5 Ways to Get Your Dog Ready for a New Baby

If you and your family are expecting a little one, first and foremost, felicidades! Now, please allow me to congratulate your dog as well. Because they may or may not know it, but they’re about to get a promotion. 

Transitioning from the role of furbaby to fur-sibling comes with a new set of perks, but also responsibilities. A human baby on the way is one of the leading reasons many dogs get rehomed. To ensure that your dog succeeds at the new job, it’s important to prepare and train them for the change. 

Here are six things you can do to get your dog ready for a new baby.

Bo Bo / Stocksy/

1. Start with a plan

Although you cannot guarantee everything will go the way you want, you should consider how you’d like your dog to behave once a baby is around — and what you have to teach your dog to make that goal a reality. 

Would it help your dog to have a safe spot? Do they need to learn to leave toys and diapers alone? Can they handle shifts in routines without stress? Are they still allowed on the bed, couch, and other furniture? Once you sort that out, you can zero in on the new cues that will actually make your life easier:

• “Go to your spot”

• “Leave it”

• “Drop it”

• “Wait”

• Boundaries around certain furniture (such as bassinets and changing tables)

• Learning how to politely greet people

Teaching new skills takes time. Starting early at a slower pace allows you to practice your own responses to your dog as much as you expect your dog to practice their responses to a new situation. No matter how close you are to your due date, initiating the changes your dog will need to adjust to with plenty of time is a good idea.

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Redirecting attention seeking

If your dog has been counting on attention-seeking behaviors to get your love — such as pawing at you or jumping up — you should ignore these behaviors, while mindfully replacing them with less problematic actions that are appropriate around a baby. Teach your dog what actully works for attention, and reinforce these alternate behaviors for communicating with you.

2. Practice with a prop

It might sound silly, but carrying an eight-pound doll (or stuffed pillow case) around is a great way to familiarize your dog with the changed posture and split attention you’ll be operating from once you’re holding or wearing a baby consistently. How do they react? Dogs are masters of body language, so you should focus on how your dog reacts when you sit, walk, and lie down with the prop.

Does your dog still listen to you and your cues when your hands are full? If you practice lifting the doll up or passing it to another person, how does your pup respond? If you talk to the doll in a cooing voice, does your dog get excited or confused? Finding out, in a controlled setting, allows you to understand their reaction before there’s a real baby in your arms.

Tasking yourself with achieving the behavior you want from your dog after a baby is born is an unrealistic expectation. Often, new parents are exhausted and overwhelmed. The extra stress of caring for an infant could create a negative association in your dog toward the baby.

Review their current skills

Consider making a list of all the cues your dog already knows, and see if they’ll heed each cue while you’re holding the prop. Does your voice alone convey a request to your dog? 

There will be some challenges, but with a little patience, your dog can relearn a behavior under new rules and grow with you, as life shifts. Brushing up on these cues before the baby is born will be exceptionally helpful. Dogs adapt best when you show them what you want in a dependable, kind way — and not when you’re exasperated or dysregulated.

3. Introduce new furniture and equipment

It’s best to introduce baby swings, strollers, and other equipment to your dog before the baby comes. This is especially true for any objects that rotate or make music, because sounds or vibrations could trigger your dog’s sensitivities. 

Let them sniff the items as a first step in the learning process. The dog will either eventually find the equipment to be boring, or you can gently teach your dog to leave it, or place a gate around the noise-making machine in question. You might want to repeatedly put the doll into the equipment and remove it to give your dog a chance to offer appropriate responses to these soon-to-be-common movements. Remember to reinforce the behavior you like.

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4. Update your routine

Big routine shake-ups come with a new baby, and dogs notice every single one. It’s common for a lot of feelings to pop up around a new baby. Whenever emotions run high, your dog can be affected. But preparing yourself and your dog for those routine changes can take a lot of the stress out of the transition.

Make their schedule flexible

Start practicing flexible scheduling around key events your dog looks forward to each day, such as mealtime or walks. Let’s say your dog is used to eating at six in the morning. By varying the time before a baby arrives, you’ll potentially make your life easier and your dog more adaptable.

Create a comfy spot for them

Set up an area for your dog, where they can be temporarily separated, but for happy, short stints. A cozy crate your dog already enjoys — or a gated area where your dog can rest on a dog bed with an enrichment activity — could make all the difference when moments become extra difficult.

Practice alone time

You might want to practice short periods of separation, even while you’re at home, before the baby is born. This makes brief division a normal, natural part of the pup’s life. That way, as a new parent, during tense moments, your dog has somewhere to chill that is familiar and feels good. 

Build a feeding time routine

During feeding times, it might help to give your dog a stuffed Kong. A dog associating feeding time with positive reinforcement could make all the difference, because it’s important not to resort to isolating the dog for long stretches because of the baby. 

5. Add new scents and sounds

A little desensitization now can make the adjustment period much smoother. Spend time playing different sounds for your dog, like clips of babies crying or squealing. Watch your dog’s body language as you do this. 

How does your dog respond? What about when you’re singing lullabies? Observe and teach them an alternative behavior you approve of, or reward good behaviors. Desensitization works through sound and through scent. Like, what does your dog do when they smell diapers?

While you’re at it, play other sounds, such as thunder or birds chirping, to observe how your dog’s body responds to different sounds. What is your dog communicating to you, and how do you know? This understanding will help you understand your dog’s subtle signs and signals.

Marc Calleja / Adobe Stock/

Tips for bringing your baby home

Now that you’ve done so much to prep your dog for an addition to the family, let’s discuss what to do when you actually bring the baby home. 

Introduce the baby’s scent

Let your dog sniff out the baby before they arrive. A blanket, onesie, or lotion with the baby’s scent can help them get used to the new presence without the stress of the actual newborn.

Don’t force interactions

There’s no need to drag your dog towards the swaddled bundle, or chase your dog around the house to get them physically close to the baby. You can invite your dog over to sniff the baby, and remain neutral and relaxed. But it’s essential that your dog be allowed to remain in control of this pace, to continue having consent over their own body, just as you will teach your baby to do for themselves as they grow. If your dog wants to stay away, let them stay away.

Give everyone time to adjust

It is natural for your dog’s behavior or mood to change during times of transition like this, so it’s OK if they sulk or are more anxious as they get accustomed to this new normal. 

Once a baby is on the scene, it’s completely fine to have mixed feelings rise up in you, and to have questions and concerns about raising dogs and kids together. Please give yourself a break if that happens at any point. Let those feelings come, and let them go.

You don’t have to be perfect at it any more than your dog does. Your baby will grow and enter new phases, so this is just the beginning. Be gentle on yourself and everybody involved.

Commonly asked questions

Is it hard having a dog and a baby?

Yes, it can be hard having a baby and a dog. When life feels like too much, identify who else can help. Can a partner, friend, or family member interact with the dog while you’re with the baby? Can a ball be thrown in the yard, or can someone take the dog on a stroll so you can enjoy a quiet, deep connection while feeding your infant? Before the baby comes home, familiarize your dog with the person who will be taking care of them while you’re away at the hospital or needing a break at home.

Can dogs form bonds with babies?

Yes, dogs can bond with babies. But expect it to take some time for a bond to form between a dog and a baby. Focus on and reinforce any responses you like from your dog when it comes to that relationship. This will keep their energy calm and good manners in constant rotation.

Is it safe to have a baby and a dog?

Yes, in most cases, it’s totally safe to have both a baby and a dog in the same home. But “safe” doesn’t mean hands-off. Keeping a baby safe requires preparation, training, and constant supervision.

What if my dog is too excited around my baby?

Before your baby arrives, focus on teaching your dog calm behaviors — like settling on a mat, waiting patiently, and keeping four paws on the floor. Consider having a plan in mind for what to do when the phone rings and you’re distracted, or someone knocks on the door. Will you place the baby in the nursery and close the door? Will you keep your dog on a leash in the house so you can take them with you, or lead them to a secure outside area? You never want to leave a dog and a baby alone. All encounters between a dog and a baby must include active adult supervision. (Also, being on your phone isn’t active supervision.)

References

Admire, Savannah. “Puppies and Kids: Preparing for a New Puppy.” AdoptaPet.com, www.adoptapet.com/blog/adoption/how-to-prepare-kids-for-puppy.

Rhinelander, Kelsey. “From Isolation to Inclusion: Dog and Baby on Scene Parent In-between.” FamilyPaws.com, www.familypaws.com/from-baby-gates-to-bonding-including-dogs-in-life-with-a-new-baby.

Shyrock, Jen, “Carry A Doll. Should We Practice?” FamilyPaws.com, www.familypaws.com/carry-a-doll-should-we-practice.

Shyrock, Jen. “Your dog, your toddler. Prepare ahead!” FamilyPaws.com, www.familypaws.com/your-dog-your-toddler-prepare-ahead.