Dogs, Newborns, and Young Children

 Here is my article on Dogs, Newborns, and Young Children.

Bringing a newborn into the home is going to turn your dogs life upside down with the new rules, new smells, and new sounds- some of them being very loud and unnerving. 

Probably the most noticeable change is how much LESS attention is now being paid to your “first baby” -  the dog!  

Here are some suggestions to help make the transition smoother, and help keep everyone safe.

Before the newborn comes home, bring a blanket, or something that smells like the baby home for the dog to smell. This will help the dog accept them into the home. 

There are CD’s available with baby sounds which may help desensitize the dog before the new baby arrives. Practicing fussing with a toy doll wrapped in a blanket can help desensitize the dog to the day when the real one arrives.

I highly recommend reading The Hammer, by Bryan Bailey. He give several examples of why dogs bite children, and the alarming statistics associated with dog bites.  A dog bite to an adult can require several stitches, that same bite to a child can be a very serious injury, that same bite to a tiny infant can be fatal. 

My recommendation for newborn infants and dogs is there should be a safety bubble around the infant, which the dog is not allowed to be in. There are a number of reasons dogs bite, and sometimes even kill human babies. A newborn sounds a bit like your dogs favorite squeaky toy, and it moves in a jerking fashion much like a wounded animal- both of these things can bring out natural prey drive in a dog. 

Even the most gentle dog can accidentally step on and injure a tiny infant. Dogs jumping up can easily scratch, and break the newborns skin. 

Dogs often become frustrated when they cannot check out the tiny thing bundled up in a blanket that his owners are making such fuss over, and the longer this goes on the worse it gets.  So,allow the dog to see infant -  but do so safely AND reward the dog for calm behavior.  Secure baby gates between the infant and dog work well for this.

When babies get older and begin to stand they become more mobile- dogs often see toddlers as competition for resources - as they are suddenly seeing eye to eye, or the toddler is now taller. This is a huge difference to a dog, because things they tolerated from an infant may not be tolerated from what they now see as an adult. 

Because now the dog and child are at eye level  most often the child gets bitten in the face. 

To help prevent the dog from challenging the toddler I would add a ton of structure to your dogs life. Dogs thrive on structure, and most WANT someone to lead them by supervising, and correcting /redirecting them. 
If dogs don’t have a fair and consistent leader, they themselves will often be genetically pushed take that position.

Hand feed all the dogs daily meals as rewards for training. Hand feeding gives the human “ value” to the dog, instead of giving the food bowl “value.”  

Controlling the dogs most valuable resource is a huge advantage to us when bonding with and training the dog. It also helps prevent resource guarding, as there is no food bowl to guard. 

Excessive play biting:   In many dogs under one year of age the main reason for excessive play biting is the dog having sleep deprivation.  This occurs more often in households with young children. 
Try scheduling the dog’s day with one hour of quiet crate time then one hour of play time outside the crate. Rotate throughout the day.  Repeat for a minimum of one week, then assess the dog’s behavior and schedule daily “naps” as needed.  Dogs thrive on a consistent daily schedule.

Basic obedience commands like sit,down,stay, and a solid recall are very important and should be proofed daily. Training sessions should be short, but several times a day. 

Plan ahead for walking your dog while carrying an infant, and also while pushing a stroller. Many dogs are uncomfortable walking beside wheeled objects, accustoming them beforehand will make the adjustment much smoother.  Again use their daily meals as rewards for this. 

I recommend  structured walks- which means the dog should be walking at heel, no pulling, barking, sniffing, or marking. Release word to potty, then right back into a structured walk. Use a properly fitted training collar if needed. 

Train the OUT command, which is to fully disengage from whatever is in the dogs mouth, or that they are looking at. It can be used similar to the LEAVE IT command. I have an article on how how to train this at my site. 

The dog should not be allowed on the furniture, especially not on the humans bed when a newborn is expected in the household. They can earn that privilege later if you choose. 

If the dog is allowed to stand on or above the human - they are being given a higher ranking in the pack, which means they have the last word in the house rules. Plain and simple - dogs make bad choices in our modern households. 

Train the dog PLACE command, so once the infant gets a bit older the dog can be in the same area during family activities - but in a calm, controlled manner.  I have a detailed article on training the PLACE command on my site.

Children and dogs should always have parental supervision, both for the safety of the child -  and of the dog. 
The majority of dog bites occur to children when they are not supervised. Children running and yelling can also bring out the natural prey drive in a dog. Teach children to stand “like a tree “ and not have eye contact if a dog comes at them aggressively.

Properly crate train the dog. Never allow the child to go into or bother the dog while they are in their crate. This is a safe place for the dog when it needs a timeout from kids.
With crates the dog should walk calmly in , be quiet in the crate, and wait for a release word from the human before they can come calmly out. I use BREAK as my release word. If the crate door opens and the dog tries to come out before the release command, gently close the crate door before they get their head out. You will see an immediate change of attitude , more respect from the dog, and now the dog is more focused on you, and how you want it to behave outside the crate.

Children aren’t born knowing kindness, or how to respect personal space. They must be taught how to properly pet the dog, to not to pull ears and tails ,or wack on the dogs head. Young children don’t recognize the subtle warning signs the dog is giving off, so parents must advocate for the dog. Supervise and correct children who play rough, or handle the dog inappropriately.  

If the dog growls at a child find out why BEFORE punishing the dog- giving warning signs is their way of saying there is a problem, and if punished for growling the dog may just bite first next time instead.  

NEVER allow children to sit,stand, or lie on the dog, nor bother him while on PLACE, or in his crate. Fear is the number one reason dogs bite children, mainly because the dogs get overwhelmed and feel they need to protect themselves. 

Pick up all the dog bones, toys, and dog dishes. There should not be anything on the floor the dog could resource guard from the child. I’ve seen dogs resource guard and attack over a dish of water. The dog can have his resources in the safety of a crate. 

Properly muzzle condition the dog to a rubber basket style muzzle so they are comfortable wearing one. As a safety protocol I recommend using a muzzle when first introducing  the youngster to the dog.  I muzzle conditioned all my dogs, aggressive or not.   A properly muzzle conditioned dog in the event of an emergency will not have the additional stress of having to wear one. The muzzle should allow the dog to pant easily. Always supervised the dog when wearing one.  I have a great article on easy muzzle conditioning at my site.

Putting all this into play will result in having a dog who is more obedient, calmer, and much more respectful of all the humans in the family. ❤️🐺❤️

There are many more articles on my site below, which is open to the public and free of charge. https://www.facebook.com/AllBasicsDogTrainingKimChappell/