Introducing Your Baby to Your Pet

For many couples, their fur-babies are their first babies, occupying a very special place in their hearts and homes.  This place, while seldom removed with the arrival of a human baby, can often get a little shaken up in a way that the furbabies don’t understand.  Newborn humans require a lot of attention, smell different, make unusual noises, and generally introduce a plethora of new gadgets, gizmos, and toys that are all off limits for even the cleanest of pets, and this can be strange.

Many pets, although primarily dogs, cats, and domesticated pigs, can be very confused, hurt, and threatened by the arrival of–what seems to them is–another small animal that requires more attention, has special privileges, and is given more “toys” than they.  This misunderstanding can lead to tension, and–in the worst of cases–the horror stories parents hear about pets hurting newborn children.

To avoid this worst, we’ve put together a quick guide for introducing your baby to your pet:

• Prep your pet before the baby comes

Couples have nine months to prepare their pet before the newborn arrives. That’s plenty of time to prep your pet for their arrival. 

Show your pet the baby room and sit with them on the floor of that room. This is assuming you would like them to spend time there with the baby. Familiarising them with the room and the items in it is a good way for pets to get used to a change that is coming. 

If you don’t want your pet in the baby room, teach and train your pet early on not to enter the room. Instead, bring in some of the baby things to other areas of the house so your pet is aware of where these new items will be. Teach them what is off limits (bottles and nipples, for example) and encourage the behaviours you’d like them to have.

• Pretend you have a baby

Another technique is to pretend you already have a baby. Carry a doll in your arms and get your pet used to seeing you this way. You can also play some crying sounds from time to time so your pet is not alarmed when the new baby comes home and makes these noises.

• Let them meet OUTSIDE

When you bring the baby home, make sure you have your pet come out to meet you and play with him/her a little bit while the baby sits in the car with your spouse. Next, bring the pet to the car, and show them the baby. After a few minutes of talking and assurance, bring both pet and baby into the house. This will make your pet feel like they were part of the bringing home of this new creature, instead of this new creature invading their territory.

• Show your furbaby some love

While it can be taxing, be sure to give your pet some special attention everyday. As mentioned earlier, there are nine months to prep your pet for the baby’s arrival. You can already come up with a kind of schedule that will help you divide your time between your pet and baby to make sure your pet does not feel neglected.

• Never leave them alone

Even the best of pets can harm a baby unintentionally. Never leave your baby and pet unattended until the baby is a toddler, and only then if your pet is not a giant dog that can still be very rough with a toddler.

Successfully creating peace between your newborn and your furborn can lead to a truly beautiful friendship.  Children that grow up taking care of animals are widely regarded as more empathetic, caring, and nurturing.  It also can lead to the child’s first true friendship, and a lifelong bond and love for animals.