important to remember that these people have spent years loving their dogs and probably feel heartbroken at the prospect. They never would have taken on a dog to "get rid of it when they have a baby." Some dogs we know are just not ok with children, their history may be complex and safety is paramount – of the baby and the dog. As you can see in my other blog initially it can be quite stressful but the majority, regardless of their history recognise the baby as part of their unit - obviously with careful management. Too many dogs lose their lives due to mismanagement of child and dog safety, no matter how bombproof your dog is, don't take that for granted. However, whilst we can all sit on our high horses saying “don’t leave children unsupervised” early on, baby brain affects you. Later toddlers get into places which you just don’t anticipate. Whilst I would always hope people would ensure they utilised the timeframe of the pregnancy to address things, there are cases where people are just unable to, or the risk is too great. It’s a reality, and not one for anyone to judge. I will say you shouldn’t be bullied into it. I know if I’d have listened it would have been one of my biggest regrets. As a single mum, with 5 larger dogs with different backgrounds, I managed it well. Yes, I was obviously a more experienced dog handler, but as a mother – Kieron was the first baby I ever held and the first baby my dogs had ever met.
8. If like me (I hope not, but just in case) you suddenly find yourself left ‘holding the baby’, don’t panic or make any rash decisions. Reach out to family and ask for support whilst you learn to navigate your unplanned journey. 15 years on, I can confidently tell you, you will be ok. Its hard, but manageable. If I can do it, you can! But you must ask for help as soon as possible. The sudden chnge in your relationship will impact the dogs too, your emotions, your routine will all change. Try to slow things down and create a plan.
9. Give your dogs time to adjust too, but try not to “feed” their clinginess, try and encourage independence through positive activities. Ask others to get involved in the key things in their lives. Those hormones are likely to make you even more valuable…..so try to help others increase their value in some way, especially when you suddenly become even more available during maternity leave.
10. I know my hormones had me all over the place emotionally. My life around my pregnancy was pretty pants if I am honest, all the top stressors happened in the last few months, probably why he was so early, allow for that. Try not to make impulsive or rash decisions, and talk things through with a friend or family member who will always be honest and a calming influence on you.
Personally I always feel it is worth working with a professional who understands all of these things to help you prepare for any occurrences before there is an issue. This way you can discuss your daxies current needs and put things in place to help them when that beautiful, loud, bundle of smelly gorgeousness arrives.
Pregnancy experiences
I remember my dane being particularly attentive, the collies didn’t care. I had a relatively easy pregnancy, but where life wasn't great I didn't really take note. My parents daxies didn’t really change from what I recall, just as cuddly as ever. When Kieron was born, I admit I was a bit worried, as 2 of the dogs I had had a history of aggression. However I needn’t have worried, all the work I put in to them saw them grow up with Kieron and help him become the kind, caring dog friendly human he is today…..even though he is a teenager!
Here are some observations kindly shared by some of my clients:
Arlo and Hux's mum Tayla didn't really notice any changes, aparet from "Hux licked my bump once but that was because I’d covered it in coconut oil!" Because of the issues with rivalry, we have been working closely through Tay's second pregnancy to mitigate any potential issues. Soon the family of 4 will become 5! And admittedly I feel like a proud Auntie to be!
I haven’t been pregnant since 1980 🤣 but I do see a change in my dogs around small children. They’ve always been encouraged to meet little’uns since they were puppies but encounters can be infrequent. The smaller the child, the gentler they are. Our 1 year old granddaughter visited recently - their smallest sprog yet. All three dogs were incredibly gentle and respectful with her.
Currently 28 weeks pregnant and surprised to say my two haven't changed a bit
Daxie (name changed for anon) 100% knew I was pregnant before I’d done a test. He started barking in the night for ‘no’ reason. He didn’t want the toilet and he didn’t want my husband. He would only settle when I slept downstairs on the sofa with him and he kept trying to lick my nose and mouth. During the day he was also more ‘clingy’. However during the bulk of the pregnancy he wasn’t overly different. He definitely knew there was something different and would cuddle up to bump, especially in 3rd trimester and he got kicked a few times but stayed snuggled head on belly! Saying that he would still climb over me without care for the bump so I had to be mindful of that!
During labour he was amazing! He ‘let’ us go to hospital without fuss…when I came home in the middle as things progressed he cuddled me on the sofa. When I was on the birthing ball he wanted to be very close and kept asking for me to pick him up so he was cuddling me on the birthing ball during several contractions before we went back to hospital 🥰
Whilst I was pregnant, Daxie (Name changed for anon), who has never been dog reactive, did develop some reactivity to “friendly” dogs who approached and hung around or jumped up at me. Never had an issue with it before and has now resumed letting me fend for myself! Although she does still stand guard of the buggy ❤️
With our previous dog Daxie, definitely. He was super protective of me when I was pregnant both times and I'm sure he knew when the babies were due. He was then super protective of the babies and loved them completely.
He was a very special dog. I don't think edit - my current dogs would have been the same!!
I got a lab pup on mat leave when Human (Name change for anon) was about 2 months because I thought pup and kid, what could go wrong. She was amazing with kids and lived until the ripe old age of 16, but she never knew any different and her and Human grew up together.
Daxie was a year and a half old when our wee girl was born, there wasn’t any noticeable change to be honest. Nothing really to note you could tell she knew something was different but i’m not sure if that was all the new things arriving like the furniture and toys
When i was pregnant Daxie (name change for anon) literally had to touch me 24/7. He would rest his head on my belly a lot. He also got kinda snippy with my partner. If he would reach over to touch me and Daxie was on me, his eyes would get big and start showing the whites like dogs do when they're uncomfortable. That would be accompanied by a really quick turn of the head towards the offending hand. He never actually went to bite but a couple times it looked like he was really contemplating it. And Daxie has literally never done anything like that before or after.
My boys knew I was pregnant before I did. One would sniff me more, and the other would lay on my legs facing out (he would usually face me). Neither liked to lay on my belly, they were almost unsure of it and why it kept moving. Once she was born they would also always want to be in the same room as her.
Thanks everyone for your input, its so interesting to hear about the different experiences you've had.
Pregnancy is a very unique journey and our experiences with our dogs all vary, as does the experience of raising our children. You will 100% make mistakes and that is ok. It is part of our bonding experience with out children. The most important thing at this stage is to prepare for things that "might" happen or "might" be needed, but anticipate these things may differ, or probably not cause any issues. It is better to be overprepared than have any surprises. Then you can focus on enjoying the experience and feel some control.....as I can assure you once that baby arrives - your world will change dramatically (for the better!)
I really hope this blog helps you through this wonderful time, it passes in a flash and soon enough you will have a teenager towering over you, stinking out the house with deodorant aftershave obsessing themselves in the mirror! Maybe if I survive this stage I'll write a blog on dachshunds and teenagers. But currently it would write "he seems to win over every single animal that comes through the door and steals all the chocolates - of the canine and food variety!
Feel free to add your experiences below. Its great to be able to pass on our experiences to others.
Comments