Suggestions for Gibby and a baby PLEASE

 Leash him to hubby.

tiffy

Leash him to hubby.

Hahaha...if only he wern't stronger than DH!!!  But I might just have to do something like that..... so the DH doesn't forget he is supposed to be watching...CAREFULLY!

 Can you leash him to someting unmovable?

Dyan, has it been this long since I've talked to you??  You quit the vets?? 

My solution for company is always to set Willow up in a room that's furthest away from the noise.  I sometimes-depending on whose here-let her out to interact for a few minutes.  And, thoroughout the time for potty.  I find this works for me on many levels.  One, I don't have to worry about what she's doing to guests.  Two, I don't have to worry about people feeding her things she cannot have.  Three, for Willow it's more relaxing to be away from the crowd.  Also, sometimes people don't want a dog near them if they are dressed up, they don't want hair on them or whatever.

This might not work for you permanently Dyan.  But, you might want to think about it for Thanksgiving since it's so close.  At least you won't have to stress over this now in addition to cook.  And, after you can work on what ever more permanent solution you'd like. 

Lori

Thanks for some suggestions tiffy and Willow.

I think both things will be a little hard for the same reasons.  You know we are here by ourselves... Gibby is pretty spoiled because he doesn't get left alone much since DH doesn't work anymore... We go out a lot but  usually not for too long.  He has never been a dog that was tied up to anything,,except once in a while I would put him on one of those things that screw into the dirt outside while working on flowers and all...but he would lay and chew at the leash he was tied  to.  Because I live in a association we are not allowed to tie dogs outside.  He has never been locked outside of the room we were in either...and the once or twice I got mad at him and put him in a the laundry room where his kennel, some toys and feeding dishes are and closed the door, he scratched and barked like crazy.

You know, several years ago my sister in law got bit by a Great Dane..right in the face.  At the time they believed it was because it was a small house so the owner would lock up the dog every time there was company  and of course Marilyn was not company as she was a neighbor and went down there a lot, the dog bit her face while sitting on the couch and talking to him. I believe one thing she was guilty of was staring into his eyes...she used to do that to my dogs when here....  But it scared me to the point I always believed keeping the dog away from my company is not a good idea.    Gibby is so very friendly and loves people ( which we are thrilled about after having Bubblegum that was afraid of so many ) and I really think he would tear up any place he was barricaded in because he wants to be near people so much.  Even when he is at the dog park or petstores and all...he greets other dogs but heads right for their owners to greet them and get petted. My house is very small, its a two story cluster home that is totally all open...there is no place far enough where it would be quiet for him away from noise and laughter.     I do intend to give him a raw bone while we are eating...I always do that so we don't have to put up with him trying to sneak by the table. We always tell him to lay on a big rug by the front door while eating, but when we have company  he pushes our buttons a bit more...so a bone will help then.

Yes Lori...I did quit my vet job.  It was a very high pressure job, too many corporate rules and tests, too much cattyness ( is that a word??? ) and trouble makers, my boss not the easiest person to deal with on an everyday basis.....and I drove 40 minutes to get there. Can't tell you how many nights I stayed awake worrying about the drive in snow at 6 AM to get there.   They are now open on Sundays and later at night.....and combine all that....its just become too much.  I actually gave a 2 week notice in August but stayed there until last week.. until they replaced me.  They did start another girl several weeks before...but then yet another girl quit, so I stayed thru her replacement also.  Just to show you how it is there..I have been there 3 1/2 years and there has been 3 office managers in that time.

My first Thanksgiving with Jamison, I was a little worried too because my niece was still pretty little and I was afraid she might get him worked up into some kind of frenzy.  I just talked to my vet and she gave me some tranqs and Jamison slept through the whole thing.  Problem solved.

Deb W.

not knowing your situation...is there not a crate he can stay in? A yard he can stay in...while you are visiting? None of mine are allowed to bother guests unless the request it. They are put into their crate or the dog yard....

The time to work on things with your dog is not when company is coming...it's before and after...for the visit itself just make them comfy someplace and remind yourself how important it is to work with your dog daily and steadily so NEXT time he can be a part of things, if that's what you want.

eta: I would NOT...imo give a Dane anything large to chew on or consume while they are in a state of excitement or anxious. That would be courting bloat. You also need to try and unbend and relax on the day because he will sense that. Sounds like there's some baggage and hard feelings on your part and perhaps the wife's so it might be a bit tense anyways...don't need your boy picking up on that because he will then act WORSE more likely.

rwbeagles

is there not a crate he can stay in? A yard he can stay in...while you are visiting?

I live in a very small and open cluster home which also means that I have no real yard...and we are not allowed to tie up dogs outside.  He has never been a crate dog...I tried to keep him one for the first 7 weeks of his life...he was so upset and cried and slobbered the whole night that I finally gave up on that....there is many many posts about that when I got him.

He has always been worked with,,,but I must admit that lately I have been slacking on it. But he has a lot of spirit so we almost have to work with him on a daily basis.      We have company a lot... so he is used to having company. Just not a baby.   Every holiday I have given him a raw bone to gnaw on during dinner...he does'nt eat them though...he gnaws for about an hour or so.

Yes...it will be a tense day with or without the baby...... and his mother. Just trying to cook two different meats, all the trimmings..carve the meat and have everything done at the same time and at the right time is hard enough. Having a few different people here that are kind of touchy such as my MIL....adds to it.  And then on a good day... Mikes wife doesn't like dogs at all....I'm sure she doesn't want her baby anywhere around my dog.... and I would like to show her that it is okay.... for the future.   After all, our dog is our family also.

When I was on vacation last week..I asked my one vet about a possible med to calm him down IF the babysitter felt she needed it and he suggested Benadryl.....   I wonder if maybe I should think about that.  I will probably take him to day care the day before also...hoping he will be tired the following day.

Dyan, I'm not saying make my solution your permanent one.  But, you've got one week until Thanksgiving.  And, as someone said, it's not enough time to get this sorted out. 

 Can he go to boarding for the day?

Liesje

 Can he go to boarding for the day?

  This is a good suggestion but I can't imagine being able to find a place to board him this close to Thanksgiving, especially not being an established customer some where.

 Since he goes to daycare is it possible to take him Mon, Tues AND Weds next week for whole days? That should make a big difference in his level of energy and excitement, especially if he isn't used to going every day. He will be much easier to deal with if he is tired :)

 My other thought was to invest in some baby/pet gates, so that he won't be totally isolated but will be blocked from going to certain parts of the house if/when needed. You can get 3' tall ones at some pet stores or you can buy shorter ones and place them higher on the wall to make them higher (but don't leave enough space for him to crawl under).

 Couldn't Gibby just jump or walk over a baby gate?

tiffy

Couldn't Gibby just jump or walk over a baby gate?

Haha...your sure got THAT right!  Actually he can't step over them..but can knock it down by breathing on it..lol!   We do use a baby gate to barricade him in between the bedroom and laundry room ( where his water/feeding bowls are) but that is when no one is here and he crawls on the bed to sleep.  But as I said...I have a very small home...that bedroom is right off the living room and he would not take to being barricaded while he had company that he loves. I"m sure that gate would be knocked down in a flash...not to mention my major bathroom for people to use is in that bedroom.

I understand what you are saying Lori..... its a good idea except we have a lot of company ( on and off ) and Gibby loves it when there are people around....he won't be more relaxed put away because there is no place in my house that would by off to the side where its quiet and relaxing for him.  He would be stressed as could be....which I'm afraid of.

Boarding is a good idea....but  won't board him over night...not unless I would find a place I could afford where someone is there all night too keep an eye out...too afraid of nightime bloat for that.  But I did put a call in to see if they have room for him to go play for the whole day...THAT should help because he is used to sleeping a lot. We will take him as early as we can whick is about 7AM.... and leave him for as long as we can which is about 4 for playdays...and try not to let him rest too much at night when we bring him home.  Probably doing it 3 days is a better idea...but not positive I want to spend the money besides the fact that its quite a drive to get there.  

Between that, maybe I will give him some Benadryl or R.R.  and pound it into DHs head that he has to never let his guard down.   At least at this point the baby is not crawling or walking.... I don't have to worry about him coming up to Gibby....only Gibby.

 Sounds like you have a plan for now at least. I would suggest though, that from now on you may want to really work on teaching him some behaviors that will help him be less of a worry when family visits. Teaching him to accept being confined and/or barricaded won't just help for these situations but if he ever needs to have surgery which requires he be kept inactive or ever needs to stay at a vet clinic it will make it much less stressful on him and you. Also teaching a super solid down/stay can go a looooong way in helping to keep stress levels down during family visits. And impluse control is something that most dogs can always use work on.

 An added bonus may be that if you can make Gibby a model citizen, your son's wife may be more comfortable bringing the baby around.