Babies & Dogs
Hello everyone! Hope your week is going well. Is May crazy for anyone else? We are having a super fun time, but really busy with my kids, school ending, sports, graduation for my oldest - that is totally new territory for me! Many of you know my family is crazy about soccer - even Baxter loves it! My son’s team just won the state championship over the weekend! Go wolves.
I have been feeding soccer boys, cheering like crazy, planning graduation parties, driving my two youngest to their own games, of course working and all the good stuff. I’m also prepping as a mom for high school ending and adult life starting for my oldest. I’m sure many of you could coach me through that. We may need to talk! Brayden is Baxter’s favorite so when he leaves the house, Baxter will be one sad puppy. So lots of good changes coming our families’ way - but as a mom - I'm just holding on and trying to enjoy the ride!
It’s a good thing I have an amazing team of trainers to help me through this month. Best wishes to all of you out there with the end of year crazy happening at your house too!
Speaking of crazy things, okay not crazy, exciting things, tiring things, things that require even more patience, today let’s talk about babies and dogs. Super important topic. Bailey, a trainer here at B&B put together a Babies and Dogs class for you! She had a baby not too long ago and having been a trainer for awhile, has valuable experience to share with you. I want to give you a preview today of that class and encourage you to sign up for it if you find you are in this same situation. This class is being taught live Thursday, May 18 at 7:00 pm Eastern. Don’t worry, if that day or time doesn’t work for you, we record it and post it on our site for you to view at any time in our membership area. These are included, by the way, in your membership - we do not charge you extra to attend.
So what will this class talk about?
- Prepare yourselves and your dog for the arrival of a baby.
- Expectations of dogs and baby.
- Introduction of the dog and baby.
- Managing the environment to keep everyone happy and safe once baby arrives.
Today let’s discuss a few of these.
First, preparation is key. The more prepared you are, the less stressed you will be and the more you will be able to enjoy having both a baby and dog in your home.
Set up and desensitize dogs to bassinets, swings, playpens, crib, monitors, and other equipment. Dogs do best with slow transitions. The more we can break up the change, the better.
Question: What specific items around your home do you want your dog to get desensitized to in relation to the baby? Are there any things you can think of that I didn't already list? I suggest getting out a notepad and making a list. (Do people still do that or are you the type who would rather make an electronic list? I love a good paper list every now and then.)
How do you desensitize them to these things in a positive way?
- Set up items away from the dog to prevent startling due to loud noises.
- Open up the space/room to your dog.
- Don't lure your dog to the item if they are not comfortable with it. Try again later.
- If your pup approaches the item, reward them.
- Be carefree and positive to prevent added tension to your dog.
A few other tips are:
- Get your dog used to sounds associated with the baby. Calmly reward the dog.
- Play noises on YouTube such as babies crying, laughing, and screaming.
- Use baby equipment around the dog such as white noise machines, rattles, and toys that make noise.
- Reward your dog with silence. When the baby is quiet, you are going to want the dog to be quiet. Teach them that being quiet is good, by rewarding them for simply being calm.
In class we teach you about an implied leave it - this is useful when your dog sees baby items laying around. They can learn to leave the baby’s items alone.
We will also as mentioned go into detail about realistic expectations. This is key in setting you up for success. When we have realistic ideas about the experience, we are less frustrated and overwhelmed. With realistic expectations, we can plan and prepare more effectively.
Part of having realistic expectations is achieved by learning to speak dog. Observing their body language is a great step in knowing how your dog is feeling in any given situation. When it comes to babies and dogs, it will be really important to know these signs and watch for them so you can set everyone up for success in being together. We have a class on Body Language if you are interested - it is posted on our site and you may get started on that right away.
We will also teach you how to best go about the first introduction as well as daily interactions between your dog and your baby. Management is something we ALWAYS pair with training. We manage - to set our dogs up for success - and then we teach or train good behavior. Don’t stress, we will talk about this too. Not only can you come to class, or watch class on your own, you may also schedule one-on-one time to speak with our team of trainers at no extra charge to you. We want you to be successful. Having a baby is a very exciting time! And we love our dogs right? We want everyone in your home to have a good experience.
That’s it for today you guys. Thank you for tuning in. Have a great week and happy training!