My corgi Rosa does not seem to be adjusting to new baby, help?

Hey every one,
I was just wondering if any one has any advice ...we just brought home our first born son from the hospital a few days ago and rosa does not seem to be adjusting well. She is a little rough with him, lots of nudging with her nose(kind of like she does with our cat) and then she did growl at him this morning, and barks at him if he makes any sounds. also she went and peed in the baby room too. Now after she growling at him I am terrified to have them near one another, I dont know what to do.... SHe has been around children but ages 3 and up and she does great with them but I have never seen her like this.
I felt like we did all the things to prepare rosa for the coming of the baby, any advice would be great........

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Comment by Sam on April 25, 2008 at 6:18pm: Rosa's entire life has changed and she is not sure what to expect. Rosa is experiencing new sounds, smells and routine. She is expressing the only ways she knows how which is to bark or growl. It would not be uncommon for a dog to bark to alert you to the sound of a baby crying.
Now would be a good time to set boundries for her but include her safely with some interactions with the baby. Not sure how much training you have done with her however her sit/stays, down/stays would come in very handy right now.
I would not give her direct access to the baby at this time but allow her to be in the vicinity. Let her see you feed the baby, care for the baby and hold the baby. She should learn pretty quickly that the baby belongs in the home. May be good to have an article of the babys clothing/blanket and keep it where Rosa normally sleeps. If Rosa barks when the baby cries just say "Thank you Rosa, enough" and go check on the baby. You may find that her alerting bark will be most helpful when you learn to control the bark.
When physically dealing with the baby do not allow Rosa to be anxious. Do a sit or down stay and let her watch but not touch the baby or jump up on you. As she learns the baby belongs you can give her a few more freedoms.
If she growls say "no growling" and correct the growl. I suspect that Rosa senses your discomfort greatly and is responding as she thinks she is expected to.
As long as you supervise the interactions you should be able to work things out. Many corgis are far more concerned with toddlers then they are babies. I think as you are able to control the situation and learn to relax that Rosa will too. Good luck.

Comment by Parker on April 25, 2008 at 5:15pm: Man, what a delima! That's scary. I read somewhere the same thing that Sylvia mentioned, that the dog should associate the baby with good things. I wonder if you could treat her everytime you bring her near the baby. I'm not sure. Good luck and keep us all posted.

Comment by Sylvia & Timmy on April 25, 2008 at 4:51pm: I meant to add that there is a wonderful book out called "And baby makes four" written by Oenny Scott-Fox. It's a trimester by trimester guide to baby readying your dog. You might check and see if your library or local book store has a copy. Biggest rule is, never leave baby and dog alone together. Perhaps use a child gate to contain Rosa until you get a handle on things. I know the jist of the book is that the dog associates baby with good things, so I would temporarily use the gate while you're working on the problem.

Comment by Sylvia & Timmy on April 25, 2008 at 4:15pm: Just curious, what sort of things did you do to prepare her for the baby?

Comment by Andrew on April 25, 2008 at 4:02pm: Well when I got Philly, Jersey was the same way. My vetenarian told me the best thing to do was to make sure they have seperate food bowls, waterbowls, and even seperate toys. He told me that seperating them would only make it worse and to monitor their progress as they grow and adapt to each other. The first month was hellish, but its gotten alot better!