[1_dog_owner]

My wife and I have a male Maltese- 1.5 years old. My wife just found out she is about 4 weeks pregnant : ) Our dog just recently started voluntarily jumping in the bathtub and licking the sides and bottom of tub. Our dog isn't very fond of getting baths which is why we are surprised of his recent behavior. We are also concerned that he will become ill from licking the tub. We have been yelling at him when he gets caught and also when he approaches the tub. I am getting worried that our reprimanding him will create an even more negative reaction from him when we need to bathe him. Do you think there is a connection between my wife's pregnancy and his licking the tub? I have read several articles regarding pet dogs sensing when their owner is pregnant. Do male dogs get attracted to their pregnant owner's hormones and pheromones? Please let me know your thoughts.

[Aurora_Bell]

I haven't done much research on the subject myself, but I do know that dogs have very keen sense of smelling, and it definitely could be related. When a woman gets pregnant, all kinds of changes take place in her body, and she definitely could be releasing some sort of pheramones that your boy is attracted to. First question, is your dog neuthered?
I don't think he could get sick, unless there was a lot of buit up residue of cleaning products on the tub.
I don't think you should yell at your dog, this will confuse him when it comes time to bathe. I would just quietly pick him up and take him out of the bathroom, get him distracted with more appropriate behaviour like a bone or a treat, or play time.
One of the main reasons dogs lick is from stress, or boredom. Now your dog could be lacking soemthing in his diet as well. All though I am leaning towards the pheramones.
This could become obsessive, and he could even become obsessive of yor wife. That's why it is best to interveen with positive reinforcement.
My male dog became very possesive of me while I was pregnant, and this was a 110 lbs Am Staff. Pretty intimidating for friends and family!
Does your dog get upset when you take him away from the bathtub?

[1_dog_owner]

Thanks for your feedback Aurora. My dog is neutered. He is also already very attached to my wife- she has treated him like a baby since he was a puppy so he is a "mama's boy" now. I could certainly see stress, boredom and the pheromones as a reason since this is somewhat a stressful but happy time. I do believe it is some way tied into the pregnancy as this is a new behavior and he is acting a bit mopey and is constantly at my wife's side more than usual. I do think the licking of the bowl is becoming obsessive because he will sneak into the tub at every opportunity.
He seems to get a little upset when we take him away- when my wife yells at him, he will go right back to the tub as soon as she turns her back. He will not be as determined to get back to the tub when I yell at him but he will jump at the opportunity to get at the tub after he sees me leave the area. The yelling technique will have to be replaced with some other form of distraction and positive reinforcement although do you think that presenting a treat to distract him followed by his licking the tub will lead him to believe that he is being rewarded for licking the tub?

[1_dog_owner]

Made a typo in my last post- the word bowl should be tub.

[Aurora_Bell]

This is what I would recommend you try, fisrt keep bathroom door closed off to pup as much as possible. When he does sneak in there, take him out of the room completely, give him a bone, toy, go for a walk, get him excited to be out of that room and reward THAT behaviour.
I wouldn't lure him out with treats but as soon as he gets in the bathroom (I use) try using the word WRONG! Not yelling, but in a firm "i Mean business" tone of voice. The word "bad" is used everyday in your day to day conversations, it really has no meaning for pup. Try associating a more meaningful word to the behaviour. Any ways say WRONG, take him out, and imeaditly get him distracted.
You can also try a bitter ex solution on the tub after your wife is done in there. They sell stuff like phooyey at places lke wal mart, I am not sure how well it work on a surface like a tub, but it's worth a shot.
You need to basically train him that bath tub licking is not acceptable!
If he were licking his paws or body, I would think it would be more medical, but seeing your situation I do believe it is behavioural.
It will take lots of patience, but I think you will get better results then you were from the yelling tecniques.
Good luck! It'd be great if you could keep us updated on progrss :)

[Cat1864]

Aurora has given you some good tips. This may sound like a strange idea, but you might try a baby gate (they make them extra wide for very wide doorways) in front of the tub.

I want to bring up something that you need to start working on now. If your wife has been treating him like a 'baby', he may resent the newcomer or try to assert a more dominate place in the household than the new baby.

You need to begin now getting him ready to accept the baby by teaching him that he is a dog. You need to take more control of things like feeding, walking and play time so that he isn't as fixated on your wife. It probably won't be easy for your wife either, but she needs to think ahead and this is going to take months of training and preparing. The last thing you want is an unhappy animal causing problems because he isn't the 'baby' anymore.

If you haven't taught him the 'leave it' command you may want to do that (it could help in the tub too). If you have him trained to leave things alone when you say the command it will help keep the puppy from taking dropped baby toys and items.

[Aurora_Bell]

Oh and remember to always set him up for success. Don't leave the bathroom door open, and then yell at him for going in there, remember it's mostly your fault for leaving the door open! Dogs don't think like humans, so he isn't going to understand what he is doing is wrong until YOU TEACH him it is. So try and keep the bathroom blocked off in some way.

[MsMewiththat]

Congratulations on the pregnancy You have been giving great advice above. This is very interesting, I would have never put the connection together. My dogs lick anything wet just to get the water. This time of year is dry. This is in no way meant to be condescening but does the water dish stay down for the dog to drink from or is it taken away after meal time? Does your dog like ice cubes?

[1_dog_owner]

Hey all, thanks for all of the advice. We have been staying cognizant about keeping the door shut- which is the easiest solution. We do keep water down for the dog all day long and he never drinks a bowl of water a day or seems thirsty- which is reason why we find his tub licking strange. We will use all the advice given and send an update. One thing I don't think I can do is change my wife's babying of the dog- I will probably have more success teaching the dog to speak English.

[Aurora_Bell]

Hahah, that really made me laugh out loud! :)
Try and do some research on introducing a new baby to your dog. I have a feeling that may be your next question in 9 months ;)
Something's to consider are:
How much exposure has your dog had previously to children? How has your pet reacted when it has been exposed? The most serious concern is if your dog has previously reacted aggressively or fearfully with children.
If you doog has had little or no exposure to young children or babies. A lack of early socialization to children may lead to some initial anxiety or fear associated with the sights, sounds and odors of the new baby.
One final concern is the growth and development of your baby. As your child progresses from being constantly being carried to one that rolls, crawls, and begins to walk, and so on through childhood, some pets may have trouble adapting to one or more of these changes. Fear, dominance challenges, possessive displays, and playful behaviors could result in aggression. Anxiety or fear could lead to anorexia, compulsive disorders ( flank sucking, acral lick dermatitis), or destructiveness (house-soiling, marking, chewing, digging).
Here is a good website to check out to give you some tips and what not for an easy transition!

Children and Dogs - Baby's Homecoming

Dogs and Babies: Warning Signs: Behaviour Signs that a Dog is Reacting Badly to a New Baby

Your vet will have some books that they will recommend as well.

[Cat1864]

We will use all the advice given and send an update. One thing I don't think I can do is change my wife's babying of the dog- I will probably have more success teaching the dog to speak English.

I look forward to the updates. :)

Training the owner is a big part of training the animal. It is also part of the reason training the animal takes so long. Be patient and consistent with both of them. :)

Here is an article that can give you a starting place in talking to your wife about the animal and the baby and what needs to be done BEFORE the baby comes home to keep down the stress level for Mommy and puppy:
Bringing Home the New Human Baby

[1_dog_owner]

Thanks!

[Cat1864]

No problem. I hope anything we have said will help you out in the future.

If need or want more advice, please just keep adding on to the thread. We will do our best to give you help and support. :)