Bringing Newborns Home

As I was scanning the news headlines this morning, the first story that I read was that a two week old infant had been mauled by the family dog while the mother was in the bathroom. Being the proud uncle of the most beautiful three month old little girl, this story hit me right in the gut. So, I wanted to jot down a couple of tips to help dog owners make the transition of bringing baby home a little easier.

1. It is essential that your dog have boundaries and knowledge of some basic commands long before you come home from the hospital. The larger the vocabulary that your dog has, the easier it is for him to comply when you give a command. Important commands to work on before bringing baby home would be:

• Leave it alone
• Off (get off furniture, bed, etc.)
• Out (get out of nursery, kitchen, personal space, etc.)
• Place (go to mat or bed and stay there until released)
• Walk on a loose lead. Practice taking your dog for a walk with a stroller long before you have a baby in the stroller.
• Also, your baby is most likely going to have swings, mobiles, etc. that make noise. Turn these on several times a day before your baby gets home, so that these are no big deal.

2. Never, ever leave any infant unattended with any dog.

3. If your dog already has aggression issues, consult the advice of a competent trainer or animal behaviorist to come up with a gameplan months in advance to the baby coming home. If you don't feel that you are up to the task on this one, then I suggest finding another home for your dog.

If you begin changing your dog's rules only after you get home from the hospital, your dog is not only going to be confused, but probably a little "jealous" as well. New research shows that dogs can feel envy if treated unfairly. Certain dogs react aggressively when they feel this way. It is not necessarily a breed specific issue either. Though some breeds may have the wiring and the tools to react more harshly, any breed is capable of this.

My heart goes out to this family who obviously did not see this coming. If anyone has any questions or needs some advice regarding this, or any serious behavior issue, feel free to e-mail me at mccallpet@frontiernet.net.