How to prepare my dog for newborn baby coming home?

This is very serious of course. First of all I am going to reproduce the piece from our rescue booklet about "Preparing for a new baby", however this dog by your description is going to need a lot of work, and quite frankly I am not sure you are going to succeed with it.

First of all you should never let a dog be very protective of you. A dog will always protect if necessary, but in general your dog must know that you protect it or them, not he other way around, and as such gives the leadership to you.

Google NILIF and read all about that, and put that into place consistently. If you are not prepared to do the things suggested in that then I do not see any chance of you integrating a baby into the home without risk. A risk too big to take.

Here is the excerpt from our booklet.

NEW BABY – HOW TO INTRODUCE YOUR DOG.
As soon as you know you are expecting a baby, you should start to put in place Pack Leadership rules. You need to put these in place so that the dog does not connect the change in his lifestyle with the arrival of the baby.

Everyone in the household should share all the chores of dog ownership – training, walking, feeding, grooming and attention, so that the dog does not see “Mum” as the centre of his world.

At least three months before the baby is due all the baby paraphanalia should be in place around the house.

In the case of a possessive dog, who is very bonded to “Mum” she should give the dog lots of obedience training in the six months prior to the baby arriving so that she has lots of control over the dog.

It is a good idea to buy a crying doll, or make a tape of a real baby crying and play it regularly to desensitise the dog to the sound. It is also a good idea to buy a doll and pay it lots of attention.

Using baby powder and baby wipes will help the dog get used to the smell of a new baby before it arrives.

Start to give the dog the routine he will have when the baby is born NOW so that he is relaxed and settled when baby is born.

All GREAT advice from Lorraine!!!!

To it I would add that you treat your toy baby as if it were real and make sure the dog understands that it must be 'gentle' with the baby. No jumping at or grabbing for the baby. Dog is able to smell or lick the baby doll, but not growl or bite at the baby doll. The dog must learn that it will get EQUAL attention (so there will be no need for jealousy).

When the baby is born, bring home little socks or blankets that has the baby's smell on them to get the dog accustomed to the smell of the newcomer and its place in the home before it arrives. (Doggy is not allowed to steal or destroy these items).

On the day baby comes home, it would be best if someone has the dog out of the house when you arrive so that you can sit down with the baby in your lap and so that the baby has been given a higher rank and place in the home than the dog.

Once you are all settled the dog should be brought in by someone who has good control over it and who's commands it will respond to. It should be brought in ON LEASH and allowed to come up to you, sit and greet you and the baby without any show of aggression (which should be immediately and strongly corrected if it shows even the slightest sign of such). All gentle and passive actions should be praised.

Hopefully you'll be able to make a smooth transition but word to the wise .... children and dogs always need to be supervised at all times!!!

Pit bulls and mixes can make great family pets, but its hard to know what happened before you adopted her since she is a shelter dog(oh and by the way, way to go adopting!), but sometimes you can make it work with a baby.

My tips:
Make sure you still spend time with her
Introduce the baby and dog slowly
never leave the dog and baby alone in a room


Good luck!

As soon as I read your question title I though carry around a baby doll. I also thought about the last time I was in the book section at Petsmart...I saw a CD that had baby sounds on it like crying and such. It might be a good idea to get that and play it for your dog over the next few months. I've seen dogs completely freak out when a baby cries. After you have the baby and are waiting to bring the little one home, take the little socks off and replace them before you bring him or her home. If you have a few days of a wait in the hospital take the socks that the baby had on and place them in your dogs cage so she can get used to the smell of the baby.

I agree with Lorraine 100%!!!!!! i would buy a doll and carry it around all the time, treat it like you would a newborn that way the dog has months to get used to not being the centre of attention and when the newborn arrives they shouldnt even really tell the difference.

Why don't you try a personal trainer, It may be pricey but may work. Good luck with that and congrats about baby.

Call in the Dog Whispere-Cesar Millan
He has rehabilitated lots of pit bulls (along with many other dogs) and there has only ever been 4 dogs that he has not been able to help.

Or you could buy one of his books and read that.

just preapare it!

You May Have to give her up, Dogs are notoriously jealous