New, need helpful suggestions..

    • Puppy

    New, need helpful suggestions..

    We have two male American Bulldogs, and while we love them dearly, they have taken a backseat to the arrival of our first child. My wife was diagnosed with severe postpartum depression a few weeks after delivery. It was so bad that she literally couldn't function and had major disconnect with our newborn (still struggles with both). To make things worse, our baby is colicky. I am a construction coordinator, working long hours (starting early and ending late), and am not home much to help my wife. But when I do get home, the first thing I do is take the baby to give her a break, something that is long overdue by that time. Unfortunately, this is around the time when we take the dogs out for a brisk walk but has been replaced with me tending to the baby, and my wife regaining some sanity. Now, our oldest dog has been displaying some unfavourable behaviours. One of which is fighting with the younger dog -- one incident where blood was drawn. They are both neutered and have always got along well. The younger dog remains friendly and playful, even acknowledging this stressful time that we're going through, and wanting to comfort my wife and the baby, by laying snuggled up beside them. When I can breakaway for a short period, I will run both dogs out at the dog park for awhile, but otherwise, my primary focus is on the wife and baby. We're both just so physically and mentally exhausted right now, we're really having a tough time. I know he's just reacting to the change of pace in the household and lack of playtime/walks but meanwhile, any helpful suggestions on how to handle this? Thanks.
    • Gold Top Dog

    Congrats on your new addition to the family!

    Find out if there is support for your wife, in the community.  Her doctor may know, for a start.  Sounds like she needs someone to come in daily for an hour or 2 and relieve the burden a bit.  She can either take a break and rest, or go outside with the dogs.  You could even check with your local senior center about anyone who wants to be a foster grandparent!

    From your description, it sounds like the dogs are not getting enough exercise, plus less attention and they don't know how to respond to that.  Two new parents can only do so much, and helping hands are what is going to be best at this point.  Just my opnion!

    • Gold Top Dog

    I'm sorry you are all going through such a stressful time.  You might see about hiring a dog walker to come over a few times during the day to walk the dogs separately to provide some exercise.  For the fighting between them I suggest you contact a behaviorist for a consultation.  You should keep them separated in the meantime as this sort of behavior usually doesn't get better and often gets worse even with exercise or more attention from you or your wife.  Obviously both of these suggestions are going to cost you but it might be less than the veterinary bills that might ensue if a serious fight breaks out not to mention the emotional trauma to your family.   The thought of your wife trying to deal with that when she's home alone with the baby and dogs is really scary. 

    Link to a site to help find a behaviorist.  http://www.dacvb.org/resources/find/  If there is no one nearby you can often have a phone consult which isn't ideal but better than nothing.  Good luck with everything.  I know it might not be a popular suggestion but if you have to rehome one of these dogs, I would do it.  Contact a rescue group for that breed if all else fails.

    • Gold Top Dog

    My Daughter-in-law went thru this.  I was able to take a week and go take care of the baby and the house.  If you do not have any relatives near by that can come take care of the baby, then I would agree there must be a support group in your area (check the hospital where the baby was born).    I remember, my son was totally worn out taking care of baby, mom, groceries, yard, laundry, doctors visits for both  baby and mommy, 1 full time job and a part-time job.  I think it would be very important that the dogs get the excersise but as a note * you will need excersise also.  Dog walkers will help while you are at work but I think it would be very important for you to walk the dogs when you can in the evenings.  It will help you unwind and help the dogs maintain at least one piece of their routine.  Once the baby is old enough and the weather hold out you could walk the dogs and take the stroller. Good luck, this is a tough situation for the caregiver, keeping yourself healthy is very important for everyone in the household.

    • Gold Top Dog

    I meant to say earlier that the dogs fighting could very well be something that would have happened despite the changes and stress in your family.  I don't know the ages of the dogs but if one or both has reached sexual maturity (despite being neutered) it's not uncommon to see fighting between dogs who were best friends previously. You may not have time to deal with this as it requires time and training to deal with and the help of a professional unless you're a very experienced dog owner. 

     Again, I suggest you keep them separated to avoid any further fighting.  You may have to crate and rotate until you can find a long term solution or figure out another way to separate them but I would encourage you to do this as your wife or yourself could be seriously injured trying to break up a fight between dogs of this size.  In case anyone suggest punishing the dogs for the aggression you should be aware that it's not recommended by behaviorists and can make things much worse.