Ideas for teaching your dog how to behave when in the nursery.

Preparing your dog for the new baby: Begin early (Prenatal)
Preparing your dog for baby coming home
Your dog and nursery manners

Your newborn’s safety is your first concern.  Given this, Jen Shryock, a dog behavior specialist and mother of four, suggests that you make a conscious decision upfront about your dog’s access to the baby’s room or sleeping area.  You may choose to make the baby’s room off limits for your dog(s), but, be aware that this may only serve to peak your dogs curiosity and set up a potential power struggle.

Instead, Shryock recommends teaching your dog how to behave when in the room and remembering that everything is under your control as long as your baby is always supervised when the dog is present.  Here are a few concrete examples of limits to teach your dog: only come into the baby’s room when invited and assume a sitting position when baby is having a diaper change.  Shryock also has some guidelines for parents: ·        

• Keep the door (full, wooden door) completely closed when the baby is in the room asleep.  A crying baby can agitate a dog.  If you are in the shower or otherwise unavailable to come right away, your dog may exhibit an atypical response.  Baby monitors easily allow you to respond to your baby promptly when the door is closed.

• Use baby gates cautiously.  A baby gate is not a substitute for a closed door.  Dogs can push down or jump over gates.  If you are using a gate to separate your baby and dog(s) for tummy time on a blanket or later high chair time, you must still provide 100% supervision.

For a more detailed discussion of how to teach your dog how to behave in your baby’s room, go to Jen Shryock’s website www.dogsandstorks.com.  The site will also help you locate a Dogs & Storks face-to-face course in your area.

By Anne Oxenreider

Previous: Preparing your dog for baby coming home

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