At risk of upsetting some folks here, I want to point out most of the cute clips in this video are examples of the WRONG way to introduce a new baby to your family dog. In the dog world, a mother keeps herself and new puppies at a distance from the pack until their eyes open and they start to move around (at about 2 or 3 weeks). She does not allow other dogs, even her most beloved friends, near here new pups. We see the most dog-friendly, socialized mothers forcefully reject her pack mates at this time. And other dogs understand this and show their respect by keeping their distance. But many parents seems to force their new babies on their dogs. Some of the dogs in this video are actively trying to show their respect and give distance while parents are calling them in close to the baby. This can cause dogs to associate feeling of anxiety toward the baby. In contrast many new parents don’t set up boundaries around the new baby. The last couple particularly fail in making sure their dogs are calm and respectful around their infant. But also actively increase the excitement by allowing the dogs to run around the baby’s room, speak loudly in high pitched voices, feeding treats while the dogs are excited and allowing the dogs to invade the baby’s and father’s space. When you bring home a new baby you should NOT: 1.)Allow your dog in the new baby’s room for at least a week. 2.)Allow your dog to be excited around the baby. 3.)Allow your dog to approach the baby on his/her own accord, lick baby’s hands and face, lay on or carry around the baby’s blankets or toys. 4.)Plop the car seat on the floor the minute you entire the house for the first time and excitedly call the dog over. 5.)Force your dog to engage or meet the baby if he/she is not ready. You SHOULD: 1.)Allow your dog to be curious, but observe from a distance for at least a week. 2.)Only allow your dog into baby’s room if invited and if they are in a calm and relaxed state of mind. 3.)Allow your dog to be on the floor with baby, but keep distance such as off the blanket. 4.)When curious, allow dogs to smell baby’s blankets, cloths or toy, but don’t allow them to become excited or take the items away from you. 5.)When you are confident that your dog is comfortable with the baby, and can trust them to be respectful, you can allow dog and baby to mingle under supervision. But your dog should step away if asked to. I get calls on the regular about dogs biting their own human children. And it is not the dogs fault when we send them the messages that babies are toys, babies are theirs to cuddle and also correct, babies are a little scary and they can’t escape. We all want our dogs to love, respect and protect our babies. But we have to consider what is going on in our dog’s head and how to help them adjust.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 00:25:36 +0000
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