So what steps need to be taken throughout your pregnancy to get your dog ready to greet the newest member in your family? Besides familiarizing your puppy with your baby's scent when he or she is born, you can practice commands and give your pup lots of love before and after the little one arrives too. Here are some excellent tips to prepare your dog for a baby in your home:
1. Get comfortable with obedience training.
Sit, stay, lie down, wait, leave it, and settle are all great basic commands that are relatively simple to teach your pet.
2. Seriously, teach them “settle.”
L.A.-based dog trainer and father Scott Shanahan (full disclosure: he’s my husband) stresses the importance of keeping your dog in a calm, relaxed state when the baby is near.
3. Start changing the rules now.
Now is a great time to start getting your pup used to her new boundaries.
4. Teach your dog a “quiet” command, but don’t overuse it.
Curbing barking is great, but allowing your baby to get used to the sound of your barking dog in the womb is the greatest gift you can ever give yourself as a parent.
5. Establish visual boundaries.
According to Shanahan, dogs are great with visual boundaries, and instilling in your dog that they need permission to enter the kitchen, the baby’s room, the bathroom, or the foyer to your home can all begin with simple boundary training.
6. Consider how the baby will change your daily routines, and start practicing.
Starting to make those changes now will keep your dog from negatively associating these things with the baby and help them roll with the punches.
7. Get your pet acclimated to the new sights, sounds, and smells that come with a newborn.
According to ASPCA.org, now is the time to “gradually introduce your dog to the new experiences, sights, sounds and smells she’ll encounter when you bring your baby home, and associate these new things with rewards.”
8. Avoid the temptation to give them extra love beforehand.
The ASPCA actually recommends gradually reducing the attention you’re giving your dog as your due date approaches so the shock to their system is minimal when your focus shifts to the baby.
9. Now take a deep breath.
Everything is going to be OK. Your dog and your baby are going to love each other as much as you love both of them.
If you follow all of these tips from BuzzFeed your pup should be more than ready to handle a new little family member in the home and who knows, maybe they'll become best buds too!
