One of the big concern as little wuster's arrival nears is how Sammy, my 10 year old pitbull mix will react / deal with the new addition to the family. Unfortunately, she has been pretty aggressive towards other smaller animals, so it definitely can be a problem. Worst case scenario would be that we won't be able to keep Sammy, but I'm definitely hoping that will not be the case. Of course, the best way to avoid this scenario is to be proactive and try to get her accustomed to the idea of little human beings are 1) not preys 2) higher than her on the family hierarchy 3) something she should protect. Actually, she seems to know kids are human too, and are more curious about them then anything else, but at the same time, we're a bit afraid of her being too rough.
I've been looking through the web and searching for some good advices on how to minimize the dangers and best ways to introduce the dog to the baby. Here are some sites that I have found so far that seems to offer good suggestions:
How To Introduce The Pit BullTo Your Children
http://www.dog-first-aid-101.com/the-pit-bull.html
How to introduce a Pit Bull to your children
http://www.dogdigest.net/how-to-introduce-a-pit-bull-to-your-children/
Found some interesting readings from yahoo answer and various pitbull lover chatrooms as well. Generally, the preveiling theme seems to be it should be fine if done carefully and slowly, and will require some amount of patience. Basically, the 1, 2, 3 process is to first get her used to the idea that Mom and others may be holding a baby that makes noises (can buy a doll which squeaks and or moves). Then get her used to the baby powder smell, as well as the baby's smell when the baby is first brought home, without letting them actually encounter each other for at least a few days. Then finally, introduce them under controlled circumstance, with her leashed if necessary and if she gets jumpy or snarls at all, separate them and reprimend her severely. Eventually she should turn around and become used to the baby. But even when they are getting along great, never leave the dog alone with the baby, especially with a jumpy dog like Sammy. It's possible she may jump up just to try and get a good look at the baby or to try and lick it to show affection and in the process, hurt the baby by either pawing the baby too hard or maybe accidentally pushing over whatever barrier/container that may be holding the baby.
There are a couple things that I do plan to do as well. First is to installing some additional safety gates to both keep the baby where s/he should be and Sammy where she should be. Second is to start being more firm and try and reinforce some basic commands more strictly.. Sammy is a smart dog and she actually knows all the basics commands, it's really just that she sometimes doesn't care to listen, I guess with a baby coming, she will have to learn no means no and stay means stay. So it time to start getting firm and tough and then it'll be easier and less stressful later for everyone.. Well, I've done my pre-homework, I guess I'll be doing some basic training now and when the time gets a bit closer, we'll do all the other stuff and just see how things work out.
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