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Preparing Dog for New Child Arrival

Submitted by Michael Adams on December 22, 2009

A new baby can mean a change in your normal schedule, and by anticipating these changes before hand you can prepare your dog for the change in schedule. For instance, after the baby arrives, you will not have the same amount of time to play with your dog. If you prepare for this early, the dog will not feel suddenly neglected.

Most dogs need to know their boundaries. While you may have trained your dog not to jump on people or enter your personal space, the dog may still not know how to deal with a child. Practice training your dog by first using a doll.

Some parents give the dog a sniff of a blanket or a piece of clothing of the newborn before introducing the child to the dog. Ensure that when you first bring the child home, your dog is on a leash and at a safe distance from the child. Dogs can be curious, but make sure your dog cannot jump on the child.

Most parents are not comfortable with their dog entering the newborn’s nursery, if that is the case; make sure the dog knows that the room is off limits. Don’t worry about hurting your dog’s feelings. Dogs are pack animals and they need to know that they are not in control of the pack and that you are in charge, so reinforce behaviors that you want to retain and reprimand behaviors that you don’t want your dog to exhibit. Most dogs will keep off a room if you consistently keep him out of it. However, be sure not to give the animal confusing signals, for instance, if one family member allows the dog into a room, while another prevents him, the animal will be confused. The trick is to be consistent with training.

Small children are most prone to bites and scratches from pet animals, so be very cautious about leaving your child alone in a room with your pet. Usually, a pet dog will not attack a child when an adult is present in the room, so it’s best to never leave a child unattended alone with a dog, no matter how dear the dog is to you. Your dog should also be trained to respond to basic commands such as ‘sit’, ‘stay’ and ‘down’. With a child to take care off, you are not going to have the energy to run after your dog, so it’s best to ensure that your pet can obey voice commands.

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