Unfortunately SFSHRI gets at least 5 calls a month from expecting parents that want to give up their furry companion because they are unsure of how they will react to their new arrival. I am hoping that this article will help those new parents reconsider and follow the following simple techniques in order to make for a ‘happy pack’. Huskies love children and to make them apart of the family is all they want.
Introducing Your Dog To Your New Baby
Based
on the experiences of Linda
Koontz (Founder of SFSHRI)
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 canines - 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 10mths/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 responses.
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 (a child’s
play talking baby doll is ideal). 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 (hats, onesie, shirt)
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. It will also help if the mother wears baby powder, baby
lotion and possibly bathe in the same baby shampoo that you will be using
on the baby. If you are getting a nursery ready - put a baby gate up in the
doorway of the room. Only allow the dog in when you say its ok. Make your
dog apart of the arrival of the new baby. You’ll find that after the
baby gate is up awhile, that should it be down without your presence the
dog will learn to respect that room as the baby’s room.
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 the father, preferably outside
the door or in another room while the mother and dog greet each other for
at least 5 minutes. 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. The mother is going to have some unfamiliar smells
on her from being away from the house for a couple of days plus dogs can
smell that ‘something’ is different with ‘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.
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 follow the steps in how to prepare the dog for the new arrival, 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. When the above is done
with patience, love and understanding, your dog will soon become your child’s
best friend. My husband and I own 3 wonderful huskies; all that were accustomed
to the baby’s arrival
and who’ve all shared almost every experience as our baby has gotten
older and is continuing to grow.
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