Some hospitals offer sibling classes so a child can prepare for the arrival of a newborn brother or sister. But, I was curious what we could do to prepare our dog, a hyper Golden Retriever, for the birth of my son.
I already knew that this breed of dog is extremely family friendly. However, even the most harmless and gentle dog can become hyper and scratch or bite if startled.
I checked with several sources including my veterinarian, my OB/GYN doctor and my doula to find out what suggestions they had for preparing my pet for when baby comes home. I found out it is natural to worry about whether it’s safe to have a dog around a baby.
Introduce dog to new boundaries
My doctor suggested I put up a barrier to keep the dog out of certain rooms of the house at least until the dog and baby felt familiar with one another. I made the baby’s nursery off limits to the dog for safety as well as sanitary purposes.
Turn on the noise
To prepare my dog for the baby’s arrival, I introduced her to different baby sounds including the baby toy noises and the lullaby music. I noticed my dog liked the relaxing sounds. My neighbor brought her noisy toddler over to our apartment, which also helped familiarize my dog with the sound of crying and whining.
Let her sniff it out
My dog sniffs to get to know people. Even when I’d return home, it wasn’t until she sniffed me that she would stop barking. My veterinarian suggested I let the dog sniff all my baby things including lotions, baby powder and shampoos so it would be familiar.
Have a stash of dog toys
Since I would be spending less time with my dog when the baby arrived, I didn’t want her to feel left out. I had a stash of dog toys and her favorite dog bones to chew on. I also made sure the dog was crate trained and had a comfortable “doggy den” in case she has to be separated at times from the activity.
Keep the dog off furniture
Before we had a baby, it didn’t seem to matter if the dog jumped on the sofa or bed. But I didn’t want her to think she could climb into the crib with the baby. We took the dog to an obedience class to break her of bad habits.
Finally, before the baby arrived, I made sure to visit the vet to make sure she was up to date on rabies shots and other vaccinations. We made plans with a neighbor to drop the dog off when labor started.
Although my dog is no longer with us, she did love my son. I was surprised she didn’t bark when we brought the baby home. She would sit patiently at my feet when I fed my son. She seemed to want to guard him from any danger. I don’t know if all dogs love babies, but mine did.
My son grew up and is now a dog lover thanks to his early positive experiences with dogs.
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