There’s a new kid in town (Pt. 1)
Written on April 12, 2010 by jallen14
As some of you may know, we at Dee-O-Gee (Josh & Holly) are expecting a newborn in the next few weeks. We have been talking about how to best prepare Jericho (the resident Papillon at Dee-O-Gee) for the day when the new baby arrives at home and his world changes forever. Perhaps some of you are currently at this stage of life – or, maybe you know of someone who is. Listed below are a few helpful tips we’ve found (and, how we are trying to implement them). We’ll post a few more later on. For now, enjoy!
Before the baby arrives
1) As you are getting the baby’s room ready, make sure to let your dog spend ample time in that room. Perhaps you could have him lie-down in a specific area of the room and give a special toy to chew on. Don’t forget to PRAISE him when the dog is being good in the baby’s room. You want the dog to understand that he/she can be in there but it must behave accordingly. Make sure to allow the dog plenty of time to sniff around at all the new baby stuff. We have allowed Jericho to spend plenty of time in the new baby’s room as Holly has been decorating and organizing. He seems to really like it in there and we have even found him napping on the floor in there on occasion!
2) Food bowl safety is a important area. Get the dog used to (enjoying) others near it’s bowl. While he is eating, put your hand into the bowl and drop a really special treat or two. Do this frequently. Also, Make a lot of noise around the dog. Act like a child by running through the house screaming – your dog will learn to take it in stride and not be freaked out when the baby screams or the toddler runs through the house during your dog’s meal time. Luckily, Jericho is not an overprotective eater and we don’t think he’ll have any issues on this one.
3) A day or so before you bring baby home from the hospital, take home a blanket the baby has been wrapped in, or a cap and present them to your dog along with some yummy treats. Let him/her smell it thoroughly. This will get the dog familiar with your baby’s scent, therefore, when your dog and baby meet for the first time, your dog will recognize the scent of your baby and should be more receptive. DO NOT let the dog play with it; instead, each time you present the scent item to the dog have him “sit” and give your d-o-g some praise and treats. By doing this frequently, the dog learns to associate the scent with sitting and getting a treat. Another great idea we plan to implement. We’ll keep you posted on how this turns out.
That’s all for now, more suggestions to come in Pt. 2. Thanks for reading – don’t forget to pass this along to your friends!
When we brought our first home our dog became very protective over her and each child there after. She slept under the crib until the moved to toddler beds then paced the house and returned to the oldest childs bed. I am sure Jericho will do great:) Can’t wait to meet your new bundle of joy.