Read About Bringing Home New Baby

When you are preparing to bring home a baby, you are effectively introducing a new pack-mate to your dog. There are some things you need to do before the big day:

  1. If your dog is not highly responsive to commands, the months prior to the baby´s arrival are a time to start or renew your pup´s training regimen. Your dog should be able to handle, and obey, the usual range of sit, stay, and come. Another suggestion is to equate "leave it" or "drop it" with "mine," a common toddler word. If your dog hears "mine" and know that this means let-go-of-this-object, it will help your dog obey even your toddler.

  2. When you first arrive with the new baby, you need to be sure to come in and greet your dog without the baby. by doing this, your dog´s first interaction with the baby won´t be him trying to greet you and being scolded.

  3. When everyone has calmed down, and the house has gotten quieter from the bustle of your new arrival, then you can make the first introduction between your two babies. By doing this, the first meeting between your dog and child can be a calm and happy one.

  4. A few more ideas on acclimating your dog to the concept of a baby in the house:

    1. Start putting some baby powder and some baby oil on your skin so the dog can get used to the new smells. A&D ointments can be interesting scents for your dog to run into, as are baby wipes. Introduce the smell of these items to your pup.

    2. Start playing tapes of crying babies. A lot! The noise is enough to make humans crazy -- try to get your dog used to it also.

    3. If possible, you could bring your leashed dog to visit other babies, so they can experience "baby smell" and hear baby noises.

Note: there are a variety of ways to get your dog ready for your new baby´s presence. These are a just a few ideas of many that you should explore.