crawling and dogs

My twins are almost 8 mo and will be crawling soon. My question is for you mothers with dogs (who shed...alot). I have two English Bulldogs and a tiled house. I do have an unused dining room that we have gated off for a playroom and put a rug and foam flooring for them to play in. But I feel I can't keep them in there all the time. However, there is no way they can sit/crawl on the floor in the main living area - there is too much dog hair (and dander), no matter how many times a day I Swiffer. So when they are in the living room, they are in their exersaucers. I have to confess, they are in their exersaucers 80% of the day (except naps and highchair/feedings). The remaining 20% they are in the play room. Is that enough floor time?

They are rolling and sitting, not crawling yet though. It's just I have to be in there with them and cannot leave them unattended and it's just hard to sit on the floor for hours at a time. People who have carpet, and no dogs, can have the babies on the floor of the living area all day, but for me it's not feasible. If I put a rug somewhere on the tile, my dogs will just roll all over it and it will be useless. My house is an open floor plan, the kitchen/breakfast area/living room is all kind of one big long room, so there is nowhere I can gate off to keep the dogs out (other than the playroom).

Does anyone who has dogs have any suggestions? THANKS

 

We have two pugs. We let the pugs go wherever. Our feeling is that the dogs are a part of the family and we should not seclude them. The kids will eventually have to get around the dogs at some point. I say just let them play!

 

QUOTE(reeba1976 @ May 25 2008, 09:07 AM) [snapback]792065[/snapback]
We have two pugs. We let the pugs go wherever. Our feeling is that the dogs are a part of the family and we should not seclude them. The kids will eventually have to get around the dogs at some point. I say just let them play!


Does the dog hair not drive you crazy?? I guess at some point, especially when they're walking and tumbling around, I'll have to just get over it!

 

we shave our dogs. We have a cocker spaniel, an English Mastiff, and a 40 lb. mutt with a coat like a shepherd. We shave all three. They look a little funny but the house is clean.

 

We have 2 goldens who shed alot about twice a year. I have always let them be around the babies and then when they got mobile I vacuumed all the time.

 

Not quite the same but with my first I was a nanny for a family with a border collie. I would sweep and vacuum when we first got there and by the time we left four hours later there was hair everywhere again. I started out having her on a blanket on the floor sitting with her trying to keep the dog off the blanket. Then she started moving around and keeping her away from the dog was impossible. I just did the best I could to wipe her hands alot and check her mouth for stray hairs. Like pps, the dog was part of the house so we learned to live with it. At 8 months, they'll be crawling soon then pulling up and walking so it's only for a little while that they'll be crawling around with the dogs. BUT, if they don't get much floor time (like most of their awake time) it will take that much longer.

 

My kids are 5 1/2 months, and one of them is starting to get mobile, so I've been worried about the dog situation too. Although, honestly, I'm more worried about what the dog tracks in from outside than I am about the hair.

The solution we've come up with (for now) is to have a gated play area that the animals can't get into. That's the only place (other than on blankets, while I'm right there to keep the dog off) that they can have floor time, right now. Once the kids get more steady with the mobility - in other words, not smashing their faces into the carpet every few minutes - then I'm just going to make sure to vacuum every day, and let them onto the main area of carpet, dog hair and all.

I figure that the pets are part of the family. Their hair is everywhere anyways. I want the kids to be comfortable with the animals, but equally I want the animals to be comfortable with the kids. This is one of those few situations where I'm going with my mom's "well, when YOU were a baby" theory - my parents always had dogs and cats, and no harm came from me crawling and walking around on the same floors as they did. My kids will likely be fine too.

 

Let them get used to it. Unless you plan on getting rid of the dogs there is not much else you can do. Cody gets some dog hair on him here & at the in-laws. It is a part of our way of life.

 

We ahve a black lab and knwo all about the hair. If they aren't crawling yet put them on a blanket. That is what we did. My DD started crawling at 6 1/2 mo so we have been dealign with it for a while. We have a loft where dogs aren't aloud and we do spend lot of time there. But they are in the family room also where the dogs go. For now I would teach the dogs not to get on the blanket, that is what we did.

No way would I say 20% floor time is enough. By 6 mo mine were 80-90% floor time. If you are worried the dogs might hurt the babies, I would do something else, but if it is just the hair put down a blanket, vacuum every day (we do downstairs), Spend more time inteh gated room when they are awake.