The arrival of a baby is always exciting. Your family is growing by one, two, or three, and there is a lot to be excited for. However, it can also be stressful and requires a lot of preparation beforehand. In the event that you have a pet, especially a dog, you need to train them before your baby arrives.
Your pet dog might love you more than anything and will probably do anything for you. However, when they see a baby for the first time, they might not see it with the same love and adoration that you do. To them, this baby might be an unfamiliar person they could perceive as a threat, and the last thing you ever want is for your pet dog to consider your baby as a threat.
In order to prepare your dog for the arrival of your baby, you must start preparing for it many months in advance. It is imperative to do this because if your dog is trained before your baby arrives, the transition will be easier for you, your baby, and your dog.
The best thing about dogs is that they are some of the most intelligent animals in the world. With the right training and patience, you can train a dog to behave any way you want, and they will be willing to do so for a treat or two.
Babies make a lot of noise. This could be in the form of crying, laughing, or just making baby sounds. Regardless, these sounds are new to your dog, and they must get used to them in advance. Furthermore, you must also train your dog to maintain its distance from the newborn baby. A human baby is incredibly vulnerable. When an animal gives birth, its offspring is able to stand on its own feet and fend for itself in a few hours, days, or weeks. A human? They take at least a year to do so.
On your mobile phone, play the sounds of a baby crying and train your dog to sit at a distance from it. They must know that when a baby is making any sort of sound, they must not interact with it because while they might be going there to fix the situation to the best of their abilities, they can always do something wrong. For larger breeds, this is important because they are very capable of hurting a child in their attempt to maybe lick them or come in contact with them.
Furthermore, by playing these sounds in your home, the dog becomes accustomed to them, and this allows them to remain calm when the baby arrives. If the dog isn’t trained for the sounds that the baby makes, they might get startled the first time they hear them and not know what to do.
Your dog needs to be accustomed to the various smells babies bring with them before the baby arrives because a dog’s smell is its strongest quality. The best way to do this is by bringing a blanket with some common scents that babies use, such as talcum powder or wet wipes.
Allow the dog to interact with this blanket on their own by smelling it and growing more accustomed to it. When the baby arrives, the dog will recognize the familiar smell and know that this isn’t something to feel threatened or curious about.
The dog won’t be used to the scent in the first go, and it will take some time before they are used to it. It is a gradual process, and the sooner you start, the easier it will be for them to get used to it.
We’re talking about two types of distance here: distance from the baby and distance from the mother when she comes back.
Dogs will rarely ever mean any harm to your baby. In fact, they might love them as much as you do. However, dogs are not the most hygienic creatures to have around a baby. A dog will spend its time outside in the garden sniffing, digging, and getting itself dirty.
With this, there will be many different germs on the dog that can be fatal for a newborn baby. The first time the baby comes home, make sure the dog is clean and as far from any contaminants as possible.
If possible, give the dog a bath before the baby arrives to make sure they are nice and clean and germ-free to meet their new best friend.
Before a baby is born, the mother will probably spend a few days away from home. During this time, the dog will not have seen someone that they are probably used to living with all the time. When they finally see her, they might get excited and want to get as close to her as possible.
Dogs can sense when their owner is coming home so before the mother is due to arrive back home, have someone take the dog out to burn some energy. This way, when she arrives, the dog will behave tamer as opposed to jumping around.
Building on the previous heading, the dog must also remain at a distance from the mother because they might carry contaminants that could make their way from dog to mother to baby.
As much as you train the dog, you must still take no risk when it comes to the safety of your baby. When the baby first arrives home, make sure your dog is on a leash and kept at a distance. If your dog has a tendency to get excited, we would go as far as to recommend putting a muzzle on to make sure they don’t lick the baby or the mother.
Training a dog for a baby is hardly a challenge. In fact, it is very easy and requires very basic training. However, and we cannot stress this enough, you must train your dog before your baby arrives home. It will make life easier for the dog, the parents, and the baby.