Top Seven Tips to Prepare Your Dog for the Newborn

Tips For Prepare Your Dog for the Newborn
Introduction of your dog to your newborn baby sometimes turn out to be a dangerous incident if you have not prepared your pooch for the baby arrival. Dogs face anxiety when they encounter new ones in the house or feel insecure when an addition is there in the family. On knowing that you are going to have a great bundle of joy after few months, then why not start your journey to prepare your furry pal for the same.

Preparing your pooch well in advance before new arrival will greatly help you build a serene environment for the welcome. Find here the top tips that help you teach your furry pal on how to behave and stay connected with the newborn baby.

1. Keep Control of Your emotions

Your pooch is quite sensitive to your emotions. During pregnancy you will definitely experience a wide array of emotions. You may be excited, frustrated, worried or angered. Control these emotions as your dog will copy your emotions.

2. Establish your Leadership

Once you get the news that you are going to be mom/dad, nine months is enough time to prepare your lovable companion for the new arrival. Take enough time for you and your furry pal to resolve most issues, change unwanted habits and in the same phase establish yourself as a pack leader. This dramatically helps you make your dog follow your instructions honestly. You can even take suggestions from online dog trainers or hire a professional to support you in preparing your dog.

3. Prepare Your Pooch with Baby’s Scent

Before bringing your baby to home, don’t forget to bring an item that contains your baby’s scent such as a burp cloth from the hospital. During this session, make it clear that you set boundaries. Train your dog to sniff from a distance, while you’re holding the baby item. From this exercise, you can teach your dog that the item is yours and you have given permission to your dog to sniff. This will start the process of creating respect for the baby.

4. Develop Boundaries around the Nursery

Start making the nursery off-limits. Help your dog understand that there is an invisible boundary that he may not cross without your permission. Simultaneously, you can prepare your dog to sniff and explore all the stuff in the room with your supervision. Decide when your pooch needs to enter and need to leave. Work out this session few times before you bring the baby home. This will allow your dog to understand that the room belongs to pack leader and need to be respected at all times.

5. Plan the Instruction Session

On the day of your baby’s arrival, take your furry companion in a long walk. Ensure to drain all his energy before returning to door step. Take care that before entering home, your dog is in passive state. Upon entering, your dog will get the new scent in the house. In case you have already introduced the scent, it will be somewhat familiar. The parent holding the baby should be totally in calm state. Allow your dog to sniff the baby but at the respectable distance.

During the first meeting, don’t bring your dog too close to the baby. Slowly, you can allow your dog to come closer to the baby. This helps inculcate in your dog the value of respect towards your newborn as another pack leader.

6. With Baby Arrival, Don’t Forget Your Pooch

Your furry pal is also an inevitable part of your loving family. Don’t degrade his importance with the coming of the baby in the house. A dog does not need toys or special attention to feel important. Just carry on the routine talks, walks and consistent leadership. This exercise assures your lovable companion that you still love and care about him. It helps your dog feel secure and allow her to relax with the addition of new member in the house.

7. Child’s Safety

The most priority thing is your child’s safety. Even after working with the behavioral trainer and on  your own, if you are still not 100% confident about the safety of your baby with your dog then you need to take some solid steps. Finding a shelter home or another home for your dog is better option for the well-being of your child and pet.