Once you plan to have a baby, you need to ensure everything in your household is in order. It takes a significant effort to keep the baby happy and sound, especially when you have a dog to take care of. Dogs are friendly creatures, and the idea of having a baby may be challenging for them to handle. It is usually noticed when dealing with a new baby. All the same, the unique experience brings joy to the family without making anyone very much uncomfortable. It needs extra considerations to see how the dog adjusts to the new family member.
Before you continue to keep the dog at home, it is good to see the best ways to coexist with the baby. Below are some ways you can make things better for the dog and your new baby to coexist amicably.
Keep the routine simple
Your dog is used to a simple routine at home. Most dogs love this idea, and the thought of changing things might be hard to take in. As such, you need to be careful when introducing new routines immediately upon bringing the baby home. One of the main issues that arrises among dog owners with newborns is that the baby’s sleep schedule is paramount within the household. If your dog gets excited and wakes your child during those precious sleep hours, it can cause havoc for the baby, parents, and dog alike. Many pet parents will turn to training collars to help keep their dog calm at the early stages of introducing the child to their home, but it’s important to remember that even the best bark collar relies on negative reinforcement behavioral training. While this can get you through a short period of integration, in time the preferred solution is to develop routines that work just as well for your dog as they do for your newborn. Doing so makes the dog feel special as well as easy to accept the added family member. It also eases your time to take care of the baby with no stress. Keep in mind that your baby, too, will need time to be comfortable with the intended pet.
Come up with excellent safety measures
Before the baby joins your family, it may be less effortless to care about safety measures. Yet, when the baby arrives, things have to change. For this reason, it is good to protect your kid from the dog. Some dog breeds are too aggressive to leave with the little one, thus the importance of keeping things safe. Try as much as possible to put dog stuff in secure areas within your home, and it’s not a bad idea to keep your dog in a durable crate when you can’t keep your eye on them. It prevents the kid from grabbing the dog’s items which might cause some dangers.
Set some time to keep the dog active
Most dogs need time and space to remain active and healthy. Having a young one could be stressful, making it difficult to have time for the dog. It is not right to leave the dog inactive for long as it might call for your attention in other ways. To prevent this, it is relevant to find intelligent ways to keep curb this. During your free time, you might take it for a walk to give it the desired attention. If this is not possible, find someone to take the dog out. With this in mind, the dog will be too tired to demand attention from your baby.
Involve the baby in your dog’s activities
As your baby grows, he or she tends to look for fun and active things to do. Taking care of the baby should be fun once you allow the dog to participate in some activities. For instance, when getting the dog for a walk, it makes sense to tag along with the child. During this time, you can bring some toys and treats for the dog. Likewise, you should find exciting games where the rest of the family can also participate. From these happenings, you will create a safe environment for the baby and the dog. Make sure that everything is well supervised to avoid any harm.
In the end, the chance to own a dog and have a baby at home needs time. The best thing is that you can easily use these tips to create a safe environment for the two.
As a mother of three, Stacey is active with anything that will help her children. Their neighborhood has a parenting group which has meetings that will help one another whether it be recipes or household cleaning. She is also active with playgroups and programs which motivates her children to be active.
