I’ve posted before on how to prep your dog for the lifestyle change they’ll be experiencing when the kid comes, but I found this article and thought it was worth posting. I don’t think it’s the same as the previous post I did on dogs, but if it is, it’s worth repeating. Our pooch Abby has been thru 5 obedience classes and is quite well behaved but I see a lot of things in this article which we’ll have to do to prep her for the “scream machine”. Abby is quite noise sensitive so her adjustment to a LOUD child and all the loud noises associated with a child will be one of the hardest things for her.
This is from the Rumor Queen site. The original post is HERE but I’ll post it in its entirety here in case it was to ever disappear from the RQ site.
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Dogs
Someone asked a question about preparing your dog for the baby. This will be long. But it's important.
One of the biggest things is to change as much as you can well before the baby arrives, so the dog doesn't associate this change with the baby.
Think about where your baby is going to spend her time, and where she will be walking/crawling. You don't want the dog's dish to be in her “zone", so go ahead and move the food and water dish elsewhere. If it's a small dog then move it into a laundry room or the garage and put a doggie door into that room. If it's a big dog then you may need to start feeding the dog outside or in the bathroom with the door closed - so the "graze when you want to" thing may have to go away. It is important to make this change at least four months before you arrive home with baby.
If the dog currently sleeps in bed with you and that will change because the baby will be in the bed, then you must kick the dog out six or more months ahead of time. Sleeping arrangements are really big to the dog; make sure he does not associate any changes in sleeping spot with the baby.
If your dog doesn't know (and obey) basic commands then you should really work on this as well. They need to know what "gentle" (or "easy") means, they need to know what "down" and "come" mean. And most of all when you say "no" they should immediately stop what they are doing and look to you for instruction. Every single time. (Another note, if you are working on obedience with the dog daily when you leave then you must continue it when you return - you must not omit any "attention for doggie" times that the dog is used to).
It will also be important to try to segregate the dog and baby for a little while. At our old house the first floor was circular and we blocked things off so the (crawling) baby had the living room and dining room and the dog had the kitchen and foyer areas and part of the living room. We did this with baby gates and strategically arranged furniture. This way the dog and baby could meet at the baby gate and interact with each other, but if either wanted to stop the interaction they could just walk away (without being followed).
We put one of these baby gates up ahead of time, so the dog was already used to it being there. We also moved the furniture around months ahead of time.
We also put ALL of our dog's toys away about four or five months before we traveled. He had one or two that he was possessive over, so we removed every one of them. And he has never seen any of them again. And he survived it.
Another thing we did well ahead of time was to start petting him like a toddler would. I pulled at his ears just a little bit to get him used to it (he mouthed me in protest when I first started this, but after a month of this he no longer did that). I started messing with his tail. I fiddled with his whiskers. All of this was stuff we'd never done with him, and he was none too pleased about it at first, but he got used to it.
This next one is a biggie. Pay attention to how the first meeting with your dog will play out. If the dog has been in a kennel, you don't want to already be home with baby and settled in before you bring the dog home. The dog does not know how long you were gone, only that he has been sent away while you and this horrible screaming baby were in his house. He will feel resentful.
If at all possible, have someone else pick your dog up a day ahead of time (or maybe that morning) and bring the dog home so he is there to welcome you home.
When you come home with the baby, have someone else (that the dog knows and is comfortable with) bring the child into the house. Yes, I know we aren't supposed to let other people hold the baby yet, but this one time you simply must. You do not want the dog to be jealous of the baby the first time he sees her. This first meeting is very important - you should focus on giving your dog as much undivided attention as he wants.
Of course, it's also important that the baby not completely freak out when she sees the dog. It helps to have pictures of you interacting with the dog that she has been looking at for the last two weeks. Point to the dog and call him by name in the picture a dozen or more times a day while you're in
Two very important things:
1. The dog should have a baby free zone to eat.
2. The dog should have a spot he can go to when he doesn't want to be bothered.
The first is easy. The second will take some work as your child grows. She will need to learn that when the dog is "laying there" she is not to pet him. She is not to go stand a foot from him and look at him. She is not to stand on the other side of the room and call his name. That is his "quiet place" and she needs to learn to respect that.
Pay close attention to how the dog sees things. Never do something to make the dog resent the baby. When the dog is being extra needy at the same time you need to be doing something for the baby then get your spouse there pronto to give attention to the dog. If your spouse isn't home then stick the child in a highchair with some finger foods and then get down on the floor with the dog. If you and the dog are being silly enough you will also provide entertainment for the baby.
Remember positive reinforcement for the dog. Keep dog treats close by (but out of reach of baby and doggie) and reward him for being good.
Think in terms of pecking order. Make it clear to the dog that he's still the lowest in the pack order. It is natural for him to try to assert himself over the baby, so you need to make it clear that this won't work. Let him hang out under the high chair when baby is eating. And after baby is eating then take him to wherever he eats and feed him.
If he makes an obvious push to walk through a door ahead of the baby, then stop him and make him wait. The baby cannot assert herself yet, so you must. And as the top of the pack, he will follow your lead. Assuming you've done a good job of creating pack order in the first place. If the dog has any inkling that he is above you then it's not safe to bring a baby into the house.
As soon as you feel comfortable with it, let her give him treats. (Don’t let her give him her food, but let her give him his treats). If she doesn't eat all of her food and you let him eat table scraps, then YOU should give her plate to him, not her. She should only be giving him treats that are his. (She can start feeding him from her plate in a couple of years - but make sure she's at least 3.5 or so and that she's been in the family for at least a year and a half).
We put a lot of time into preparing our dog for this huge change, and then we spent a lot of time working to make sure everything was okay once we arrived home. And we did a good job. My three year old could walk through a room with food in her hand and he wouldn't take it from her. Yes, he weighed four times more than her at that point, and he might have been following her hoping for a handout, but he did not take it from her.
We still work hard at making sure they get along good. She is in a bossy stage right now and we have to constantly call her down about not bossing him around. She has also stood in time out for telling him he's a "bad dog" when he hasn't done anything wrong. When I catch her doing something that isn't appropriate while he patiently lets her... I fuss at her and then tell him he's a good dog and give him a treat.
One thing he quickly learned, if she was doing something and we didn't see then he groaned to get our attention. It was far from a growl, just a grumble/groan, and as soon as he did that we removed her from his presence. It's as much about you respecting the dog as it is about him respecting the baby.
A couple of months after arriving home he was fiercely protective of her. We were out hiking and had stopped for a bit in a pretty spot to let the baby crawl around on a blanket. He jumped and snarled at someone who was walking in the general direction of the baby. It scared us all (especially the person approaching our daughter). I had him on the leash, and quickly pulled him back into a sit at my side - but he was still snarling at this stranger who had been walking towards HIS baby. We'd always been able to take him on hikes, so this was new and really caught me off guard.
They really are the best of friends now. And that could have only happened by us working very hard to not create any situation that would promote jealousy, and by us making sure that the dog had no doubt about the pecking order.
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