Preparing your dog for your child's arrival

If you are like most people, you are stuck between fear and anticipation. You are thrilled that your new baby arrives and is worried about doing everything right. If you own a dog, it is certain that some of your fears revolve around it. You might ask yourself, how will my dog deal with my child? Will he be careful? Will he be jealous? And most importantly: is there any chance to bite my child? If you're not interested, you should be. About 75% of dog bites happen to children under five.

If you are a dog owner, the first thing you need to do is identify the changes that must be made in the dog's life once the child arrives! You don't want your dog to associate you with any changes you need to make in your relationship with your child's arrival, thus creating a competitive dynamic. Not only that but once your child arrives, you will have little time to deal with any wrong behavior on the part of the dog. All your attention will be on where your child should be. Failure to implement changes in the dog's life before the baby arrives is the most mistake that dog owners expect. Keep in mind that things you don't consider a problem now may become a problem with a child in your midst.

So take a closer look: Does your dog sleep in bed with you, barking, horrible and demanding, prone to stealing things and being hurt when you're not looking? If so, better handle it now. Do you pull the steering wheel out of the door or jump on you to say hello? Do you get stressed when trying to get things out of it, touch them in certain ways, or approach food? Again, you may now tolerate such behaviors but they will seriously affect the quality of your life with an infant. It is relatively easy to deal with such problems, outlined in the book steps to enable you to solve them. More serious problems include over-protection, separation anxiety, your dog will have to learn to spend time alone and not as your undivided attention center once your child arrives - there is no small achievement for many dogs.

In a minority of cases, the question arises whether the dog you have is appropriate or not will be appropriate to keep the baby arriving. I give you four factors to consider whether your dog has threatened to bite or bite you in different circumstances. The first factor is the reaction threshold. In other words, the amount of motivation needed to make the dog interactive. The second factor is the intensity level. How fierce is your dog in his response? The third factor is the previous date. How long has the dog been doing this? The longer, the worse. Finally, there are crossover considerations. For example, let's say your dog has been a little upset about approaching his bowl while eating but injuring other dogs in the garden.

While I offer many solutions to aggressive behaviors, I suggest that if you are experiencing such problems, you will hire a qualified behavior expert and not just an obedience trainer to help you solve these problems and evaluate your dog. Keep in mind that some behaviors are 100% irreversible and that the option of keeping your baby and dog separate at all times is a very bad idea, first because you cannot guarantee that they will not be in contact forever so the dog may cause the child to look more strange. Of being a member of his packaging. In some cases, the best option is to bring the dog home for him and your child.

Suppose your dog is not one of these rare minorities, there are many things you can do to help create not only safety but also very positive associations for your dog in the presence of your child. By creating areas in your home, your dog is largely prevented without your permission and private escort, as you build buffer zones in the dog's relationship with your child. Once you create these areas, you can also use them to teach your dog how wonderful it is for him when you interact with your child.

Here is an example. Start by keeping your child's room outside the boundaries of your dog. Once you deal with him, allow him to enter the room with your permission and accompany you. Once you arrive in the room, always ask for some obedience exercises, especially staying abroad. He will get the idea that when he enters this room, he will stay quietly in the corner so you can put his bed there. Teach your dog to stand alone every day to set at least a few hours. Now as soon as your child arrives, allow your dog to enter the baby's room when you enter to play or change diapers or anything and accept his stay. If left alone for a few hours earlier, they will welcome contact with you and your child even if they are as low as they are. Having your child means positive social participation for him. This is quite different from what usually happens: when the mother goes to take care of the baby or play, the dog is eliminated, potentially creating a competitive or jealous dynamic. This is just one of many examples of specific exercises that can teach your dog to accept your child as a lovable member and ultimately a companion.