It´s time to bring the baby home, what is the dog going to think?
It´s almost time to bring your new bundle of joy home. Have you given any thought as to how to handle the big day with your pooch?
- You will be gone a day or two at least when having your baby. Little Sadie will miss you terribly while you are away. Think about how happy she will be to see you. Also, think about how likely she is to jump on you when you return. How jealous will she be of that new bundle of joy in your arms? To minimize the chance of an accident, make sure your dog does not have the opportunity to greet you as you bring the new baby in. If she is not already, think about crate training her. Having someone put Sadie in her crate will let you get settled in with the new baby before the big introduction. When you´re ready to bring her out, take her outside and spend a few minutes a quality time together before letting her greet the baby.
- The most important thing you can do when you bring your new baby home is to keep the baby and the dog separated. Make sure Sadie has no opportunity to harm your child. Even if you have never known your pooch to be aggressive, bringing a new baby into the environment can change everything. Always keep your baby´s door closed during sleep time. Do not give your dog a chance to misbehave with the baby. Utilize indoor gates to insure there is no chance that baby and the dog can be in the same room unattended. Also, never lay your baby on the floor next to the dog. It only takes a second for a very unfortunate accident to happen.
- Teach Sadie that it is to her advantage to be nice to baby. Whenever you see the dog behaving in an appropriate manner around baby, lavish her with praise and reward her with a treat. Reward her for everything from staying a safe distance away from the baby bouncer to waiting patiently while you get baby ready for your walk together.
It will be hard on your pooch to have a new baby in the house. Making sure baby is safe without making Sadie feel left out will no doubt be a balancing act, but all the hard work will pay off in the end. You will have a safe happy baby and a dog who knows her place around the new addition.
Try to keep your dog from feeling too left out the first few weeks when you and the baby are being adorned with gifts. Keep a stash of new toys so anytime someone brings a present over for you and the baby you have a gift for Sadie. Keep plenty of treats on hand so you always have something to reward her good behavior with.
