A lot of expecting mothers don’t think about the impact that a baby will have on their pup.
As a result, I hear this question a lot. You’re getting close to giving birth and suddenly it dawns on you. What if my dog and my baby aren’t compatible? Is it too late to get my dog ready for the arrival of my baby?
The simple answer is No!
Getting Your Dog Ready For Baby
While this situation is far from ideal, it is certainly not too late. And after all, you have to work with your situation as it is.
That said, if you are down to the wire, you should start getting your dog ready for baby asap.
The first—and main—thing you want to think about is all the things you won’t be allowing your dog to do once your baby arrives. Once you’re clear on those, eliminate them right away.
Along the same lines, implement changes in your dog’s life that your dog might find less than fantastic – such as the reduction in daily walks to the park – immediately.
The key is to avoid having your dog associate all these changes with the arrival of your child. Why? Because that can set up a resentful and jealous dynamic between them and that’s the last thing you want.
When Your Dog Is No Longer Number One
Here’s another related issue for a lot of moms. They say that, “my dog is used to being my favorite child. I’m afraid she won’t take well to being number two.”
If you’re worried about this you are right to do so. As in the answer above, you have to begin easing your dog out of its super special #1 status as soon as possible.
Now, this doesn’t mean that you can’t love your dog and indulge her in all sorts of ways.
However, it does mean that depending on how much time you have before baby’s arrival, you should slowly start restructuring your dog’s life in gradual increments.
You should do this so that bringing a new baby into your life will represent more of a hiccup in her routine than a devastating intrusion into her life.
Do you want to learn a step-by-step approach for training your dog to love your baby? You can check out my new self-paced online course, where I teach you practical and easy-to-implement techniques. You can find it here: Good Dog Happy Baby Course
