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A newsletter dedicated to preserving the human-animal bond through behavior counseling.
October 2008
Volume 1, Issue 4
Bringing Home Baby!
How to Introduce Your New Baby to Your Pets
This
edition of PPP is being written while I am away on maternity leave, so I thought
what a better time than now to write about how to go about introducing your pet
to a new baby. If you are planning on starting a human family, there are steps
to take to make sure your current animal family adjusts in an appropriate
manner. There are things that can be done well before the baby arrives, as well
as things to be done throughout the child’s life.
One of the most important things that should be started while your pet is still very young and continue throughout its lifetime, is to socialize it to many different ages of children whenever possible. This is a good idea to do even if you’re not planning on having any children of your own. You may have grandchildren or friends with children that come over to visit and you will want your pet to be able to adjust to these situations as well. When you are socializing you pet to children, these should always be positive experiences. Always reward any and all good behavior with a favorite treat or toy. Never hit or punish you pet when they are acting inappropriately. This will only teach them that they get hurt when a child is around, and make things worse.
Once the decision to bring a child into the home has been made, changes to your pet’s routine will need to be made, as well. You will need to come up with a regular schedule that can be kept once the new addition arrives, and this should be started immediately. This will make the transition for your pet much easier and avoid too much change all at once. The schedule changes that will be most affected are feeding, walking, and playing times. Feeding times should be changed if they will not remain the same, as well as walking times. Your pet will also need at least 5-10 minutes of time a day where they get your undivided attention. If you have more than one pet, each one must get time allotted just for them. This one on one time must not be interrupted, unless your child is in obvious distress.
All behaviors that are currently acceptable to you, but won’t be once the baby arrives, need to be corrected as soon as possible. These behaviors usually include, but are not limited to, jumping, sitting on furniture, and leash pulling. Leash pulling is discussed next. You may want to think about taking a basic obedience course with your pet if you are having a hard time getting them to listen to you. You should also ignore all pushy behaviors from your pet. Attention should only be given to your pet when they are not asking for it.
Since you will probably be changing your walk schedule, this is also the time to start working with your dog if pulling on a leash is a problem. You don’t want to have to be pushing a stroller and dealing with a dog that is pulling you on its’ leash, too. Using a head collar, like a Gentle Leader (Premier), is an extremely useful tool in helping control a spirited dog on a leash.
Once you have the baby’s room set up, allow your pet to explore the area prior to bringing your baby home. Your pet needs to get used to all of the new items and smells. Let your pet sniff everything like lotions, diapers, clothing, and toys. Also, allow them to get used to the items that will be making noise and movement. These items may include a swing, bouncy chair, activity center, car seat, etc. If your pet tries to drag away any of the baby items, correct it with a “No” and ask it to give up the item. You may need to start teaching basic manners if your pet won’t relinquish the item when asked. Again, a training class may be useful in this situation. Your pet should not be allowed at any time to sleep in or on any of the baby’s furniture.
You may also purchase a doll that moves and cries like a real baby. This could be useful in seeing how your pet might react to the new addition, as well as helping it get used to the sounds and movements prior to the real baby coming home.
Your pet’s toys may look a lot like your baby’s new toys. This isn’t necessarily a problem as long as you don’t mind washing your baby’s toys on a routine basis. If you don’t want your pet to play with the baby toys, then you must change the pet’s toys so that they don’t resemble your child’s toys. This should also be done well in advance of the baby’s arrival.
Your pet should be rewarded either verbally or with treats when responding in a positive way to all of these changes. Making this as good of an experience as possible will make the transition for your pet much easier.
If it is at all possible, allow your pet to remain at home while you are at the hospital. You want to keep the anxiety level as low as possible. Animals that are going to a different environment tend to be more anxious, and will associate that anxiousness with the arrival of a new baby. Please arrange to have somebody care for your animals in your home to make this transition as less stressful as possible.
Now let’s discuss what to do when it’s time to bring the baby home. Bringing clothing home that the baby has worn at the hospital is one of the most important things to do before even bringing the baby into the house. Allow your pets to smell this clothing, and then leave it lying around the house.
When it is time to come home, it is very important for Mom to come in and greet the animals without the baby. You have been gone for a couple of days, and they will be very excited to see you. Give them enough time to calm down and get some undivided attention from you. If your pet needs extra time to become calm, place them in their safe environment (kennel or room of their own). At this time you can bring the baby into the house.
When your pets get to meet the baby for the first time, let a friend or spouse sit and hold the baby. Allow your pet to smell and explore the baby. If you have more than one pet, let them greet the baby one at a time. Make sure the person holding the baby is not dangling the baby in front of the pet. Let the pet go to the baby on its own terms. You will want to verbally reward all good behavior and interactions between the pet and baby. You as a parent must remain calm at all times. Your pet will sense your anxiousness, and in turn be anxious itself. One lick by your dog is acceptable, but then should stop immediately when asked. No licking is permitted if you dog will not instantly comply when commanded to stop. Hissing and growling should not be tolerated by cats at all. Put them in a separate room and try again later when they have calmed down. Your pet will also need to learn that if it wants positive attention from you, it will need to act in a positive manner towards the new addition. One way to do this is by decreasing the amount of treats and attention when the baby is not around, and increasing them when the baby is present. Your pet will begin to look forward to having the baby around, because that is when all of the goodies come out.
You
may need to keep your pet leashed or tied when around the baby. This will allow
them to get used to the baby’s movements without you having to worry about them
harming the baby. Cats may need to be put in a separate room for short periods
of time to give them a break. If there is no inappropriate behavior for about
three weeks, you may unleash your pet. Basket muzzles may be used in
untrustworthy dogs, but remember these only prevent bites. This will not
prevent them from lunging or pushing. There have been cases of children being
injured from inadvertent crush injuries.
No animal or infant/child should be left together unsupervised for any reason. The most trustworthy of animals always has the potential to bite. Even if your pet has no aggressive tendencies, your baby is unable to push a cuddling dog or cat away. Your pet, while trying to snuggle, could inadvertently smother the baby. E very animal and child interaction should be supervised at all times.
As your child grows, you will need to get your pet used to each stage of development. The child moves and sounds differently at every stage, which means your pet may react differently at every stage, as well. Also, you will need to teach your child how to interact appropriately with your pet. They must be taught to treat all animals with kindness and gentleness. Pulling and tugging should never be allowed. This is especially important in sick, old, or arthritic pets. They tend to not tolerate children’s antics as well as young, healthy pets do.
There will be a huge time commitment and effort put into this transition phase, but your reward will be plentiful. Having your much-loved pet adjust more easily to the new addition will be well worth it. You will be busy enough once the baby arrives, and I hope this will be one less thing you have to worry about.
Pet Peeves Periodical is written by Amanda Henry, CVT.
E-mail: amandacvt@centurytel.net
RESOURCES
Overall, Karen L. Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Small Animals. Mosby, Inc, 1997
Landsberg, G., W. Hunthausen, and L. Ackerman. Handbook of Behavior Problems of the Dog and Cat. 2nd ed. Elsevier Science Limited, 2003
Horwitz, Debra F. and Jacqueline C. Neilson. Blackwell’s Five Minute Veterinary Consult Canine & Feline Behavior. Blackwell Publishing, 2007
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