Dog & Baby - where do we go?

[JenT]

My husband and I want to head out for a little adventure this weekend. We have a 4 1/2 month old baby and a one year old Goldendoodle. We would love to hike, preferably where the dog can be off-leash. We live in Lafayette so don't want to travel too far but don't mind staying overnight on Saturday. Any good ideas..?

[JimW]

Hi JenT -

I didn't have any ideas for you on this, so I checked in with the rest of the OpenRoad.TV crew, and Doug McConnell offered up the following advice for you...

"Dogs off leash are always a challenge.... but a general good tip locally is that Marin County Open Space lands allow dogs off-leash on fire roads. I particularly like Blithdale ridge which can be accessed from Mill Valley and Larkspur.

There are some very nice walks over here for families and dogs with spectacular views of Mt. Tam, the city, Sausalito and the Bay.

A fun thing to do near Lafayette is to go to Tilden Park to ride the miniature railroad. Dogs are allowed on the trains. Very fun with little children and the gentle wind tickling the dogs' noses."

[petecrooks]

http://www.ebparks.org/parks/ptisable.htm

Point Isabel in Richmond/El Cerrito is a great off leash dog park with walking paths that are also nice for a baby stroller. Nice bay views and a dog-friendly community

[rob@foryourcause.com]

I really do not have any advice for you but was curious if remembered how you began socializing your newborn with your dog. We are expecting shortly and would like to get some thoughts from new parents.

[Baby Val]

I'm not sure if your new bundle-of-joy has arrived yet but as far as our experience with the dog and baby...
Our dog, Scrappy, was only 9 months old when we brought the baby home but she was very well behaved for such a young dog. We had spent a good amount of time training her before the baby came and introduced her to all of the baby things as they were coming in the house. We made it clear to her that she was to leave anything to do with the baby alone. We also taught her that she was not allowed in the baby's room.
When we brought Baby Val home, she was curious but not overzealous. We had the benefit of having my parents around to help with the newborn and my dad (who LOVES dogs) did a wonderful job of taking Scrappy for long, long walks everyday to ensure that she wasn't too energetic and chaotic around the baby.
We made it very clear that the baby was higher up the authority ladder than the dog. Now they are really good friends. Scrappy is so gentle with Val - even though he pulls her hair and gets a bit rough sometimes. Scrappy doesn't try to take the baby's toys and really loves it when Val "drops" his little finger snacks (which he mostly does on purpose because he loves feeding the dog!).
I think it's just important to remember that your dog needs just as much exercise now with a baby around as it did before. Taking the dog for a walk provides a great excuse to get out and about with the baby and your dog is so much better for it.

[bill23]

It's terrible to travel with a dog and a baby. The baby is ok, but the dog wants more attention than we can give.

[oliviaharis]

Use a baby doll as a prop to get used to holding a baby while you are walking the dog, managing his behavior and moving around the house.
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oliviaharis
SuperBabyGuide (http://www.superbabyguide.com)