Pets and New Born Babies

Pets, especially dogs are notorious for sniffing new items. A good way for a pet to get acquainted with your new baby is to take a baby blanket that your baby has used and let your pet sniff the blanket for a few minutes.

So.... the multi million question ...........

Should I allow my pet to be near my baby?

As long as your pet is well behaved.

If this is your first child, the pet has been the center of attraction and may show some jealously especially if you pet is house trained.

The house trained pet has marked their territory and will get aggressive if any individual or anything invades their space or food area. Try to keep your baby away from these areas.

It will be more difficult to do this when your baby begins to crawl. if at all possible, set up baby gates to limit the area your baby may crawl towards the pet area.

If your pet shows aggression while in your presence, you must quickly reprimand the pet to let them know this type of behavior will not be tolerated.

Let the pet be around you and the baby. It might take a little extra work but show attention to the pet with the baby present. When the baby is asleep, spend some supplementary time providing pet. Play a quick game of fetch or just rub the pet.

Last but not least, If your pet is not trained, prepare your pet by enrolling him or her in a pet obedience course. Many couples and single parents do this as a precautionary measure if they are not sure how their pet may react to a baby.

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