Training Your Dog Before Baby Comes Home

While some dogs sail right through the addition of a new baby without breaking stride, others find the experience a bit more difficult.  Bringing a baby home a complete change in household dynamics for your four-legged kid.  Thankfully following a few simple steps before you introduce the bundle of joy to your home will make all the difference later.

It’s never too soon to start working on verbal commands with your dog.  If your dog doesn’t obey verbal commands without a baby in the house, you can’t expect him to do so after the baby comes home.  Simple commands such as “sit,” “stay,” and “come” are extremely handy in every day situations, especially when a baby enters the scene.  Also if you need to juggle stroller-walking and dog-walking, be sure to teach your dog to “heel” long before the baby arrives.  Go on practice walks with the stroller so you can gauge how much you need to work on leash manners now, before there is a baby in the stroller.

While you may overlook playful mouthing and nipping now, it can quickly elevate to unacceptable behavior when a baby is involved.  Do not wait to get nipping under control and do not hesitate to hire a qualified trainer if your dog is still mouthing.
Beware of do-it-yourself training.  Often, people inadvertently make behaviors worse by misreading their dogs, or reinforcing the wrong behavior.   A wonderful trainer can be invaluable investment for soon-to-be parents.

In the months leading up to baby-time, start to act like a baby or toddler.  Yes, you read that right.  Act like a kid.  Make loud, sudden noises.  Make quick movements.  Squeal and cry!  Jump up and down.  Run around the house.  Be random.  All the while praise your dog while you’re doing these out-of-character things so he learns to accept the randomness that is going to come with having a baby in the house.

Also, now is a good time to make sure he doesn’t resource guard his food or toys.  (If so, pick up the phone and use the services of a good trainer!)  Place your hands in your dog’s food while he’s eating.  Try to take toys away from him.  Make sure he’s gentle when taking treats from hands.  See how he reacts to these situations.  During these sessions work on the “leave it” or “drop” command that will become VERY useful when your dog decides that your baby’s toy or food looks like a nice thing to chomp on.  Make sure to supply him with his favorite toys and praise him for playing with them.

Once you have the nursery set up, allow your dog to spend a lot of time in the room.  But, let him know what type of behavior is acceptable and not acceptable in that room.  If you don’t want him tearing through the room at 40 miles per hour when the baby comes home, don’t let him do it before.  If you don’t want him to play tug in the room after the baby arrives, don’t have tug sessions before.  Set the standard for what type of behavior you want to see in that room now.  (This can go for the entire house too.)

Now is the time to start to think about how your new schedule is going to impact your dog’s routine.  One of the main reasons dogs start to act out after a baby comes home is that they are simply left behind.  It’s only natural that your dog will get less attention because there are only so many hours in a day (and your baby will consume many of them.)  But fear not, hiring a professional dog walker has helped many local moms deal with the time crunch.   A dog walker can offer that much needed physical exercise that will keep your dog sane and calm.  (An antsy dog can lead to bad things!)  Most dog owners notice a significant change for the better in their dog’s behavior after hiring a walker, with or without a baby in the house.  Make sure that your walker comes with references, is bonded and insured, and meets your philosophy when it comes to pet care.  The more elite services offer added perks like 365 day a year care and some even have web-booking for moms-on-the-go.

Once the baby is born, if possible, bring home a blanket the baby has been wrapped in and present it to the dog with treats.  This will trigger a simple thing in your dog’s head:  Baby = Good.  Do NOT allow your dog to chew on or play with the blanket.  You may even want to have him “sit” or “down” before presenting the blanket + treat combo so he learns that being calm around the baby is rewarded.

With these simple steps before your baby comes home, you can prepare him for the big shock – the actual baby.   Training your dog is best done now.  Juggling a new baby and correcting inappropriate behavior after the birth is not only daunting, depending on the behavior, it can be dangerous.  The old saying is true, “A little bit of training now, will pay off later.”

Millions of kids “grow up” with dogs, and that’s not going to change anytime soon.  Why?  Dogs are amazing siblings for children and can teach them everything from daily responsibilities (feeding, walking, exercising) to lessons of love, friendship, and loyalty.

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