How to Introduce New Baby to Dogs

Get someone to take a recieving blanket home from the hospital (before baby comes home) and let the dogs get use to the new baby through smell. That's what my sister did with her dog.

L.,
I had my husband take a recieving blanket that our baby was wrapped in at the hospital home with him the first night while I was still in the hosiptal, and let the dogs sleep with it.That way when the baby comes home it's not a new smell to them. It's like they already met.Also let them sniff everything,carseat, craddle, swing, bouncy, toys before baby comes so it becomes part of their surroundings and they aren't bomboarded with a million new things all at once.I also snuggled with my baby and my dogs together (my dogs r little) so they didn't feel left out. They all get along now and love eachother!GoodLuck.Hope this helps.

My different doctors suggested someone bring home the baby's first little hat to let the dogs get used to the smell... For both of my kids we also just walked in the house like nothing was different, set the baby in it's carseat on the floor and let the dog sniff at it.

When both of my kids were babies my dog was like an extra help. If the baby barely fussed he was up and standing where ever the baby was!!

With your dogs being littler dogs they say to be very careful with how you handle it all... I don't know, my dog's bigger! I'm sure you could find tons of articles on the internet about it! I just now googled "introducing baby to dogs" and TONS of stuff came up!

It's important to NOT keep the dogs isolated from the baby. When you bring the baby home, introduce the dogs to him as soon as feasible. If the dogs are being shooed away from the baby or yelled at when they approach, they will associate him with being something very negative and may become aggressive toward him. Dogs and cats can be scared by the noise of a baby crying, so if the dogs are skittish about noise, hold off the intro until the baby is asleep.

I agree with the other posts to introduce the dogs to his scent first with a blanket or article of clothing.

Best of luck!

K.

We have two pugs and just had our first child 9 months ago. We were also very concerned about how they would react. One of our dogs is nearly blind and rather psychotic, which was of specific concern to me. When we got home, we greeted the dogs enthusiastically and I gave them attention while my husband held the baby. At first they just looked at the baby from a distance. We gave them some more attention while the baby was in the room with them. Then after a while we let them sniff the baby's feet (in a blanket) and look at the baby from a closer proximity while we stroked and soothed them. (It's important they they are as calm as possible through all this.) The first night home was torture. Every time the baby cried, the dogs ran through the house barking at the top of their lungs. That lasted for maybe a week until they started to realize the noise was okay. Eventually we let them sit next to us while we were holding the baby. Pugs are very adaptable and people-oriented, so they adjusted, but it took time. Eventually we let them get closer to the baby, sniff him, sit next to him, etc. Now they are very good playmates. But we know they are dogs and they act on instinct and not reason, so we are always very careful. It was the baby is above him in rank. In the beginning, he would sometimes try to get between us and the baby, so we would move him to the other side consistently. A few times he acted jealous and growled, so my husband did not hesitate to let him know that this was not acceptable. He got the point quickly and all is well 9 months later. Good luck!

We have a dog and while we were in the hospital after giving birth,my husband would bring home a blanket that our daughter was wrapped up in, so that the dog could get familiar with her smell, even before she was born I had read to walk around with a doll baby wrapped in a blanket and have the dog get use to you giving your attention to someone else. When we brought her home we introduced them and kept an eye on them, never leave the dogs alone with them for quite awhile until you are sure how they react. Now after 2 years our dog is still around and gets a little jealous sometimes and eats all her toys and takes her stuffed animals (because he use to have stuffed animals before her and doesn't understand) but they love each other and she feeds him his breakfast and dinner everyday and he has gotten all her dropped food along the way, she does grab his paws though thats our dilema now but at the end of the day he listens to storytime every night with her and she is very protective of him and doesn't understand why he can't go to the store with us. Oh, also I just remembered how he would bark when she would cry as a baby to let us know and he is very protective of her, going on walks he wouldn't let anyone get near her stroller, also there was one time about 2 am where nothing would calm her down, my husband and I had no idea what to do, she was screaming and so upset, in walks our dog (after 30 min.) and he made her laugh! For that reason, I love my dog even more, he has been there to calm us all down during those times! Also, our dog is a real barker and I think, our daughter heard him bark while still in my belly because she got use to noise and he could be barking up a storm and won't wake her up. Having a dog is a valuable life lesson for us and her, it teaches her kindness, disipline, friendship, feelings, love and how to take care of things. Aww, I'm going to go hug my whole family now. Good luck! M.

I agree with Sammy, you have to introduce the dogs to the new scent before the baby comes home. As soon as you are able to, send something home to the dogs (tee-shirt, receiving blanket) etc. I sent home a hospital robe that had both my scent and my daughters scent.

Also, before you leave for the hospital, leave an article of your clothing as well for the dogs to have. I did this when I had my youngest daughter and my husband said that she didn''t fret like she did the first time I was in the hospital.

So good luck and congrats on the baby!

Bella

Hi L.,
When we were pregnant with our first child, we were having problems with our 3 boxers. We had a pet psychiatrist come over as we were at the end of our limit...anyway, while he was there we also talked about our upcoming addition and he recommened a few things:
1. Get a tape recording of baby noises - crying, laughing, etc... and play it for the dogs before the baby comes.
2. Get a baby doll that makes baby sounds and let the dogs get used to the size/sound.
3. When the baby comes...give one of the baby's blankets to the dogs as it'll have the baby's scent.

Hope these ideas help.

I did this both times and it worked well, after you have the baby have your husband bring a blanket home from the hospital that the baby has used. The dogs will get to know the unfamiliar smell and get used to it. When you bring the baby home let the dogs sniff the baby and make sure to pay attention to the dogs when the baby is sleeping.

L. -

My name is L. as well (what a great name!!:)) When I had my little boy 3 years ago, same situation.. I took one of the blankets that the baby had layed in in the hospital, and had my husband take it home before the baby came home and gave it to the dog to sniff and lay with... It truely worked, because as soonas I arrived home with baby boy, the dog came up sniffed the baby tail wagged and he was OK with it, make sure you give the dog LOTS of attention/treats new toy, so he feels still apart of the family... He was VERY protective over the baby and noow that the baby is 3years old he is his best friend. We have since got another new dog who is 1 years old, and they are just great together. Hope this helps....

I have a dog who was my baby (and still is) when I had my son. When I went to the hospital, my husband brought stuff home that smelled like the baby. Then when I came home, I went in first and greeted her (she doesn't like when I'm gone for a long while), then I went out and brought my son in in the car seat. Now, my dog is a gentle giant, so I got him out of the car seat and sat down on the floor with him and let her inspect him. How you handle introducing them face to face will depend on your dog. My dog doesn't jump, growl, nip, or bark, so I didn't have to worry about her scaring or hurting him. Now the two of them have a wonderful relationship (they are inseperable). We were so pleased with how everything went, we got a puppy a few months later. Now we are a happy family of 5! Good luck!

When we had our son a friend told me to have my husband bring home a blanket from the hospital the baby was wrapped in. Most of the time the hospital will give you an extra so we just smuggled it out. He took it home on monday and Brian came home on tuesday. This gave the dogs time to smell it and get used to the scent. Then when we brought the baby home they were excited and they are now very protective of him. He is 3 now.

Here's what worked for us: have the baby sleep in a receiving blanket in the hospital and have dad bring the blanket home for the dogs to keep. They will get used to the baby's smell. When you come home, have dad carry the baby, and you greet the dogs alone. Then, introduce the dogs to the baby and let them sniff and check him/her out. We have a giant, spoiled lab, and he was good with our babies with this approach and kept that receiving blanket in his bed for quite some time. Good luck!