Newborn baby and dog: safety rules

Many are convinced that all dogs are born nannies who will gladly raise a human child and will never harm him. However, this is a dangerous delusion. Statistics say that dogs bite children more often than adults. But not because they are “evil and insidious”, but because they were not explained how to behave with a child, and did not create safe living conditions.

That is why, if a dog lives in your house and the birth of a child is planned, it is necessary to properly prepare the dog for the appearance of the baby and ensure compliance with safety rules.

Photo: pixabay.com

How to prepare a dog for the birth of a child?

You can avoid a lot of problems and save your pet from a lot of stress associated with the arrival of a new family member if you properly prepare your dog for the birth of a child.

1. Think about what changes will happen in the life of a dog with the advent of your heir. For example, if a rearrangement is needed or the dog will be denied access to some premises, make all changes in advance (at least 3 months before the expected date, and preferably earlier). The same applies to changes in the daily routine, walking schedule, etc. The baby doesn’t show up all of a sudden – use your time wisely.
2. Train your dog teams: “Come to me”, “Sit”, “Lie down”, “Fu”, “No”, shutter speed, etc. It is very important to be able to stop and distract the dog if, for example, it tries to flirt with the baby or grabs something that belongs to him.
3. Work with bad habits dogs. If the pet is used to meeting you with jumps, then having a child in your arms will not stop him, and this can be just dangerous. Teach your dog to stand with four paws on the ground. It is also useful to work out the issue of resource protection, if there is such a problem.
4. Think ahead about how you will meet dog with a newborn.

How to introduce a dog to a newborn and what safety rules to establish?

There are simple rules that will help you safely introduce your dog to a newborn.

1. Before the parents arrive home with the newborn, ask someone to good walk dog to reduce arousal levels.
2. When the young mother arrives home, it is better for her to hand over the child to someone and say hello to the dog. It is important to do this calmly, without creating unnecessary excitement.
3. When the dog calms down show her babylet me smell the heel. The ideal reaction is when the dog sniffs the child, can lick the heel and calmly go about his business.
4. Show that the dog is still loved and remains a valuable member of the family. Do not kick her out of the room if she was previously allowed access there, do not yell at her, and even more so do not use physical violence. Acquaintance is an important moment that will have an impact on the entire future life of a dog with a child.
5. It’s important to stick to daily routine and rulesthat you installed a few months before the baby was born. The appearance of an incomprehensible new creature in the house is a strong stress for the dog, do not aggravate its condition and do not provoke jealousy towards the child.
6. Create with a dog positive associations with baby. For example, you can give the pet something that the baby has not finished eating (or simply after each contact of the parents with the child, treat the pet with something especially tasty). And it is better to let the dog become a beggar than to be afraid of the presence of a child and be jealous.
7. When the child begins to crawl and walk, make sure that he didn’t corner the dog and didn’t make her uncomfortable. Provide your dog with escape routes and a place where he can retire. Teach your dog that she can leave the child at any time when she wants to. For example, if you see your dog showing signals of discomfort, calmly take him out of the room, without forbidding him to come back if you wish.
8. If the dog has a highly developed hunting instinct and you see that the pet’s eyes are constantly riveted to the baby, she is tense and excited, leave the dog in a collar with a rope or leash tied to it (at least 1 meter long) for several weeks. However, do not leave the rope on the dog when he is alone at home – this is dangerous.
9. If the dog guarding his toys or treats and you have not worked through this problem before the birth of the child, do not create conflict situations. Remove all dog toys and chews from your baby’s reach and keep your child away from your dog when he is eating.
10. Never leave a small child alone with a dogeven for a couple of seconds! All interactions must take place under your vigilant control.