Introducing a Dog to a New Born Baby
As appears in American Dog Owners' Association, Inc.
You or your family is expecting a new baby; however, you already
have a "child," the family dog. The dog has been a member of the
household since puppyhood and is very attached to you. He often
attempts to wedge himself between you and visitors when the
visitors get too close. He seems "jealous" of visitors and you
are worried how he will react to the baby. Will he be depressed?
Not eat? Sulk? Get destructive and spiteful? Are you wondering if
these concerns are legitimate? What can be done to prevent
problems before and after the new baby arrives?
Social and Parental Behaviors of Dogs
The nature of canids - wolves and dogs - is that of the family
group. It is normally two dominant adults and related individuals
of various ages. Usually only the two dominant adults breed, yet
all members of the pack help to care for the mother and pups,
bring meat back to the mother and pups, and guard the pups.
Subordinate females may "baby-sit" and even help nurse the
puppies. Domestic dogs do not commonly bring food back to a
mother and pups but may guard a female during pregnancy and while
she is lactating, as well as guard or watch over the puppies.
Pet dogs relate to you and other family members as if they were
members of the family. Ideally, your baby will be accepted by the
dog as an offspring included in this family unit. In fact, dogs
are more likely to protect an infant from strangers or visitors
than they are to be "jealous."
Most problems that arise between a dog and child occur when the
child reaches the crawling and walking stages, at about a year or
so. Nonetheless, you should be aware that there is a potential
for problems occuring and insure your baby is safe. The most
serious potential problem is for your dog to fail to recognize
the new baby as a human being that should be included in the
family unit. Obviously, a baby will not be perceived as another
dog. Also, since the baby does not look, smell, or sound like a
"human being" to the dog if it is not familiar with infants, the
dog may interpret the baby as prey.
Dogs' Reactions to a Baby
Most dogs are curious about babies, especially if the dog has had
little or no exposure to infants or a long time has elapsed since
it has seen a baby. If you have seen your dog react to other
babies, either in your home, on the street, or in other people's
homes, be aware of your dog's typical reactions and take whatever
precautions necessary. Most dogs adapt quickly and easily to the
presence of a new baby. However, since the consequences can be so
serious, assume that your dog will react negatively and take
every safety precaution possible, regardless how your dog has
reacted in previous encounters with babies.
Babies can be accidentally hurt as a dog attempts to play with or
investigate the infant. An extremely active dog, for example, can
accidentally injure a baby while jumping up on the owner or cause
an accident while running around. These types of problems can be
avoided if your dog is obedience trained.
Dogs with a history of aggression toward people require special
caution. An aggressive dog that reacts to visitors, mail
carriers, and other dogs can injure a baby if the child happens
to come between the dog and the object of its aggression. Dogs
that become aggressive when approached while eating or in
possession of a bone, toy, or other favorite item or that become
aggressive if startled or when awakened require very close
supervision in the presence of a baby.
The most potentially dangerous situations are predatory reponses.
Extra caution should be taken if your dog has a history of
predatory behavior like chasing and/or killing small game,
especially if it has been bred for this purpose. This tip has
special importance if the dog has had little or no exposure to
infants. It is also important for you to realize that exposure to
and interaction with small children is not the same as exposure
to and interaction with an infant. Just because your dog plays in
a friendly, gentle manner with children, do not assume it will
react the same way to a baby. Infants are very different from
children. Children are usually, although not always, interpreted
by dogs as people; infants may not be.
Please understand that a few infants are severely injured by dogs
each year and, in fact, some are killed. The number of infants
killed by dogs is very small, not more than 10 per year thoughout
the entire United States, and, in contrast, many thousands of
infants in the U.S. are victims of automobile accidents, burns,
drowning, choking, suffocation, and poisoning. Although the risk
is small, there is cause for concern about a dog's reaction to
your baby and precautions will help insure that your baby does
not become a "statistic."
Monitoring Your Dog's Behavior
All interactions between your baby and dog should be monitored
very carefully. This monitoring should continue until your dog is
paying no attention to the infant or is completely friendly
toward the baby. Never leave a baby or small child UNATTENDED
with a dog for ANY REASON.
Help your dog learn that the baby belongs in your family by
exposing the dog to the baby in a very gradual and controlled
manner. The exposure should be positive so the dog does not
associate unpleasant situations with the baby so the dog does not
feel anxious or aggressive in the baby's presence.
Introducing Dogs to Babies
The following suggestions should help your dog to adjust to your
new baby:
1. Getting Ready for the Arrival.
Preparations should begin months before the baby arrives. If your
dog does not know how to sit, stay, lie down, or come when
called, it should be taught to do so. If your dog already knows
these commands but is unreliable, practice these obedience
exercises with the dog until it is reliable. Even if you consider
your dog "pretty good," that may not be good enough and could
lead to your having a false sense of security. Imagine how your
dog, if excited, will react when you bring the baby home. Can you
depend on it to reliably sit and stay or down and stay and not
rush toward the baby?
If you have had some experience training a dog, you might try
obedience procedures at home. Otherwise, it would be best to take
your dog to a good, humane training class. Your dog should
associate the various obedience commands such as sit, stay, and
come with pleasant experiences. Although your dog may need to be
corrected occasionally, force methods should be avoided. After
all, the goal is for the dog to like both the owner and the baby,
not simply for it to obey because it is frightened or afraid of
being punished.
Once your dog learns the basic sit/stay and down/stay commands,
you should continue to work these commands at home. You should
start requiring that your dog sit/stay or down/stay as you do
things that resemble "baby activities" around it. For example,
pick up a doll, cradle it, rock it, and walk back and forth.
Periodically, reward the dog with tidbits, petting or praise for
remaining in a sitting position while this is going on. The doll
should also be wrapped in baby blankets and shown to the dog,
which must learn to control itself and to refrain from moving.
Because dogs respond with interest to strange sounds, it is a
good idea to accustom your dog to the recorded sounds of a baby
crying, babbling, or making other normal "baby" sounds. Ideally,
if the opportunity is available, expose your dog - in a
controlled manner to ensure the infants safety - to real babies
of friends or neighbors. This procedure should be considered only
if the dog is reliably trained and controllable. The dog should
gradually be exposed to babies until it can remain relaxed in
their presence. This may require several sessions.
If your baby is born in a hospital, your dog will remain at home.
You can use this interval to familiarize your dog with the baby's
smell by bringing home blankets or clothing the baby has worn.
(On the subject of diapers: It would behoove you to keep soiled
diapers in a tightly closed container. One of the functions of a
mother dog is to lick up the urine and feces of puppies to keep
the sleeping area clean. Quite frequently, female dogs will
ingest the feces of a human baby and may go to great lengths to
clean up after the child, including raiding diaper buckets! This
is not an abnormal behavior but a normal aspect of canine
maternal behvior.)
2. Bringing Your Baby Home
When mother and child come home from the hospital, it is best if
mother greets the dog without the baby present. The baby should
be held by another family member or, better still, put in another
room while the mother and dog greet each other. This way, you can
avoid reprimanding an excited dog that merely wants to greet the
owner and that may jump at the baby in an attempt to get near the
mother.
Owners should allow some time for the dog to get used to the
smells and sounds of the baby, which to it are the presence of
another creature in the house. Later, when the level of
excitement in the household has decreased and the dog appears
relaxed, the baby and dog can be introduced to each other.
One parent should attend to the baby and the other to the dog.
The dog should be in a sit/stay or down/stay and on a leash. If
there is any concern that the dog may leap at the baby, a halter
or muzzle should be placed on the dog. (The dog should already be
used to the muzzle prior to this introduction.) The dog should be
allowed to see the baby from 10 to 15 feet away. Then either the
dog or baby should be brought closer to the other, slowly, one
foot at a time. If the dog remains calm and under control, it
might be allowed to sniff the baby, again from a safe distance.
If the dog is extremely excited, however, this progression should
not be attempted. If the dog has a history of predatory or
aggressive behaviors, it may take many introductions before dog
and baby are close enough for the dog to investigate the baby
closely.
Err on the side of caution when determining when your dog is
ready to approach your baby close enough to actually sniff the
baby. Over a period of days, however, your dog should be allowed
to smell the baby up close. After several introductions, and when
it is clear that the dog is not going to nip or lunge at the
baby, you can allow your dog off the leash near your infant.
(This does not mean unsupervised visitation or that you should
lay the child down for the dog to investigate it.) As a further
precaution, the dog can continue to wear a comfortable muzzle
when around the baby.
3. The First Several Days and Thereafter
Remember, your dog should not have unsupervised access to your
baby - EVER. You will want to be especially careful when the baby
is screaming, crying, or waving its arms and legs. These actions
can elicit a predatory, investigatory, or play-leap reaction by
the dog toward the infant. It is wiser to either put the dog in
another room or put the dog in a down/stay several feet away from
the baby.
Unfortunately, dogs frequently begin to "act up" after a new baby
arrives. It is unclear whether these behaviors occur because of
"jealousy" or simply because the dog is being deprived of its
usual and expected amount of social attention and affection. You
will want to start reducing the attention that you give your dog
2 or 3 months prior to the baby's arrival. This will help the dog
accept that it is no longer the "focus" of your attention. When
the baby comes home, you should ensure that your dog gets
sufficient attention.
One tip that can be helpful is that whenever you begin to do
something with you baby, you can put the dog in a sit/stay and
periodically reward it with a tidbit. This procedure allows the
dog to associate pleasant experiences with the baby and gives the
dog extra attention when the baby is present.
If after the first several days you are still concerned that your
dog might harm your baby, a screen door or gate could be fastened
at the entrance to the child's room. This precaution allows you
to hear the baby but eliminates your dog's access to the room.
Also, keep in mind when you take your infant to visit friends or
relatives that the dogs encountered there may not be accustomed
to an infant in their homes. Baby-sitters should be cautioned not
to bring dogs with them to the home of an infant. Tragic
incidents have occured when adults mistakenly believed a dog was
in the backyard or securely confined away from a baby.
Dogs may push open doors and actively investigate the strange
sounds and odors of an infant.
Conclusion
As a new parent, although you should be aware of potential
problems, you should not worry excessively about the potential
problem of your dog injuring your infant. Most dogs adjust to new
babies easily, quietly and without incident. If you are observant
of your dog's behavior, and take precautions to introduce dog and
baby to each other gradually while your dog is under control, you
should be able to avoid accidents or troublesome incidents.
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