Aaron and I are expecting our first baby in January 2009. We already have 4 wonderful four-legged children who may or may not embrace the concept of a “two-legged” puppy. This Tuesday we are taking a course on introducing dog to baby, but I thought I might also see if the ODC membership has suggestions on making the transition for our pups a little easier.
There are a few things you could try:
Start outfitting the room now and let the dogs explore in there. Buy a stroller and go for walks with your dogs (before baby comes). Get them used to walking with the stroller. Hint: don’t tie dog to stroller.
If you know someone with a baby take a blanket over to their house and have the baby scent get on the blanket. Bring it home for your dogs to sniff. Don’t let them lay on it, just smell and treat while smelling.
Babysit for someone in your home.
Some people restrict dogs from entering baby’s room. If that’s more your style you could start by enforcing that boundary now.
Any rules you will have for your dogs once the baby arrives should start now. Jumping up, house boundries, barking, feeding schedule, walking schedule, etc. should be thought about so you can begin training.
While dogs’ emotions are simpler than a human’s, they still might dislike anything associated with change and new boundries, and you don’t want that connection to be with the arrival of your baby. Enforce any changes and boundries before baby arrives.
Don’t worry though, dogs also have insticts to protect anything that belongs to your pack, and understand the vulnerability of your new addition to the family. I am sure they will embrace the new pack member!
After attending a baby-dog class at the local hospital, Aaron and I are trying out a few of the suggested training techniques.
The first was to get a baby doll that cries and carry him around as if he were a real baby. Interestingly, the dog I was most worried about was not the least bit interested while the dog I thought would adjust most easily seemed very nervous. We have been working for the past week making the baby cry when the dogs are eating or being pet. Our nervous boy has started to accept the baby as normal.
We are also establishing areas in our house where the dogs are allowed to play versus areas where they are to be calm. This weekend we are going to buy a stroller and start walking with the dogs.
I’ll keep you posted on the “boys” progress and how bringing home baby goes!
I had dogs and children before anyone worried about how dogs felt about the new arrivals. I, on the other hand, was worried because I wanted my dogs to love my children. I instituted new rules prior to the arrival of my first baby (and believe me, it was hard, because my dog was my baby). The main thing I wanted my dog to do was to stay off the furniture to reduce fur on baby clothes. I wasn’t as concerned about the beds, since covers were easy to wash. This did not confuse my dog, and in fact, she was introduced to my first child on the bed, in the crib, and on the floor. She seemed to realize that my child was an interloper, but she was also a member of the pack, and therefore not to be harmed. As I had more dogs and more children, I always introduced the new babies to the dogs. They were always accepting. I guess I worried more than the dogs did. I always kept my dogs as clean as you can keep a dog. My children were known to dabble in dog water and sample dog food (neither of which I encouraged). The dogs on the other hand, spent lots of time under high chairs helping keep the floor clean. The dogs and children will be a natural “go together” in your family. Small dogs will probably need to be protected from crawling children, whereas large dogs will fare just fine. The only side effect of having children with dogs was that for once in my life, I was able to put the animal in perspective--meaning, I realized that my dogs were animals, and my children were my main concern. That side effect is limited though--once my children grew up and moved away from home, I lost my perspective. Now my dogs are of supreme importance again = )
We have been using the baby doll for over a month. At this point, their curiosity has dissipated and they pretty much ignore the noises it makes. I even put the doll’s hand in each of their food bowls while they were eating and they did not become aggressive or protective. Shiner actually pulled his head out of the bowl and waited for the “baby” to leave.
I have been walking TJ and Rankine with the baby stroller. Amazingly, Rankine is a better walker with the stroller because I put a handful of treats in the parent cup holder and rewarded nice heeling behavior. I was able to go on a mile walk without incident and without help.
I am quickly learning that I can apply many of my dog training skills to my 7 month old:) If you don’t want baby to get in the dog’s waterbowl ever 2 minutes, it’s best to put it out of reach. Similiarly if you don’t want the golden retriever puppy to eat the remote or your shoes, put them out of reach.
