Dogs are one of the most gentle animals that you can have as a pet. They are lovable and loyal to their owners. You can find comfort in their company, and they are great stress relievers. The unconditional love they give you is unparalleled, and it will forever exist. Owning a dog often requires time because you need to answer to their needs. They have a routine that they follow every day, and doing it with them is essential.
Couples who are not yet planning to have children would often adopt a dog as their pet and consider it as their child. However, what would happen once the couple decides to have a child? Of course, they will need to adjust, and they have to the baby to the members of the family, which includes the dog. The arrival of the family’s new member is going to be a big change for the dog, so it is advisable to make some preparations for introducing the new family to your dog. Here are some of the steps that you can take to prepare your dog for your baby.
Establish a New Routine Slowly
The arrival of a baby will surely take most of your time, which can lead to less time for your dog. Before the baby, your dog has had most of your time where you can pamper and bond with him. However, you will need to lessen those times and adjust because all your free time you must give to your baby. First, you need to assure your dog and make him feel that the baby is a new family member that he needs to love, just like how he loves you so that you can avoid your dog from feeling jealousy and feeling of animosity towards your baby. Dogs would often notice the change and feel lonely or restless, so it is better to train him ahead of time. You need to slowly change his routine. You must not try to stop his routine abruptly because your dog will be upset, and this leads to him being restless and uncontrollable.
What you need to do is to lessen the time and not to stop the routine completely. You must remember that once your child grows up, you can go back to walking your dog and doing activities with him with the addition of your little grown-up angel.
It is also necessary to train your dog on what his limitations are when the baby comes home. Train your dog on what places in the house he can sleep in or play around. You can restrict the dog from going to the places where you plan on having the baby’s place.
Familiarize your dogs with Babies
One of the best things that you can do is to make your dog familiar with the presence of a baby. You can bring your dog to a relative or friend’s house where they have a baby. In this way, your dog can see and witness interactions between the people around him and get some time to experience the feeling of having a little human around him. You can also play video clips or movies that contain stories about dogs and babies in the living room where your dog often rest because this will help him see the gentle and comfortable interaction of babies and dogs. It can also help him familiar with the noises or sounds that a newborn makes. This action will also prevent him from barking out of surprise when he suddenly hears the baby’s cries. Dogs are cuddly and lovable, and they are going to surely adjust in no time with the right supervision.
Teach your Dog signals or Voice Actions
You must train your dog to follow your instructions. For example, if the baby is sleeping and noises are not allowed, you can teach your dog word commands that can stop them from jumping around or making any noise. You can also teach them sign language like gesturing your hand to wave down when you want him to be quiet or waving your hand when you want him out of the room. Hand gestures are useful and they are easy for you to teach and for your dog to learn, so you can start now.
People would often consider their dogs as their first child or children, or as their family member. It is important for them that the dogs understand why there are going to be a lot of changes that will happen once the baby arrives. Dogs are understanding, and they can adjust to situations, so there is no doubt that your dog will get used to it and learn to love the new member of the family.
