How to Help Your Baby and Your Dog Bond

By Guest Blogger, Diana S.

How to Help Your Baby and Your Dog Bond

Your dog is your best friend and can sometimes even feel like your first baby, but what happens when you bring a new family member into your circle? Your four-legged baby may feel threatened by your bundle of joy, and that’s when problems arise. Letting a child bond with your dog is of great importance for their development since dogs provide many health and emotional benefits for people, so you’ll need to learn how to help your dog accept your newborn.

Prepare the dog for the encounter

You’ll have nine months to think about the best way to introduce your dog to your little one, and if you’ve been postponing the behaviour training, now is the time to finally do it. Having a dog that will obey and respond properly to commands such as “off”, “stop,” and “no” is imperative when you’re expecting. It would be a good idea to have a friend or relative who already has a baby come over and see whether your dog will be okay with an infant in the same room. You’ll get a chance to see if the dog becomes anxious around a baby and if you need to prepare the pooch even more or not. In addition, let the dog sniff your baby’s blanket and become familiar with the new scent.

Introduce them gradually

Before you bring the baby home, let your dog blow off steam and get rid of all the pent-up nervous energy so that it will be calm around the child. It’s crucial that the pooch is tranquil and obedient during the encounter. The mommy should enter the home alone first and greet the dog because it will be excited to see her after a while. The dog should be restrained on a leash while the mom is on the chair with the baby in her arms, covering its head with her hand to show the dog that she is protecting her baby.

Read: HOW TO BABY PROOF YOUR HOME

Set boundaries

Once the baby is old enough to play with the puppy, teach them how to act around and approach the dog. They shouldn’t run to them and grab them because the dog may be nervous at first, so the baby should be quiet and still, or they’ll scare the animal. Also, don’t forget to keep the dog clean and safe from various insects. This is especially important if your child is going to play with the dog a lot. It’s best if you use a treatment such as Advantix for dogs to keep your dog safe from ticks and fleas. This way, you’ll keep both your pet and your child safe and sound. Furthermore, teach your kids that they shouldn’t grab the dog, give them a big hug or pat their head, but instead explain that it’s much safer if they touched the animal on the side of their face or under their chin.

Let them play

To increase the bonding factor, you can let your child engage in various games with the dog. You can let them play hide and seek, piggy in the middle, or chasing, which will allow positive interactions between the child and the dog. Also, always supervise all contact between your dog and your baby because you need to be close to intervene if any problem arises. Considering both children and dogs love to play, it’s essential that they have separate toys because animals can be territorial. This is why you should keep all the baby’s toys away from the dog’s play space, and don’t encourage your child to play with the dog’s toys because that can lead to a confrontation.

Read: EASY WAYS TO BOOST YOUR CONFIDENCE AFTER HAVING A BABY

Having a dog is a huge responsibility, and it becomes an even bigger challenge when you’re bringing a new baby home. So, if you don’t know how to make this transition smooth and help the pet bond with your newborn, the previously mentioned tips will help you make the process less complicated.

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