Do you see what I see? Look closer. This poodle is uncomfortable. (poodle laying on the floor with a baby)
Congratulations! You’re about to grow your family with a baby — the human kind.
There’s so much to do to prepare yourself and your home for this exciting new addition, that we often forget to prepare our dogs.
Here’s why you should take the time to prepare your pooch for living with a baby BEFORE you bring your baby home.
Future you is tired and sore. If your dog currently invades your space, just think of how irritating it will be when you’re trying to change a diaper on the floor and your dog will not leave you alone. They may step in poop and track it all over the house for you to clean up later. Even worse: they might step on the baby. Teach your dog to give you space now, so that they understand what you mean when you ask for space for your baby.
Future you pushes a stroller. If your dog currently barks and lunges at people and dogs who pass by, this will endanger you and your baby. If you’ll be pushing that stroller through winter on black ice this is exponentially more dangerous. The time to teach your dog a beautiful loose leash walk is now.
Teach your dog to walk beside you with a nice loose leash before adding in the stroller (Photo: two strollers in the snow)
3. Future you now holds a baby when opening your front door to houseguests (and there will be droves of them.) If you currently rely on pulling your dog’s collar back to open your door to prevent jumping up, nipping, mouthing, humping, etc, it’s time teach your dog what to do when the doorbell rings. The answer is: go to their place and wait calmly until you release them.
4. Future you is going to talk baby talk and snuggle with a little baby. If your dog currently loses his mind with jealousy when you pick up your friend’s baby or your niece, it’s time to prepare him to share you. If your dog sees you as his resource (guards you, growls at people who approach you, sits on your feet, leans on your legs, won’t “let you” pet other dogs or your cat, sleeps in your bed, etc) seek professional help immediately. Balance your dog before you add a baby to the mix.
If this drives your pup into a frenzy of jumping and whining with your nieces and nephews, it’s worth training now before adding in your own bundle of joy (Photo: woman snuggling a baby)
5. Future you is up to her eyeballs in laundry, rocking a crying baby, nursing the baby, and hoping for naps that never come. Teach your dog all of the commands that can save her life to make daily life with her and tired-you a breeze — come, leave it, drop it, stay, place, crate. Future you doesn’t want to drive to the vet at 3 AM because “come” didn’t work and your dog’s face is full of porcupine quills or “leave it” didn’t work and she ate a dirty diaper and three hair scrunchies. Future you wants to be stress-free when guests come over, not driving your grandmother to the ER for stitches after your dog bites her. Teach your dog the place command now, so that you and your dog can enjoy calmness when guests come to visit.
Prevent sleepless nights and the stress that comes with worrying about your dog’s behaviour around houseguests, your baby, and strangers on the street. The time to train is right now. (Photo: person covering their face and lying in bed #stress)
Dogs are designed to follow calm and confident leadership. Tired people tend to raise their voices when their dog doesn’t listen the first time they say: Come. Yelling your command won’t make your dog listen. Screaming it because you see a skunk in your yard ten feet away from your dog also won’t help. Do you really want to be buying Skunk-Off shampoo at 10 PM on a Tuesday? It’s time to teach your dog a rock-solid recall command.
It’s time to prepare your dog for all things baby. Think of it as preparing for game day. Your dog needs to practice all of these things without distractions so he has a chance to get really, really good at them. Then, we add in a doll, the sounds of a crying baby, the babies’ funny-looking furniture (unless you think a dog should just know what a jolly jumper is…)
We teach your dog to walk on a loose leash with no pulling, and then we add the stroller so he has time to get used to it.
A loose leash heel takes time. Give yourself time to learn this with your dog before adding in the stroller and before adding a baby to the stroller (Photo: people walking with a stroller while people behind them walk another dog - both dogs are heeling)
We teach your dog the place command so he learns how awesome it is and then we add people knocking on your door as a distraction.
We practice before the real baby arrives, so that you’re not stressed out, tired, and worried.
We practice before the real baby arrives because it is the kindest thing to do for your dog.
When to begin:
-the moment you begin planning to grow your family
-the day you find out you are pregnant
-or today, because you didn’t realize how difficult this would be for you and your dog to navigate on game day
What to work on:
-place
-loose leash walking
-threshold training
-crate training
-come
-leave it
-drop it
-stay
Schedule your free call today. I can’t wait to get started!
Schedule your free call here: https://beyonddogtraining.ca/take-action or click the TAKE ACTION button below.
Happy training, Dog Leaders!
Alyssa
Photos by: Picsea @picsea (poodle laying on the floor with a baby,) Charlotte Karlsen
@charlottemsk (two strollers in the snow,) Austin Wade
@austin_wade (woman snuggling a baby,) Anthony Tran
@anthonytran (person covering their face and lying in bed #stress,) Upsplash Image (people walking with a stroller while people behind them walk another dog - both dogs are heeling,)