Introducing a Dog to a New Born Baby

How to Help Your Dog Get Ready for the New Baby
By: Tippy & Alfred


If you have a dog and are going to have a child you can
expect some adjustment of attitude to be needed in your dog
when you bring a new baby home. Your dog, depending upon the
breed, will either be jealous of the new addition or in some
cases try to be your baby's mother.

Most dogs, when they are the only member of the family aside
from you or your spouse, may expect a certain amount of
attention from you and get jealous when you pay attention to
your baby instead. Babies demand a lot of time and attention
and your dog may feel left out.

A good thing to do is to start out by spending less time
with your dog gradually while you are still expecting the
baby, so when you bring home the new baby your dog will be
used to your absence or lack of attention. Neglect, scolding
or isolating your pet when you bring home a new baby may
make your dog feel rejected, depressed and stressed,
especially if the dog is very attached to the new mother.

If you can, another family member should try and develop a
bond with the dog so that it can still feel like it is part
of the family even though you aren't spending as much time
with it.

Here are some tips that may help your dog adjust to the new
addition:

1. Take your pet to the veterinarian and do your annual
health exam and necessary vaccinations. Some disease that
dogs get can transfer to humans, and babies especially are
vulnerable to sickness. This way you should be less
concerned about allowing the dog near the baby.

2. Neuter or Spay your pet if you haven't already. Pets that
are spayed or neutered tend to be calmer and less likely to
bite. They also have fewer health problems with their
reproductive organs.

3. Talk to your veterinarian about bringing a new baby into
the home and any questions you may have about the process.
If your dog is possessive and prone to aggression you can
work with your veterinarian to provide training or
medications if needed to make the adjustment easier for your
pet.


4. Do dog training to address behavior problems that could
become a problem with your newborn in the future. For
instance, if you have a dog that snaps or jumps up on people
you need to get that behavior under control before you bring
home the baby. This way you will dramatically reduce the
chance of any problems with the dog.

5. If you have played "rough" with your dog as it has grown
and the dog exhibits behavior like nipping, swatting or
pouncing at you then you should redirect this playing toward
a toy or different object and stop allowing the dog to play
this way with people. This way your pet should not try to
continue this behavior when you are holding your infant.

6. Trim your dog's nails. If there is any contact between
your baby and the dog it is less likely to harm the child if
it has rounded nails that are trimmed.

7. Train your dog to stay down off of your lap until you
give a signal that it is okay. This way the dog won't be
trying to push aside the infant to get in your lap without
permission.

8. Consider going through training classes with your dog to
reinforce the basics and address certain areas that may need
adjustment in your dog's behavior. This way you will both
become used to the new training and refresh old training.
Dog training reinforces the bond between humans and their
dogs and is very good for the dog emotionally.

9. Encourage friends that have babies to visit your home so
that your dog can be introduced to a baby before you bring
home your own. This will give you clues as to how your dog
will react when you bring home your baby and help your dog
with adjusting to the new situation.

10. Start making sounds that are related to having a baby
around the house, like lullabies, rocking chair sounds,
swing sounds, a recording of a baby crying, and etcetera.
You can make these sounds a positive experience for your dog
by giving the dog a treat or playing with the dog when these
sounds are occurring.


11. Do not allow your pet to jump on the baby furniture. You
can do this by applying sticky two-sided tape to the spots
the dog is likely to jump onto. Most pets hate the feel of
sticky tape and after a few times will not jump up on or
into the baby furniture. Covering the area with aluminum
foil may work as well.

12. If you have your baby's room off limits to your dog then
you should put a baby gate in the doorway. Or if your dog
can jump over this consider putting a screen door in the
frame. This way your dog can still see what is going on and
not feel as left out.

13. Buy a baby doll and carry it around with you when you
are around your dog. Take the baby doll on walks with the
dog with your new stroller. This way your dog can get used
to seeing you holding a baby, and adjust to walking
alongside a stroller. You can even establish your baby
routine like bathing and feeding so that the dog becomes
used to the new routine even before the baby is born.

14. Talk to your dog about the new baby and use the name of
the baby if you have chosen one.

15. Use baby oil and baby powder on yourself so your dog can
get used to the new scents that will be on you and the baby
when it comes home.

16. Be sure to plan ahead with a pet hotel, kennel or friend
to take your dog while you are in the hospital having the
baby.

When you bring your baby home let someone else take the baby
while you greet your dog. This way your dog will relax and
be less likely to misbehave. Introduce your baby to your dog
and you can even give your dog a baby blanket that your baby
was swaddled in so it can get used to the baby scent of your
new child.

Remember to be patient with your dog. This is a new
experience for it as well. You do not want your dog
associating the baby as a bad thing and therefore ignoring
the baby or trying to harm the child. If you include your
dog in your baby's life and make special times for you and
your pet it will be a lot less likely to have any problem
with the new addition to your family.

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