How to get your dog ready for a baby.

Tuesday May 03, 2011 01:57pm

My thoughts on kids and dogs are pretty much summed up by a quote on my fridge that says, "I would rather ruin my carpet then my life." The other day my mom even gave me my old blankets from when I was a baby and said, "Here you go, you are never going to have kids so give these to your next litter of puppies." That being said, I love kids! I love being an Aunt! And I love helping kids with their dogs whether they want to hunt them or compete at the county fair in 4-H.

So when my close friend told me she was pregnant I thought what about your dogs? She is due sometime in September and she has two dogs...so it made me think. What do you do to get you dogs ready for you new baby? What do you do to get your dog ready for its new life? For example, there will not be as much time to walk the dog when the baby comes!

I have had some experience with kids and dogs.  I was once had a reactive German Shepherd named Emmie Lou that came in for training because her parents were trying to have a baby. Emmie Lou had many issues regardless of whether or not her owners were going to have a baby so we worked on all kinds of things with her from introducing her to other dogs to teaching her not to fear a stroller. Emmie Lou came along nicely and does well with the new addition to her family, but her owners ALWAYS watch carefully when Emmie Lou is out with their one year old, but that's what you should do with any dog!

I also lived with my best friend and her toddler (at the time) and my dog Gussi. I wouldn't say Gussi doesn't like kids, but she doesn't much care for them. So we both watched her closely in the beginning of living with a toddler, but Gussi soon learned that toddlers drop a lot of food and need their high chairs cleaned. Gussi and the toddler were friends in no time. Again, we never left the two alone together.

So when my pregnant friend asked me what she should do to get her dogs ready for the baby I came up with a list of suggestions which go as follows:

1. Obedience Training. Make sure your dog can walk well on a leash. When you get your stroller practice having the dog heel while you push the stroller before the baby is in it. Make sure you dog understands what stay means so you can have them stay on a mat or their bed out of the way of the baby when needed. If your dog can not do these things I strongly suggest getting some help from a professional dog trainer.  Visit my obedience training page for more information.

2. Revisit or visit crate training. If you crate trained your dog when they were a puppy I would revisit the crate training so if needed you can put your dog in a crate and they will feel comfortable. If you have never crate trained I would suggest starting. Have your dog in the crate and meal times and with favorite toys just like if they were a puppy again.  For more suggestions on crate training click here.

Having a crate trained dog is very helpful for many reasons: it gives you somewhere for the dog to stay that is safe for the dog and the baby, a dog that is properly crate trained will often use the crate on there own giving them a place "to get away" if needed, you can use the crate in the car when traveling with the baby and the dog, also when the baby is born you might need a friend to care for your dog having a crate for your dog will help your friend as well as make your dog feel secure while away from home.

3. Change your routine now DO NOT wait till the baby is born! Most likely your dog will be receiving less attention when the baby comes don't make this a drastic change for them.  Ease your dog into the changes, for example your morning routine might be to get up and immediately let the dog out and feed it. When the baby comes the first thing you will do in the morning is take care of the baby. So before the baby comes change you morning routine. When you wake up don't immediately take care of the dog, instead maybe make your coffee first and then take care of your dog.

4. Socialize your dog with kids. If possible have your dog around babies/kids. This is when friends with babies/ kids come in handy. Ask your friends if you can bring your dog over to meet their children or have them over to your house.

5. Let your dog become familiar with the baby before bringing him or her home.  When the baby is born have your spouse take a few things that smell like the baby home for the dog to inspect so when the baby comes home it is not as interesting.  Also when you finally come home with the baby I would suggest putting the dogs outside and carrying the baby around the house so the house smells like the baby.  Then make yourself and the baby comfortable and bring the dogs inside for the introduction.

6. Exercise. Try your best to get your dog just as much exercise as you did before you had the the baby this will make for a much better dog in general.

My final comment is to ALWAYS watch your dogs and kids. Heaven forbid if something happened in my opinion it would not be the kids or dogs fault it would be the adult in charge!

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