How To Prepare Your Dog for a Baby’s Arrival

Take your dog to the vet for a check up. Make sure his vaccinations are current and have any procedures done now, in advance of the baby's arrival.

Continue to practice your dog's training commands at home, such as sitting and staying and coming to his name.

Anticipate any changes in routine that will come with the baby's arrival and institute those changes beforehand. If the dog's feeding or exercise routine is about to change, make sure those changes occur for at least a month before the baby's arrival.

Allow your dog to smell the baby's car seat, crib, changing table, diapers, toys, clothes etc. If you plan on using lotions or powders on the baby, put them on yourself and allow the dog to get accustomed to those scents. Never allow your dog on your baby's furniture and never allow him to play with the baby's toys.

While he's on a leash, expose your dog to small children and observe his behaviors. If possible, expose the dog to the sounds of crying babies. Now is the time to correct any inappropriate behaviors that the dog exhibits.

Once the baby is born, but before he comes home from the hospital, have a family member bring home an article of the baby's clothing, which will familiarize the dog with the baby's smell.

When the day comes for the whole family to return home, the person who is closest with the dog should enter the home first without the baby. This person should give the dog several minutes of attention and possibly even a new toy. Prepare the dog by putting his leash on him and enforcing that he sits and stays. Bring the baby in the house in his car seat, approach your dog and monitor his behavior.