"Keep him of course! You don't expect me to give up my dog for the baby, do you?"
"What if your dog attacks the baby?"
"HE WON'T!" There, you've said it! But deep down you are really not sure yourself, even though you've
put up a rather confident front to your friend.
The rest of the day goes by with your mind in a whirlwind!
"Will Fido attack my baby?"
"Should I let him live with Mum and Dad till the baby is older?
"How am I going to handle both Fido and the baby?"
"How will Fido react?"
The questions keep going around in your head, over and over again and finally you decide, after a
long while, poor Fido might have to go ...... if he doesn't get along with the new baby.
If that's what you've decided, you are basically leaving things to chance - a wait and see
approach. Well, we have news for you. As you read on, find out how to help Fido and the new baby
get along just fine, so that he will not have to lose his home with the arrival of the new baby.
As with any training programme, we can only "tell" you how to do it. YOU are the one who will have to
do the WORK to get your dog prepared though!
First we are going to look at some of the changes in the household with the arrival of the new baby.
Attention will be shifted from Fido to the baby. This might cause jealousy in him as he is no longer
the main attraction.
The baby will cry (rather loudly, too!) at different times of the day. This will be a new noise to Fido and
might cause him a rather huge amount of stress - more than you can imagine.
Lots of visitors are expected to go to the house to see the new baby. These same visitors that once
showered attention on your dog will now be showering all their attention on the new baby. Fido is not going
to be happy about it.
What does this mean for Fido? He is not going to like the new baby very much and will probably try
to regain his status in the home. So what is Fido likely to do?
Bark for attention. Even dogs that don't normally bark might start voicing their objections!
Start chewing up things that he didn't previously.
Jump up on visitors to get their attention, in the hope that they will pay him more attention than the baby.
Start marking (peeing and pooing) around the house to claim his territory from this little creature,
who he thinks is fighting with him for territory and attention.
The worst thing that could happen of course, is Fido could fight to determine who is alpha : this means
Fido might hurt the baby, without intentional malice, of course. It is just a dog's way.
To sum it up, Fido will do anything and everything to get your attention, even if it is negative attention.
Because bad attention is better than no attention at all.
To prevent all these situations, you will have to help Fido adapt to the arrival of the baby. Here are
some things you can do to prepare Fido even BEFORE the baby is born.
Get a tape or CD with babies' voices and cries. If you have problems finding it in the stores, approach
the audio houses (from yellow pages). They normally have a good collection of sounds - ask to
purchase a recording. Play this everyday at home, softly at first, then gradually increasing the volume
until it matches that of a real live baby. This helps to desensitise Fido to baby noises and when your baby
finally arrives Fido will be more familiar with the baby's cries and other sounds.
Get a doll and pretend it is the new baby. Carry it in blankets/cloths like you would do with a baby
and then let Fido come up close to inspect the doll. Give Fido a treat when he does this. Create an
environment where Fido gets good things whenever the doll-baby is around, so that he makes a
positive association with it.
As you go through this process, stop giving Fido his treats and toys EXCEPT when the doll-baby is
around. Again, this helps him associate only good things with the doll-baby.
Go through the motions of changing nappies with the doll. Let Fido watch you do this. Everytime
you finish changing a nappy, give Fido a treat and praise him for waiting patiently. (You may have to
instruct him to sit first.) This way, Fido learns that when the nappy-changing session ends, he will
get a reward. Eventually he will look forward to quietly sitting while you change your baby's nappies because
it means a treat for him when you're done!
When the baby is finally born, ask family members to bring the baby's blanket back home from the
hospital everyday (before mum and baby are discharged) and wrap it around the doll. Get Fido used
to the new scent of the baby before it comes home.
When the baby finally arrives home, he/she will not seem so foreign to Fido, for as far as Fido is concerned,
the baby has been sharing his home for months!
After the new baby arrives home, DO continue to treat and praise Fido when he comes near to sniff at
the baby's blankets, or when he sits patiently while you change nappies. Also, remember, no toys
and treats for Fido unless the baby is around. This will help to reinforce the idea that having the baby
around is always a good thing.
Last but not least, when visitors come over to visit your new baby, have them greet Fido first. Acknowledge
him and give him a pet on the head and/or a treat before meeting the baby. By doing this, Fido will not
feel that his position at home is threatened. Instead he may even look forward to having visitors come
and see the baby, for he knows he will be an equal recipient of all that attention!
So you see, it is really not that difficult. If you are expecting a baby, we encourage you to try the
above methods.
[above extractions from Canine Cool (your dog's best bet) inaugural issue/dec2005]
