High anxiety dog & newborn.
My dog 12 yo is not doing great with the new baby 2weeks.
He is high anxiety rescue with separation anxiety and probably an unhealthy attachment to me.
When we first brought her home the dog didnt care. Tried getting him to smell blankets, hats he didnt care. Didnt even sniff them. the first introduction with her in the crib asleep he barely even sniffed her. Then she made noise. And the barking, whining, and stress signs started (licking lips, yawning)
We keep them completely separated. He is no longer allowed in our room. This has added to night time stress as he whines and nudges the door, waking me up. One night he wont cry at all, the next it will be non stop. I swear on nights she sleeps good, hell cry all night and on nights shes fussing hell sleep.
We have installed a baby gate to our room and have started to desensitize him to her through the gate, using treats when hes quiet and the place command. The issue is he never seems to tire of the barking.
One night in frustration I secluded him to the front hall away from our door. (We have another baby gate separating the front half of the house from the living room) he barked for 3 hours straight. Same with his crate. He will just bark the whole time hes in there. He also doesn't not fully respect these gates. He cant clear them but he will put his paws up on them, nudge them with his nose and paw at them trying to get through.
I dont believe he has shown any signs of aggression. Just the barking, and whining. His bark is more of an attention seeking alert bark not aggressive. No growling. Hes also not trying to force his way into the room. He might occasionally try to sneak in when hes in his anxiety state but hes not rushing the door every time we go in and out.
When my husband and I hang out in the living room while she sleep we have zero issues with him, until he hears her fussing. Its almost like he forgets shes there.
I dont know what to do short of hiring a trainer (im looking into it but we are not near any major city so its hard to find in home trainers) im secluded to my room with the baby while shes awake which is fine for now but its already draining on me. She thankfully doesn't care at all about him barking, sleeps through it, doesn't even flinch. Im fully prepared (mentally) to keep them separated.
Im sure someone is going to suggest rehoming and I dont want to concider that unless of course safety comes into play. I love him, even with the postpartum hormones and anxiety hes causing i dont have any pet aversion towards him, nd at this point I dont believe he would intentionally hurt her.