When Joey was born, our Brittany Spaniel, Duncan, was 10 years old. She is an extremely friendly animal who loves nothing more than being pet and we had no doubt that she would love our new baby as much as we did. But she’s still a dog and we wanted to do everything we could to make sure that Joey’s new presence in our house went over as smoothly as possible with the dog.

When I was still in the hospital with Joey, Dave was running back and forth home to get things for Joey and I and to take care of Duncan. Every time he would leave the hospital he would take one of Joey’s blankets with him and bring it home for Duncan to sniff. This way she would get used to his scent and the baby wouldn’t seem like such a stranger when he came home. Experts suggest that when you do this you should start by keeping the blanket or whatever object it is, away from the dog and establish boundaries. Let them sniff the scent, but under your conditions. This way they not only get used to the baby but they will understand that the baby is yours and there are boundaries. Slowly let them closer to the blanket, but under your conditions.

There’s also a few other things you can do to get your dog ready for the baby. Starting during your pregnancy, set limits as to where the dog can and can’t go. If you are not going to allow the dog to go into the nursery, then start training them to stay out before the baby arrives. Also during your pregnancy, make sure your dog is trained to understand that you are in charge, this way they will listen to you when the baby gets here and you give them a command.

Right before the baby is born, the ASPCA recommends getting your dog used to the types of touches they may experience from the baby. Using gentle touches, tug on your dogs ear, pull their tail, and grab their fur. Remember, GENTLY, and reward them with a treat after each tug and pull. This way they will associate those touches with something positive and may react better when the baby does it.

The day the baby is coming home, see if you can have someone take the dog for a walk or let them run around the backyard to get their energy out. This way they are nice and calm when baby arrives.

Lastly, as soon as the baby is old enough, teach them the right way to interact with your dog. This will not only help grow the relationship between them and their pet, but then they will know how to act if they come in contact with a dog that is not theirs.

The relationship a child has with their dog is the sweetest thing to see, however, if you truly feel that your baby is unsafe around your dog, then you may want to seriously consider finding your dog a new home. 🙁