Introducing Your Dog to a Baby
Introducing your family dog to a newborn and vice versa is an important step. It can be scary, especially if your dog isn’t the best with kids or strangers. The good news is, with guidance and a proper introduction, your newborn baby and beloved dog can become best friends.
We have created a guide to help you teach a dog to get along with children as early as possible.
Early Preparations for Dogs and Newborns
1. Make Your Dog Part of the Pregnancy
Your dog will notice changes taking place around the house as well as with you physically. Include your dog in most of the pregnancy process, allow them to be close to you, to investigate your growing belly. Give them the same attention you normally would.
Most importantly, avoid excluding your dog or making significant changes to their routine. This can result in them acting out for attention.
2. Practice Obedience
Practicing obedience is the best way to reinforce your position as someone who makes the final decision in this household. This will be important for when you need to set boundaries between your newborn and your pup.
With a well-trained dog, you have the confidence of knowing that no matter what happens with your new baby, you can trust your dog to obey a sit, stay, or leave it command.
3. Don’t Make Assumptions
You may feel nervous of your dog being around your newborn because the dog is a certain breed; or, you may feel confident leaving your dog alone in a room with your baby because they are a certain breed. Never make these assumptions.
Every dog is different, and their likes, dislikes, and tolerances are individual, and these characteristics can change with time.
Introductions Between Newborns and Dogs
4. Introduce a Baby’s Scent to Your Dog
A successful introduction between dogs and newborns starts with a familiar smell. Before you bring your baby home from the hospital, let your pup smell a baby blanket or anything you’ve used around the baby. This technique introduces your baby’s scent to your dog so that the smell won’t be as unknown to dogs when you bring a newborn home.
5. Exercise the Dog on the Day of Introduction
This extra time will allow the dog to run off any excess energy that may become a little too much for their first introduction to the new baby. The best way to introduce a dog to a newborn baby is when that dog is tired and will not get overly excited.
6. Let Your Dog Sniff the Baby from a Distance
Using a leash, let your pooch sniff the baby from a distance without them getting too close. With time, as life settles down in your home, gradually shorten this distance. This approach allows for a slow and safe introduction.
7. Do Not Neglect Your Dog
Your time will be taken up by your baby, but make sure you still involve your pup in your daily life and make time for those snuggles, movies on the couch, or even just a ride in the car while you get your baby off to sleep.
The lives of new parents are challenging and you may need to hire a dog walker to keep up with daily walks for the first few months.
If you have any tips or cute stories about how you introduced your four-legged friend to your newborn, we would love to hear from you.