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Dogs & New Babies
Introducing Your Dogs to a New Baby
You or your family is expecting a new baby; however, you already
have a "child," the family dog. The dog has been a member of the
household since puppy hood and is very attached to you. He often
attempts to wedge himself between you and visitors when the
visitors get too close. He seems "jealous" of visitors and you
are worried how he will react to the baby. Will he be depressed?
Not eat? Sulk? Get destructive and spiteful? Are you wondering
if these concerns are legitimate? What can be done to prevent
problems before and after the new baby arrives?
Social and Parental Behaviors of Dogs
The nature of canids - wolves and dogs - is that of the family
group. It is normally two dominant adults and related
individuals of various ages. Usually only the two dominant
adults breed, yet all members of the pack help to care for the
mother and pups, bring meat back to the mother and pups, and
guard the pups. Subordinate females may "baby-sit" and even help
nurse the puppies. Domestic dogs do not commonly bring food back
to a mother and pups but may guard a bitch during pregnancy and
while she is lactating, as well as guard or watch over the
puppies.
Pet dogs relate to you and other family members as if they were
members of the family. Ideally, your baby will be accepted by
the dog as an offspring included in this family unit. In fact,
dogs are more likely to protect an infant from strangers or
visitors than they are to be "jealous."
Most problems that arise between a dog and child occur when the
child reaches the crawling and walking stages, at about a year
or so. Nonetheless, you should be aware that there is a
potential for problems occurring and insure your baby is safe.
The most serious potential problem is for your dog to fail to
recognize the new baby as a human being that should be included
in the family unit. Obviously, a baby will not be perceived as
another dog. Also, since the baby does not look, smell, or sound
like a "human being" to the dog if it is not familiar with
infants, the dog may interpret the baby as prey.
Dogs' Reactions to a Baby
Most dogs are curious about babies, especially if the dog has
had little or no exposure to infants or a long time has elapsed
since it has seen a baby. If you have seen your dog react to
other babies, either in your home, on the street, or in other
people's homes, be aware of your dog's typical reactions and
take whatever precautions necessary. Most dogs adapt quickly and
easily to the presence of a new baby. However, since the
consequences can be so serious, assume that your dog will react
negatively and take every safety precaution possible, regardless
how your dog has reacted in previous encounters with babies.
Babies can be accidentally hurt as a dog attempts to play with
or investigate the infant. An extremely active dog, for example,
can accidentally injure a baby while jumping up on the owner or
cause an accident while running around. These types of problems
can be avoided if your dog is obedience trained.
Dogs with a history of aggression toward people require special
caution. An aggressive dog that reacts to visitors, mail
carriers, and other dogs can injure a baby if the child happens
to come between the dog and the object of its aggression. Dogs
that become aggressive when approached while eating or in
possession of a bone, toy, or other favorite item or that become
aggressive if startled or when awakened require very close
supervision in the presence of a baby.
The most potentially dangerous situations are predatory
Reponses. Extra caution should be taken if your dog has a
history of predatory behavior like chasing and/or killing small
game, especially if it has been bred for this purpose. This tip
has special importance if the dog has had little or no exposure
to infants. It is also important for you to realize that
exposure to and interaction with small children is not the same
as exposure to and interaction with an infant. Just because your
dog plays in a friendly, gentle manner with children, do not
assume it will react the same way to a baby. Infants are very
different from children. Children are usually, although not
always, interpreted by dogs as people; infants may not be.
Please understand that a few infants are severely injured by
dogs each year and, in fact, some are killed. The number of
infants killed by dogs is very small, not more than 10 per year
throughout the entire United States, and, in contrast, many
thousands of infants in the U.S. are victims of automobile
accidents, burns, drowning, choking, suffocation, and poisoning.
Although the risk is small, there is cause for concern about a
dog's reaction to your baby and precautions will help insure
that your baby does not become a "statistic."
Monitoring Your Dog's Behavior
All interactions between your baby and dog should be monitored
very carefully. This monitoring should continue until your dog
is paying no attention to the infant or is completely friendly
toward the baby. Never leave a baby or small child UNATTENDED
with a dog for ANY REASON.
Help your dog learn that the baby belongs in your family by
exposing the dog to the baby in a very gradual and controlled
manner. The exposure should be positive so the dog does not
associate unpleasant situations with the baby so the dog does
not feel anxious or aggressive in the baby's presence.
Introducing Dogs to Babies
The following suggestions should help your dog to adjust to your
new baby:
1. Getting Ready for the Arrival.
Preparations should begin months before the baby arrives. If
your dog does not know how to sit, stay, lie down, or come when
called, it should be taught to do so. If your dog already knows
these commands but is unreliable, practice these obedience
exercises with the dog until it is reliable. Even if you
consider your dog "pretty good," that may not be good enough and
could lead to your having a false sense of security. Imagine how
your dog, if excited, will react when you bring the baby home.
Can you depend on it to reliably sit and stay or down and stay
and not rush toward the baby?
If you have had some experience training a dog, you might try
obedience procedures at home. Otherwise, it would be best to
take your dog to a good, humane training class. Your dog should
associate the various obedience commands such as sit, stay, and
come with pleasant experiences. Although your dog may need to be
corrected occasionally, force methods should be avoided. After
all, the goal is for the dog to like both the owner and the
baby, not simply for it to obey because it is frightened or
afraid of being punished.
Once your dog learns the basic sit/stay and down/stay commands,
you should continue to work these commands at home. You should
start requiring that your dog sit/stay or down/stay as you do
things that resemble "baby activities" around it. For example,
pick up a doll, cradle it, rock it, and walk back and forth.
Periodically, reward the dog with tidbits, petting or praise for
remaining in a sitting position while this is going on. The doll
should also be wrapped in baby blankets and shown to the dog,
which must learn to control itself and to refrain from moving.
Because dogs respond with interest to strange sounds, it is a
good idea to accustom your dog to the recorded sounds of a baby
crying, babbling, or making other normal "baby" sounds. Ideally,
if the opportunity is available, expose your dog - in a
controlled manner to ensure the infants safety - to real babies
of friends or neighbors. This procedure should be considered
only if the dog is reliably trained and controllable. The dog
should gradually be exposed to babies until it can remain
relaxed in their presence. This may require several sessions.
If your baby is born in a hospital, your dog will remain at
home. You can use this interval to familiarize your dog with the
baby's smell by bringing home blankets or clothing the baby has
worn. (On the subject of diapers: It would behoove you to keep
soiled diapers in a tightly closed container. One of the
functions of a mother dog is to lick up the urine and feces of
puppies to keep the sleeping area clean. Quite frequently,
female dogs will ingest the feces of a human baby and may go to
great lengths to clean up after the child, including raiding
diaper buckets! This is not an abnormal behavior but a normal
aspect of canine maternal behavior.)
2. Bringing Your Baby Home
When mother and child come home from the hospital, it is best if
mother greets the dog without the baby present. The baby should
be held by another family member or, better still, put in
another room while the mother and dog greet each other. This
way, you can avoid reprimanding an excited dog that merely wants
to greet the owner and that may jump at the baby in an attempt
to get near the mother.
Owners should allow some time for the dog to get used to the
smells and sounds of the baby, which to it are the presence of
another creature in the house. Later, when the level of
excitement in the household has decreased and the dog appears
relaxed, the baby and dog can be introduced to each other.
One parent should attend to the baby and the other to the dog.
The dog should be in a sit/stay or down/stay and on a leash. If
there is any concern that the dog may leap at the baby, a halter
or muzzle should be placed on the dog. (The dog should already
be used to the muzzle prior to this introduction.) The dog
should be allowed to see the baby from 10 to 15 feet away. Then
either the dog or baby should be brought closer to the other,
slowly, one foot at a time. If the dog remains calm and under
control, it might be allowed to sniff the baby, again from a
safe distance. If the dog is extremely excited, however, this
progression should not be attempted. If the dog has a history of
predatory or aggressive behaviors, it may take many
introductions before dog and baby are close enough for the dog
to investigate the baby closely.
Err on the side of caution when determining when your dog is
ready to approach your baby close enough to actually sniff the
baby. Over a period of days, however, your dog should be allowed
to smell the baby up close. After several introductions, and
when it is clear that the dog is not going to nip or lunge at
the baby, you can allow your dog off the leash near your infant.
(This does not mean unsupervised visitation or that you should
lay the child down for the dog to investigate it.) As a further
precaution, the dog can continue to wear a comfortable muzzle
when around the baby.
3. The First Several Days and Thereafter
Remember, your dog should not have unsupervised access to your
baby - EVER. You will want to be especially careful when the
baby is screaming, crying, or waving its arms and legs. These
actions can elicit a predatory, investigatory, or play-leap
reaction by the dog toward the infant. It is wiser to either put
the dog in another room or put the dog in a down/stay several
feet away from the baby.
Unfortunately, dogs frequently begin to "act up" after a new
baby arrives. It is unclear whether these behaviors occur
because of "jealousy" or simply because the dog is being
deprived of its usual and expected amount of social attention
and affection. You will want to start reducing the attention
that you give your dog 2 or 3 months prior to the baby's
arrival. This will help the dog accept that it is no longer the
"focus" of your attention. When the baby comes home, you should
ensure that your dog gets sufficient attention.
One tip that can be helpful is that whenever you begin to do
something with you baby, you can put the dog in a sit/stay and
periodically reward it with a tidbit. This procedure allows the
dog to associate pleasant experiences with the baby and gives
the dog extra attention when the baby is present.
If after the first several days you are still concerned that
your dog might harm your baby, a screen door or gate could be
fastened at the entrance to the child's room. This precaution
allows you to hear the baby but eliminates your dog's access to
the room.
Also, keep in mind when you take your infant to visit friends or
relatives that the dogs encountered there may not be accustomed
to an infant in their homes. Baby-sitters should be cautioned
not to bring dogs with them to the home of an infant. Tragic
incidents have occurred when adults mistakenly believed a dog
was in the backyard or securely confined away from a baby.
Dogs may push open doors and actively investigate the strange
sounds and odors of an infant.
Conclusion
As a new parent, although you should be aware of potential
problems, you should not worry excessively about the potential
problem of your dog injuring your infant. Most dogs adjust to
new babies easily, quietly and without incident. If you are
observant of your dog's behavior, and take precautions to
introduce dog and baby to each other gradually while your dog is
under control, you should be able to avoid accidents or
troublesome incidents
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