Tips and Tricks to Successfully Introduce Your Dog to Your Newborn
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A new baby brings excitement and joy in a way that only another parent could understand. But if you have a dog bringing home baby might mean taking precautions to make this time less confusing for him.
As baby first enters your home, he’ll pick up on the anticipation and want to be a part of whatever is going on. And if you don’t handle it correctly in those first few days, it could foster feelings of isolation, anger and resentment toward not only you but your new little bundle of joy.
This doesn’t have to be the case though! With a little forethought and planning your pup and your baby could get along just fine.
The Plan
Start thinking about introducing Fido to baby a few months before you actually give birth. If your dog isn’t already trained with basic training commands such as sit and stay, then now is the time to begin an intense training program.
One method of testing your dog is to have a doll wrapped in a blanket. Show the doll lots of attention while standing and rocking it in your arms. When your dog approaches, give the ‘sit’ and ‘stay’ command. Don’t forget to reward him when he obeys with either treats or lots of praise.
Another way to prepare Fido for baby is to begin to diminish the amount of attention your dog is receiving on a daily basis to prepare him for the amount of time you will be spending focused on your child.
This way he will be acclimated before you bring baby home. You still need to spend quality time with your dog. But he is not going to be the center of attention anymore and he needs to get use to that.
The Time has Come
When you enter the hospital to have your baby, they will be wrapping your new miracle in receiving blankets. Have your partner bring some of the blankets used on your baby, with the baby’s scent, home for the dogs to sniff. This will allow your dog to become familiar with this new smell.
As you enter your house with your baby in your arms, remember your dog will be excited to see his mama too. He’ll also pick up on your joy in bringing home this precious little one.
If at all possible, try to greet your dog alone before bringing baby into the house. Your dog might jump on you or crowd your feet and pushing him away will only create animosity.
Greet him with the same happiness you would have before the baby. Make a fuss. Pet him as much as you would have if you had gone away a few days. For the first few hours, try to have one person attending to the dog and the other to the baby. This way, he won’t feel excluded or resentful.
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Baby Meets Dog and Dog Meets Baby
When the time comes to actually introduce your dog to the baby, you need to make sure that the timing is right. Use your knowledge of your dog to judge this, even if it means that dog and baby do not meet for a few days.
Make sure your dog is calm, and you have the help of another family member. As a safety precaution keep your dog on a leash or a lead. Begin by standing and holding the baby in your arms a few feet away from your dog. Use the sit and stay commands to keep him calm. When you are satisfied, move a little closer to him. Keep doing this until you are at a comfortable distance so that your dog can see your baby, and maybe even allow him to smell the feet and legs. Remember Dogs are curious. it is only normal for your dog to want to investigate.
Do not remove his lead until you are completely positive that he won’t jump up or lunge at your baby. Do not rush this step, and be prepared to carry it out a few times until you feel that your dog is happy being close to your new baby.
The most important thing is to stay calm, talk to your dog with a low speach voice. Avoid rapid movement and make sure that there is another person in the room with you.
As time goes on, your dog will begin to accept the new baby, but he still may need to work out where this new ‘creature’ comes in his family pack. You need to reinforce this as early as possible. Do this by holding your baby, as you did with the doll, and giving your dog a sit and stay command. Reward him when his behavior is good and he will soon come to associate baby time with something pleasant!
Remember; never leave your dog and your baby together in a room without someone being present at this stage.
However, you can rest assured that usually, any problems that occur in the early days are soon corrected, and most dogs go on to accept a new baby, and even become extremely protective of this newest addition to their family pack
