New Baby and your dog

Follow these tips to avoid problems and prepare your dog for living with a new baby.

Core Concepts:

* Remember, pets need time to adjust to changes in the household, so start preparing gradually and well in advance.

* Dogs depend on their owners to socialize them to new people and situations.

* Dogs are pack animals and packs have a hierarchy. It's common for the family dog to be sensitive to appearance or departure of individuals in their pack, or household.

* Changes in the home may trigger behavior changes. Most dogs can learn to accept newcomers once if given time to adjust, but the length of this adjustment period varies.

* Be aware you and your spouse and other human family members may convey stressful feelings. Try to keep calm, and also do your best to shield the dog from your stress. Again, you want your dog to perceive the change (the addition of a new baby) as peaceful and pleasant as possible. Dogs, like young children, thrive on routine, security and calm environments.

Before the baby is born:

* Prepare for the arrival of a new baby far in advance. Start with obedience training for the dog. Teach the dog to pay attention to you as leader, and to "sit," "stay" and "down." Be serious about training your dog to sit, lie down and stay on command.

* Teach your pet - using consistency, kindness and positive methods - that you are the pack leader and to follow your directions. This is common sense, but not common reality. Animals are very tuned into social order, so make sure you are always the top-ranking animal in your household. That way, your pet will be less likely to challenge your baby since it belongs to the family leader.

* Teach yourself a new habit: regularly praise your pet for good, calm behavior.

* Set up the nursery and rearrange furniture as needed in any other rooms months ahead. Realize that pets are very sensitive to changes. You do not want your pet associating a bunch of sudden household changes with the arrival of the new baby, so redecorate and rearrange far in advance - so that the only big change after the birth will be the baby's homecoming. Which of course is a huge change in itself.

* Dogs are very sensitive to movement, so set up the automatic rocking swing far in advance and have it going hours on end. This will help desensitize most pets to the swing. However, still do not leave a baby unattended in a swing when your dog has access to that room.

* A dog could accidentally hurt a baby just by jumping up in a friendly greeting. Be sure to break any bad habits such as jumping long before life gets complicated later as the pregnancy advances.

* Integrate training periods for your dog in your daily routine. Often, training won't take extra time out of your day with a simple change of focus.

* Overly dependent dogs may try to compete with a baby for attention. Start building your dog's independence through obedience training and getting behavioral advice.

* Schedule a vet visit to see that your dog is healthy and free of parasites.

* Set up the nursery long before the baby is born so that your pet will have time to gradually acclimate to changes - and so that she will not associate so many sudden changes with the arrival of the baby.

* Find an effective barrier for keeping pets from the baby's room and other off-limits areas. For example, a screen door for cats, gates for dogs. Make sure each pet has a special pets-only place to retreat to when in need of a break from the hubbub. For cats, this can mean several hiding places around the house. Place a water bowl, bed, litter box for a cat, and even some worn, unwashed owner clothing in this pet place.

* Put baby powder on a baby doll to help prepare the dog for new smells. Carry the doll around as you do things around the house. Engage in baby-care activities in front of the dog such as changing a diaper. Teach the dog to sit-stay while you're holding the doll. Let the dog sniff near the doll only if and when the dog is calm and under control. Also, introduce your dog to the baby's room.

* Reward your pet with gentle words and caresses so that it forms a positive association with the baby doll (and eventually, the real baby).

* Acclimate pets to baby sounds in advance, since such strange noises can make a pet feel playful, nervous or in rare cases, aggressive. Make a tape recording of your infant or someone else's when crying, cooing, screaming, gurgling, laughing, etc. There are also CDs available with baby sounds (see the list near the end of this tipsheet).

Play the tape or CD at gradually increasing volume while rocking a swaddled doll. Alternative this with playing the sounds while practicing obedience commands. Praise your dog for desirable behavior verbally and with treats. Strive for the dog to be relaxed when in the presence of the tape and the doll.

* Introduce your pet to unique "baby smells" using baby lotions, diapers and borrowed blankets with baby smells on them. A great resource is the Pet Prep kit listed near the end, which includes a booklet, baby product samples and CD with baby sounds.

* Practice walking your dog with an empty carriage or stroller to teach the dog how to behave on future walks with you and the baby.

* Get your pet used to having less attention each day, but make sure her needs are met - including socialization and exercise -by focusing on quality time.

Cat-related issues:

* See important guidance at hsus.org/ace/13946

* To debunk a myth, cats don't suck air from babies' lungs. However, it's still wise to keep pets out of the baby's room. And keep baby items out of pet's reach. A disgruntled or possessive cat might urinate on baby items.

Just after the baby is born:

* Before baby comes home from the hospital, bring home the blanket or towel the baby was wrapped in, or a piece of baby clothing. Also, the new dad should have baby scent and mommy scent on his hands. Let the dog smell the scent and then the blanket/clothing. Do not play tug-of-war with this item. You may place the baby blanket where the dog sleeps if the dog acts calmly toward the blanket.

* Put the blanket, towel or baby clothing away after letting the dog smell it. Each time that dad comes home from the hospital he should have mommy and baby scent on his hands. This way when the baby comes home the dogs have already "met" the baby and it is not something totally new.

* When first bringing baby home from the hospital, greet the dog separately, in a calm manner. Be sure to spend some quality time with the dog, no matter how tired you are. And do not panic or yell at the dog, since you do not want the dog to associate the little newcomer with nervous feelings or alarm.

* Do not banish him outside. This is not only unkind, but counterproductive, since you want to maintain socialization and also make sure the dog does not associate "new baby" with "loss of my place in the family and home." Instead, when separating the dog from initial baby-time activities, place the dog in a pleasant, familiar place in the home.

Isolating a dog outside will stress the dog and result in undesirable behaviors. Such isolation is one of the biggest mistakes many parents make. Dogs depend on their owners to teach them good behaviors and to socialize them to new things and new people, including children and babies.

* As soon as you're ready within the first day or so, introduce the dog and baby. Have a responsible adult hold the dog on a short leash and place the dog in a controlled sit-stay or down-stay across the room. Naturally, another adult is holding the infant.

* Continue this over the course of several days, gradually bringing the dog closer to the baby as long as the dog remains calm and under control. Speak and act in a reassuring and relaxed manner. After and only after several weeks of completely successful sessions, you can let your dog off the leash -- but with caution, and with two responsible adults present.

* Save the most positive praise you give your dog to times for when the baby is present. The goal is to teach the dog to associate the baby with good things and to be calm in the baby's presence.

* Place treat jars around the house, so that when you engage in baby activities such as changing diapers and feeding the baby, you can offer your dog a treat so he will associate the baby with pleasant experiences.

* The dog needs you to include him, not exclude him. Integrate the dog in "baby time." Place the dog in a long sit-stay in the room when you're with the baby. Some trainers recommend "downs," but it depends on the individual dog and situation. One trainer suggested that putting the dog into a down may be too subordinate a position at first. Also, long sits can be easier for interaction purposes. In any case, you want the dog, or any other pet, to associate baby time with "good time," not "banished from the room or house" time.

* Have one individual hold or feed the baby while another gives the dog positive attention (though don't excite the dog). Consider giving the dog food treats when she is acting well around the baby.

More tips:

* Make sure the dog is given attention and exercise every day, even at the beginning - even if it's just 10 minutes a day - despite your change of routine, so the dog does not feel he must now compete with the new baby for attention. Dogs notice the change in attention. Use the time to work on obedience commands, grooming, petting and massaging your dog.

* Never leave dogs and young children unsupervised together, and never give the dog access to baby when adults aren't monitoring them. For example, shut the door to the nursery, or crate the dog. Some dogs not recognize an infant as a human and therefore, may not have normal inhibitions in their actions toward them. Do not leave babies or toddlers alone with dogs.

* Realize that some dogs may become nervous, and a few may become agitated and thus potentially aggressive, when exposed to baby swings. That's why it's critical to have the empty baby swing swinging for hours a day, starting weeks or months in advance, to desensitize the dog. Even when taking that step, you still should never leave a baby in a swing, or anywhere else, along with a pet.

* Parents should make sure the dog has a safe, pleasant place to retreat in the home that cannot be accessed by babies or children.

* Be patient in allowing your dog to get used to the new infant. If the dog seems to have trouble settling down after you follow the tips above, be sure to consult a behaviorist-trainer for personal guidance. It is well-worth the investment.

* Any dog who has shown predatory behavior toward small animals, food or possession guarding, or any other aggressive tendencies will require special attention and management.

* If you have any doubts about your dog's behavior toward the baby, consider using a muzzle during the introduction and training sessions mentioned above.

* Keep in mind that an infant can be harmed by a dog no matter regardless of breed or size.

* Keep the dog's nails trimmed. You should deter your dog from jumping on the baby, but just in case you lose control, trim, smooth nails are better.

* If you use a baby-sitter, direct the sitter to keep the child and dog separate. It is advised to use only sitters who are mature and who also have dog experience.

* Store dirty diapers in a place that the dogs cannot access.

* Some dogs will be inclined to guard the baby and alert parents to the baby's crying, while others might initially perceive the infant as a threatening stranger.

* Some dogs and cats may try to mark (urinate or defecate) near the baby's bed, bedding or clothes. This is another reason to follow the tips above about using a baby doll and introducing the dog to baby items before the baby comes home from the hospital. The marking has to do with claiming territory and relieving stress, not spite. So do not punish this behavior, since punishment tends to only increase stress. Instead, take steps to prevent this behavior, such as by giving the dog attention and blocking the dog's access to baby items.






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