Are you expecting? What a life-changing event for the whole family. Bringing home your baby may be confusing to your dog. How do you communicate this to your dog and which preparations should you take?
Here is how you can prevent your dog from feeling stressed and form a bond with your baby. Let’s get them acquainted.
Book An Appointment With Your Veterinarian
Planning ahead is very important. Once you have found out that you are pregnant, deworm your dog. Meanwhile, make sure your dog’s vaccines are up to date and trim your dog’s nails before bringing your newborn home.
Take Your Dog For Training
Dog training is an excellent idea to address unwanted behaviors such as jumping. If aggression is a concern with your dog, seek help from a professional dog behaviorist.
5 Lessons On How To Train Your Dog To Listen To You |
Learn Your Dog’s Body Language
Dogs have their own way of expressing themselves if they are uncomfortable with something. Look for changes in their facial expression and body stiffening so that when you have your baby, you can quickly identify when their boundaries are being crossed.
Set Up Baby Furniture Early
Setting up your crib early will give your dog time to adjust to their new surroundings.
Play Baby Sounds
Before your baby arrives, playing some baby cries to get your dog used to the sound can help reduce your dog’s stress when the baby arrives.
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Create A Positive Association
Once the baby has arrived, you can teach your dog to love them by allowing them to sniff the baby’s blanket and then rewarding them with a treat or something that relaxes them.
A huge mistake people make down the line is shouting at their dog during stressful times and this leads them to associate your baby with a negative feeling.
Introduction To Your Baby
It is important that you introduce them outside of their territory. That means somewhere outside of the house. Your dog must greet the primary caretaker first.
Your baby must be held in their arms and your dog should be on a leash or in their crate. It is also important to act normal, stay relaxed and take it slow so that your dog does not associate babies with playtime.
Supervise At All Times
All interactions between your child and your dog must be supervised. A large concern is that your dog may want to cuddle and unintentionally cover your baby’s face and cause suffocation.
As your baby grows into a toddler they will also need help to learn how to interpret your dog’s body language.
Set Aside Time For Your Dog
Having a newborn can be draining. However, setting some time aside for your dog is important. A dog that stops getting attention can become resentful. Set a few minutes a day to give your dog some undivided attention, they are your best friend after all.
How To Be Friends With Your Dog |
Life will be much more enjoyable now that you have your baby and dog acquainted. Knowing how dogs express love can be a benefit when your dog is with any of your family members.
5 Ways Dogs Express Love |
“Mama” Is This Cute Baby’s First Word, But Not The Baby You Would Think… (Video)
Hearing your baby say their first word is very exciting. And the first words are often “mama” or “papa”. But when encouraging your baby to talk, be aware that maybe their fur siblings will get there first.
In this hilarious video, mom, Andrea Diaz-Giovanini, was offering her nine-month-old son, Sam, a reward if he could say the word “mama”. And Sam started forming the words with his mouth, but could just not get the word out of his mouth.
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