Hi! I'm new to this board and I just wanted to ask a questions. I have two dogs. An 8 month old St. Bernard female named Moose and a 1 & 1/2 yeard old Samyoed male name Buckie.

I just recently found out I was pregnant and have started to get really worried. Buckie is VERY attached to Moose but Moose is VERY attached to me. I'm just really worried that when the baby come in July, Moose will be agitated with the amount of attention I'm giving to the baby.

I know that Saint Bernards are really very docile dogs, but with her being so big I'm just worried about her trying to climb on me for attention or something with my having the baby.

Any suggestions on how to get her ready for when my baby comes?

Generally large breeds tend to accept babies easily. You will probably want to be sure to monitor their reactions to the baby for a while. You might be really surprised how protective they both become of the new one. Any signs of aggression should be thought of as a real problem, and dealt with accordingly. Also it might be a good idea to work on moving the dogs away from being your babies.

How things go will depend largely on what sort of leadership you are giving them. If you and your husband need to establish yourselves as the leaders, at least you have sometime to work on it. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position, Letting your dog know you are the boss There is a link there to a page on dogs and children. Read it now, and review it closer to when the baby comes.

My daughter just had a baby in September. She grew up as the official puppy raiser for our first 5 dog guide puppies. Since they have been married, they have raised 3 more puppies together. Their little terrier mix has adjusted well with their strong dog skills.

If the dogs see you as leader, you don't need to do much else. If they don't, it won't make much difference what you do.