Start making changes at least a month or so in advance of a new baby
arriveing home. Put up baby gates, slowly alter exercise routines, etc.
to match what your dog's new routine will be. When the baby comes home,
be prepared with a collar and leash so that your dog can easily be
controlled. Once his curiosity is satisfied, the average dog will
ignore a newborn. However, for the sake of safety, even the most
accepting and gentle dog should never be left alone with an infant.
Many dogs have been raised as
the focus of attention around the family home. The introduction of a
new
baby to the family can upset this dynamic and should be planned and
prepared
for well before the baby's arrival.
What should I do to prepare for the arrival of a new baby?
The arrival home of a new baby should be as pleasurable experience for
your dog as it is for the rest of the family. For this reason it is
important that your dog is accustomed to as many of the likely changes
before the actual arrival. Adapting to these changes and new routine
can take sometime, so don't leave it to the last few weeks before
starting.
First and foremost you must ensure you tackle any behaviour problems
that may have a bearing on the health and safety of your new baby. Take
a closer look at our behaviour web pages for guidance and where to find
a good local animal behaviourist.
The attention focused on new babies can cause jealousy within your dog.
Although you may find this difficult, start to reduce the amount of
attention you give your dog so that they get used to this before the
baby arrives.
Get your dog used to being left alone for short periods.
Brush up on basic training and obedience. Your dog must be able to sit
and lie down on command. Your dog must also understand good social
etiquette and be able to settle when requested. This is particularly
important for larger
dogs where boisterous behaviour may be a danger to some babies.
With a new baby comes a raft of new items, smells and sounds, many of
which your dog will not be familiar with. Introduce items such as
prams,
playpens and highchairs into the household well before the baby arrives
and place them in the expected locations. Start to train your dog to
walk
to heel alongside the pram. Try to teach your dog the difference
between
baby toys and his toys.
If you have a good friend with a baby, ask if you and your dog can
spend a little time with them. Keep your dog under strict control and
keep the sessions brief. If possible, get a tape recording of baby
noises and play it in the areas the baby is likely to be.
It is likely that you will need to start to restrict your dog from
certain areas and rooms. Your dog should certainly not be allowed in
the baby's bedroom at anytime. Start this discipline as soon as
possible so that it is engrained well before the baby arrives and does
not associate the exclusion with the baby. Consider crate training if you have not
already done so.
What should I do when the baby arrives at home?
Try and minimise the amount of fuss and excitement when your new baby
arrives home. Allow your dog to investigate and have a brief sniff.
Ensure there are lots of treats around to reward your dog for behaving
correctly around the baby. They will soon come to realise that nice
things happen when the baby is around.
Always employ positive training techniques and never reprimand you dog
around the baby or for approaching it in the wrong way. Always reward
when they are doing it right.
Avoid placing your baby on the floor with your dog and certainly NEVER
leave your baby alone with your dog in a room.
A new baby
can be one of the biggest upheavals in a household, and house-dwelling
dogs need ample preparation. Even if the latest addition is a
grandchild arriving and departing at irregular intervals, a little
forethought is never wasted. Tiny babies smell strange, make a
lot of noise and occupy a lot of
human attention - all of which is disturbing for an unprepared dog.
Thoughtful owners, accustom their dogs to being shut out of a "baby
room" by making a treat of it, supplying special toys and food, perhaps
a meaty bone or a rubber dog toy, such as a kongfull of cheese and pieces of sausage. The
dog needs to be accustomed to baby smells and noise, so a borrowed
blanket smelling of the baby and recordings of infant song will be
helpfull. Carring a blanket around and cooing to it will excite
the dog, so let it sniff the blanket and realise how boring it is.
If you can borrow a real parent and baby for the dog to get used
to without the emotional pressures, that will be an enormous help.
Never leave an infant and a dog alone together, no matter how good the
dog is. The helplessness of a baby can excite protectiveness in
some dogs but prey-drive in others. Mobile tots can inflict a lot
of pain on a dog and even if a dog appears to be very tolerant, it
should not be put
in a position where it has to warn the child, because the dog can only
warn
as it would a puppy - by growling and snapping. Ensure that the
dog
can escape from the child when he chooses.
Older children and dogs are made for each other, if each has been
trained to respect the other, and the parents respect them both, too.
reprinted with kind permission from Alastair
Balmain
Deputy Editor:Shooting Times
& Country Magazine
Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street SE1 0SU
Tel: 020 3148 4750
