Ten Ways to Introduce Your Dog to the New Baby

I've been asked by clients how best to introduce a new baby to their beloved dog.

Here are ten ideas:

1) "Borrow" a baby (as new as possible) from another family for a weekend --the parents will love them for it and they'll get a taste of the joys of parenting!

2) Get the nursery, high chair, playpen, etc. all set as soon as possible --let the dog adjust to the new furniture now -- under the guise of "easing" the baby into the family.

3) Get the parents to really consider the training needs of the dog -- and the parents -- in light of the pending addition.

4) NEVER leave a pet and baby alone together. This means making sure the pet cannot get into the room when baby is taking a nap.

5) Make sure the owners do not give the dog more attention before the baby is born than afterwords.

6) Make sure the owners do not give the dog much attention when the baby is asleep - or the dog will really want the little tyke out of the way.

7) Make sure the owners do give the dog most of its attention when the baby is awake and close by the dog. If he gets most of his attention for being near the baby - the baby becomes important to him and he will be far more inclined to protect this important possession than to harm it.

8) Give the dog a clue - be sure he knows how to inhibit his bite... that he learns to tolerate rough handling (tail and ears pulled... handfuls of skin grabbed...etc.)... Let him hear a baby crying (even if taped) so that he can get used to the sound... bring the smell of the baby into the house first (a blanket or something) and treat him for being interested in it.

9) Be sure that the dog understands he isn't the boss - the humans need to have control of the dog, not just so that they can tell him how to behave properly with the baby, but so that the baby (being human) is treated with the same respect as the owners. I am not talking about being physically dominating...I'm talking more about the dog learning to obey and liking it.

10) Consider learning clicker training techniques before the baby comes along, so you can easily reward appropriate behavior.

Many dogs are highly intuitive and will respond beautifully to the presence of a newborn. Of course there are never any guarantees. We all want to see a dog keep his home, but if there is any question about how the dog is going to behave, it is best to rehome the dog before anything happens.