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[quote=Anonymous]I've been there, done that with a hyper young dog who has *not* mellowed at nearly 3 years old AND has a strong prey drive when it comes to small mammals.   We have backdeck which we can let her out on but no yard for getting her real exercise.  Your dog is *likely* to mellow a lot by the time baby comes around.  she'll certainly be able to hold her bladder longer than a couple hours.  In the meantime, take the training seriously.  
  - the basics (sit stay come down and preferably heel) should be second nature by the time baby shows up.
  - i LOVED taking the dog out when i was pregnant.  it was hard sometimes but it inevitably made me feel better and gave me a chance to work on the training stuff that she needed so badly.  YMMV, of course, depending on how your pregnancy goes, but i took the dog on 45 minute walks almost every morning through month 8 and then dialed it back to a quick spin around the block.
  - there are several books/resources on "babyproofing" your dog that include teaching the dog to recognize toys that aren't "his".  we never really mastered that trick.  it hasn't been a problem yet with a 7-month-old
  - don't roughhouse with the dog in the house.  or restrict it to a particular room/time.  it's best if dog NEVER tries to roughhouse with your child!  (our only "roughhousing" is tugofwar, which we only play with one toy and only when we initiate it)
  - socialize the dog with other dogs and children.  you're probably doing this anyway, but if you have agreeable friends or family with small kids try to let them be around your dog (heavily supervised, on a leash at first, lots of treats for the dog, keep it calm and brief at first)
   - the books on babyproofing your dog have a lot of tips for the first introduction, which we followed religiously.  it ended up not being a big deal at all.  the dog was superexcited to see us when we came home from the hospital but had learned not to jump on us.  she sniffed curiously around the newcomer, got a new toy and lots of treats.  no biggie.  i kept her on a leash when in the same room with baby for a week, in what was probably a gross excess of caution.  she's fine with baby now.
  - dogwalker!  seriously, especially if you're going to be on your own much in the first few weeks.
  - doggie daycare.  i find that doing this just 2-3 times/month gives the dog a completely exhausting day and she's better behaved for the next few days.
  - after the first few weeks, you may find that taking a well-behaved dog out for a walk is fine.  my dog never really mastered "heel" and she accordingly requires *a LOT* of attention on walks to prevent mishaps.  even so, by the time baby was 2 months, i was comfortable enough to pop baby in the ergo and spin around the block for a short walk.
- puzzle toys, etc, let the dog practice being on its own more now so that its not a total surprise when baby comes.  even if you're home, let pup spend a few hours in a room by itself with dim lighting, a bed, and a puzzle toy
- the resources i read recommended getting the dog on a "baby" schedule starting a month or so before baby's predicted arrival.  since i didn't have any real notion what our "schedule" would be like when baby arrived, we didn't do this, but i did make a point of paying the dog less attention/giving her more alone time in the weeks preceding the birth.
 - my DH travels a lot too.  we got him to not travel at all for the first couple of months, which helped enormously and he picked up a lot of the dog duties while i recovered physically.  by the time he started travelling again, i was in better physical shape and had more confidence about handling baby in general.  if that's not possible for you, lean heavily on the dog walker option!

how has all this worked out for me and my crazy dog?  OK.  she definitely needs more exercise than she is getting and some of her training has gone to hell.  at 7 months in, i'm hoping to get back into a jogging routine which should solve that problem.  if it doesn't happen, i'll probably start taking her to doggie daycare more often.  but she and baby get along GREAT.  as baby has gotten more mobile, the dog is more hesitant about her, probably because baby managed to get ahold of her squeeze a couple of times.  dog just backed slowly away.  but the dog has showed no signs whatsoever of aggression or jealousy.  just wants to lick her all over, which i discourage.[/quote]

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