Preparing To Introduce Your Dog
And Baby
 For many dog owners, the fear of how their dog will react to the arrival of
their new baby can result in many anxious days and sleepless nights.
When introducing dog and baby, the key is to plan early.
Work out how your routines will need to change when the baby arrives, and then slowly start to introduce these
changes over a long period of time, so that your dog has time to adapt. This gradual approach will help your dog to
accept these changes without feeling threatened or ‘pushed out’ when baby arrives.
There are many steps you can begin to take as soon as you find out that you are having a baby...
Click Here for 'Secrets to Dog
Training'
Adjust your daily schedule to more closely reflect how things will be when baby comes along. You may well find when
the baby arrives that you aren’t able to give your dog quite as much time as he is used to, so reducing the amount
of attention he receives now will prepare him for this. You may also need to adjust the time and length of his
walks.
- Mention to both your doctor and your vet that you are expecting a baby and own a dog, and ask if they have
any tips on introducing dog and baby. They will both probably have some useful advice on how to prepare for the
event.
- Reinforce your dogs obedience training so that you can reliably get him to ‘sit’, ‘stay’, ‘lie down’,
’wait’, ‘take’, and ‘let go’ on your command. Keep practicing these commands, even after your baby has arrived.
You will need to be absolutely certain that you have this level of control when you bring your baby home. Give
plenty of praise and food rewards when your dog does as you ask, so that he has a positive association with
these commands. This will make them easier to achieve when your dog and baby finally meet, and also help to
keep his focus on you rather than the baby. If you are not confident that you can achieve this on your own, get
the assistance of a reputable dog behavioural specialist.
- Start to mimic some of the new tasks you’ll be carrying out when the baby arrives, i.e. feeding, nappy
changing, bathing etc. Get your dog used to seeing you carry out these new tasks, and have him obey the above
mentioned commands whilst you do them. Use a doll with a blanket to get the dog used to you cradling and
talking to the baby. Again, make him sit or ‘sit’ or ‘lie down’ while you do this, and reward him with a treat
for doing so.
- Get your dog used to wearing a muzzle. It may not be necessary to use a muzzle on him later on, but when
your dog and baby are first getting to know each other, it will give you peace of mind to know that he is
already comfortable wearing one if required.
- If your dog is particularly close to the mum-to-be, make sure that another family member strengthens their
relationship with the dog. This will ensure that the dog continues to feel secure whilst mum is tending to the
new babies needs.
- Get your dog used to the sounds of the new baby toys which you will have in the house. Make sure that the
dog and baby toys look very different from each other, so that there is no confusion about which toys the dogs
thinks he is allowed to play with.
- Introduce the new smells of things such as formula milk, baby lotion etc, so that your dog has the
opportunity to investigate them before the baby arrives.
Once your baby is born...
- Bring home an item of clothing that the baby has worn, and leave it around the house for your dog to get
used to the babies smell.
- While mum and baby are at the hospital, make sure that your dog is looked after at home to reduce
stress.
To read more tips on introducing dog and baby, see How to manage dogs and babies at
home (page 2).
Are you struggling to control your dogs behaviour
?
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above question is 'Yes', then I strongly recommend that you check
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