Getting Dog Ready for Baby

I know so many people that have given up their dog when finding out they are having a baby. I don't understand this. I worked at a kennel for 2 years and my boss was on the board of a rescue. And so many dogs were surrendered because the couple was starting a family OR had a young child that the dog was too crazy for. One such dog, now named Spirit, was surrendered to us at 4 months old because he bit the baby's face.... after the baby had been pulling on him, sitting on him, shaking him. trying to pick him up by his limbs. So yea.... he bit the kid. I WOULDA TOO!

You can't just teach the dog to behave around baby. Baby needs to learn to also respect dog. 

At 3 months pregnant, we had to put our big lab, Ranger, down. He was only a year and a half old but was born with so many joint and bone issues. After too much in surgery to fix his hips, he broke a couple of legs at once due to poor bone density and severe degeneration in his elbows. He would have been awesome around a baby. Because our older dog, Roader, has never been long without a canine buddy, we immediately started looking for a new dog. We adopted Mona after 20 minutes with her at the shelter.

Days after bringing Mona home

Mona is an awesome dog. But it's taken us time. I think she was abused and never knew manners or how to be loved. She's still a nut job. Don't get me wrong. But she's a controlled nut job. And most of her being a nut job has to do with her being half border collie, half lab and with her being just over a year old. She's wired for sound.

I started training with her IMMEDIATELY. I read some online posts and some books about getting dog ready for baby's arrival and most of the info was about them being obedience trained. Any dog I have ever owned has been obedience trained. So what else could I do??

As soon as she was healthy (bout with parvo and kennel cough...) and spayed we started training classes at the kennel I used to work at. Because I had done so much work at home with her in 3 months we skipped puppy class and and jumped right into intermediate. She was awesome. Always surprising me with how she could overcome a fear or learn something so fast.

At home we learned where she was allowed to be in baby's room. She has a spot and she knows it's her spot. She was also crate trained from day one. Crates are not cruel. It gives her a safe place to be when she feels overwhelmed and a "den" to sleep in at night. She is more than willing at the end of the day to "go to her house" to go to bed.

I've let her be in the baby's room while I sorted baby clothes and put together the crib. I fold all the laundry on the bed in there so Mona will come in and lay on her mat with her bone. We've played "Mona's toys, Baby's toys". The key to this game is "leave it", a command she learned very early in our training. I throw a whole bunch of baby stuff on the floor and also a bunch of Mona's stuff. When she goes to grab baby stuff, I tell her "leave it." When she goes for her own toy I leave her be or might just tell her "get it, on your bed".

"Get it" and "open it" is another thing we learned. Mona is a bit of a velcro dog.... meaning she likes to be by my side and can be a bit co-dependent. I don't want her to feel ignored or to get jealous of baby. So I've taught her to be helpful. "Get it" is her command to pick something up for me. She also knows "here" (to bring it to me) and "give" (to let go of said item). She also can open the fridge. I tie a tug toy to the handle and I taught her to "get it" and "tug" and when she learned to open it consistently I switched the command to "open it!" She loves to help me in the kitchen.

"place" command

Mona has learned to be asked on to furniture and to get down off furniture on command. While this isn't her strong suite thanks to SO encouraging what I try to discourage, we are learning not to jump up on people, me or anyone else.

I want Mona to get used to other baby equipment. She helped me assemble the quilt and stroller and then we have practiced walking on a leash nicely next to the stroller. Due to her background, I was worried Mona would be scared of the stroller. No way. She was more than happy to walk nicely along side it.

Mona hasn't had a lot of time around small children and that's one thing I wish I'd worked on more. We've seen a few kids in passing at the kennel and she didn't seem phased by them. She is very gentle with the new cat, Gilbert. She snuggles with him and lets him crawl on her. So that's always a good sign.

Mona has also learned commands like "heel", "back up", "down", "sit", "wait", "stay", "bed" (for going to her bed in our bedroom), I could go on and on. And every day I use these commands and keep her mind active. She likes to work. Running through her commands every day is working. I teach her something new at least once a week. Or we do something new. Like last week we went to Lowes and the pet store for the first time. We've also done a little agility work so she knows some of those basic commands too. Another important thing is teaching dog to ride nicely in a car, no jumping or running from side to side. Sit and look out the window nicely.

The number one thing to keeping your dog from being crazy is making sure they get enough exercise. My dogs are farm dogs and we have a lot of land surrounded by even more land and our neighbors don't care if our dogs run on their fields or in their woods. Mona is outside most of the day, especially when we aren't home, versus her being locked in a crate. Also, I try to get her to doggie day care once a week to play with other dogs. Socialization is super important too. I'm lucky that Mona already loves other dogs. And play time with a group is more tiring than her running around the farm by herself.

I stick my fingers in her mouth and gently tug on her tail, SO picks her up and carries her around, I touch and pat her everywhere and pull on her... gently. Anything an infant or toddler might do. She could care less. But also, when baby girl gets here, she will learn to respect the dogs. Both of them. Roader is a saint. But he's also an achy old man. And every dog has their limit. If you don't teach your child to respect your dogs and treat them nicely, then you really don't have a right to be mad or get rid of them when they hurt your child. Yes, I would be PISSED if my dogs hurt a child. But if that child had done something to provoke the dog because the parent never taught the child any different, then you are partly to blame. Dogs have fight or flight responses. When they reach their wits end, they will run away or fight back. Parents with animals need to understand this and respect that. Train your dog to be respectful but also teach your child to respect and love your dog. A child is never too young to learn this, just as a dog's training should ideally start from the moment they are born.

getting used to a little dress up never hurts either, esp
when you're expecting a girl!

If you had met Mona when we first adopted her, during those first weeks, you would think we were batshit crazy to have a dog like her while expecting a baby. But I knew I had 6 months and could train her to be a functioning member of the family. And I have. She's a snuggler and a sweetie and super smart and ready to learn. Right now her and Roader are passed out on the couch together, being a chilly day, she's in for a nap. If I can take a dog out of the shelter and have her baby-ready in 6 months, you can get the dog you've had for months or years baby-ready by the time you deliver. Dogs are family! Don't give them up!!!