6 Tips for Introducing a Dog to a Baby

Nothing is cuter than dogs and babies. There are pictures all over the internet of newborns with their canine relatives. But there is a correct way and an incorrect way to prepare your dog for the new arrival. Here are six tips for introducing a dog to a baby as gently as possible.

1. Resolve behavior problems as soon as you get the news

Once the baby comes home, the family should focus on bonding with the baby, and there will be no time to invest in training your dog. Do this with plenty of time before the baby arrives. Don't trust your ability to manage behaviors you don't like. Management always fails. Doors are left open, food is dropped and mistakes happen. If you have a resource protector, find a trainer who specializes in positive training and work with him right away.

 

2. Start preparing your dog for the changes early

Don't wait until the baby arrives to make the necessary changes in your dog's world. If he sleeps with you or climbs on furniture, you may want to teach him to stay on the floor. Baby will now have these locations in their world. Start reducing the time you spend with your dog. Train your dog to stay away from the crib if he is used to being free around the house. The new baby must be the priority and your dog will lose ground. It's fact. If everything the dog doesn't like happens when the baby comes home, the dog will blame the baby and not like him very much. Avoid this by introducing the rules long before the baby arrives so the dog gets used to the new routine.

Get your dog used to baby smells and sounds before he arrives. Bring home things that smell like a baby before he arrives. For example, lotions, powders, wipes, etc. Buy a crying doll and leave it in the baby's room, or record the cry and play it for your dog. Teach your dog where his special place in the house is and teach him to go there whenever he asks.

3. On the day the baby comes home, try to make this moment as discreet as possible

When you get agitated, your dog gets agitated too. And when your dog notices a small creature moving and crying, he will probably be very agitated. He brings the baby home in his stroller and stays close. Do not take the baby out of the stroller as a dog is nearby. This will be asking too much for your dog to ignore – dogs like to investigate new things and we don't want them to jump in to meet the baby.

4. Don't try to show the dog that the baby is the "alpha" by pushing the dog away from the baby

That's silly. The dogs aren't trying to take care of your home, and they won't believe that your baby is the pack leader either. They are not dumb. If you're holding the baby and pushing your dog away all the time, your dog will decide that the baby is the reason he lost access to his most important resource: YOU! Don't give your dog a reason why he doesn't like your child. Show your dog that you are still there for him by letting him get close to you, even when you are like the baby, but hold the baby on a pillow or sit with your body between the dog and the baby so that he always has a physical barrier, which in this case is you, in the middle of the way.

5. Don't drop the baby on the floor with the dog!

Keeping your dog down and baby off the floor when your dog is loose is not about pack leadership. It's a security issue. This is simply not safe. Please don't!

6. Don't take the dog out of your life!

A dog is a ten to twenty-year commitment. But life in the locked yard away from the family is no way to exist for a dog. They are social animals, and they need you. Dogs are domesticated species. They lost their survival instinct without their humans. They feel physical and emotional pain. Make time for your dog daily to make sure they know they are still a part of your family.