06/03/2024
👶 Baby Homecoming - FAQs for Dog Families 🐾
“𝘿𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙜 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄’𝙢 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙩?”
Your dog likely knows that something is different about you, whether it be your behaviour, your scent, or the change in your posture. We can’t say for sure if they know exactly what is going on though - if only they could talk! It is quite common for women to report that their dog became more reactive to strangers or “protective” during their pregnancy. This does not necessarily mean that the dog is protecting the mother/baby, as many factors such as change in routine, human behaviour, and increased stress levels amongst family members can make reactivity worse. In this kind of situation, I would highly recommend reaching out to a qualified professional/Family Paws Educator and avoid encouraging the behaviour further.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒐𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒌𝒊𝒅𝒔, 𝒔𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆?”
Kids, toddlers, and infants are all drastically different. Plus, your dog having been around children is one thing, but living with them is another. It is also important to brush up on dog body language to see how well you really know your dog. When they are around a child, what signs tell you that they aren’t just fine, but very comfortable around kids? Just tolerating children isn’t enough to be sure that your dog isn’t going to get fed up one day. Dogs have emotions like us, and they also have bad days. One of my favourite quotes by Family Paws Parent Education is “Babies grow, dogs age, adjust at every stage”.
“𝑺𝒐 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔?”
This might look a little different for each family, but it is great to start with understanding your dog’s sensitivities. What do you expect will be difficult for your dog when Baby arrives (think sounds, touch sensitivities, tight spaces/“growl zones”, less one on one time, etc)? How can you make this easier ahead of time? What management tools can be used to set them up for success?
What habits does your dog have that are fine right now, but might become an issue when the family expands? How can you address this now, so that it doesn’t become a problem later? What simple changes can you start making in the dog’s routine, so that they aren’t surprised later on?
“𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒐𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔? 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒚 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕?”
“Dog Meets Baby”. Social media is polluted with these heartwarming video clips, many which are outright unsafe. Dogs being encouraged to “kiss” the infant with the carrier on the floor, and no adult in between. What you often miss is the dog looking up at the adult for reassurance, flicking their tongue, whites of eyes showing, lowered body posture, pinned ears, staring, and sometimes over-excitement that comes out as zoomies or jumping. Is this fair to the dog? What about the vulnerable infant? The dog might be happy, but what if they accidentally thwack the infant with their paw? Guess who will get the blame? When your baby arrives home they will be making all kinds of noises, and producing a variety of new odors. You as parents will be slightly out of character as well. Everything will be different, chaotic, exciting, and strange for your dog, so they will not be blind to the fact that a new creature has arrived in their space. Rather than focusing on an “introduction”, how can you promote a happy and safe coexistence? How can you reduce the pressure for your dog, and try to maintain some predictability and routine? On top of that, always remember, “Dog and baby on the scene, a parent in between” .
Regarding the baby blanket, there is no simple answer to this question. Many people have heard this suggestion before, which is understandable because dogs see the world through their noses. However, dogs are more complex than that and so are babies (they are always changing)! Assuming that this tiny step will determine the rest of the relationship between the dog and baby can easily set everyone up for unhealthy expectations, and possibly terrible disappointment. Babies are so much more than their scent, but even then, how can you guarantee that the dog can distinguish the baby’s scent from all of the other hospital smells? The variety of odors might even be overwhelming for the dog. If the dog sniffs and wags their tail, is it fair to assume that the dog understands what is happening? If the dog reacts negatively, why would we conclude that it’s because of the baby, and not from having a strange object being put in their face? There are more important things to be focusing on when preparing the whole family for Baby’s arrival, so don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.
🐕 There are so many questions when it comes to dogs and children. Please do not hesitate to reach out for some helpful resources, or to book an appointment to come up with a plan unique for your situation.
