Follow the recommended guidelines for keeping your dog confined to ensure good housetraining and alone time training. This will give you time to dog-proof your home. Pay attention to the following list of common hazards.
Adding a new dog to a home with a resident dog can be great fun and offers both your family and your dog extra companionship. However, dogs need time to build relationships. The more quarrel-free you can keep the early stages of the sibling relationship the stronger it will be—and yet quarrels can still easily happen. That’s why it’s crucial to proceed slowly, even if it seems as though the dogs are getting along without any problems.
Preparation is half the battle. Before you bring your new dog home, be sure to:
Go shopping for supplies. Your new dog needs his own water and food bowl, dog bed, and dog toys. Don’t expect him to share, not until he has known his sibling for a long time.
Set the stage. Pick up all toys, chews, bones, food bowls, and the resident dog’s favorite items. When dogs are creating a relationship these items may cause rivalry. (They can be introduced after a couple of weeks.)
Provide each dog with private space. Give your new dog his own confinement area. Furnish a spare room, crate, or dog-proofed enclosed area with his food, water, toys, and bed. The resident dog is not allowed in this area.
First meeting. The first introduction should happen on neutral ground outside your house and yard, for example on a neighborhood street or in a park. Allow the two dogs to sniff each other briefly—two to three seconds—then call them away and praise them with treats. Next, take a short walk in the neighborhood and let them play off leash if appropriate.
Inside the house. The first time the two dogs are inside your house together, keep them both on leash and keep the introduction short, around five minutes.
The length of this phase varies from one “sibling pair” to another. Carefully watch both dogs’ body language for clues before you increase their time together. Until then, follow these guidelines:
A crate is a terrific investment for a number of reasons. A crate can help you with:
House-training: Prompts your dog to hold it when unsupervised.
Chew training: Stops your dog from chewing anything except legitimate chew toys.
Settling: Teaches your dog to settle down when alone and inactive.
Kenneling: Your dog may need to stay in a crate during travel or a hospital visit.
First, you need to give your dog a chance to get used to the crate. You can’t just throw him in there and hope he adjusts; that would be traumatic for most dogs. The crate should be a comfy, safe place he loves to spend time in. Here’s how to make your dog feel great about his crate:
When your dog is happily going into the crate on command, it’s time to move on to Phase 3.
DO: Leave without any fanfare; return home without any fanfare.
DO: Tire your dog out with vigorous exercise and training before longer absences.
DON’T: Use the crate in your day-to-day-life until you have conditioned your dog to the crate slowly and thoroughly.
DON’T: Use the crate for punishment time outs.
If your dog is going to the bathroom in his crate:
If you can’t get your dog to stop soiling his crate, call us for pointers.
A crate is a terrific investment for a number of reasons. A crate can help you with:
House-training: Teaches your puppy to keep the home clean.
Chew training: Stops your puppy from chewing anything except legitimate chew toys.
Settling: Encourages your puppy to settle down when he’s alone.
Kenneling: Your puppy may need to stay in a crate during travel or a hospital visit.
Get a crate large enough for your puppy to stand up, lie down, and turn around in—but no larger. Otherwise, he might be tempted to use one end as a bathroom and the other as a bed.
Before you start using the crate, give your puppy a chance to get used to it. Don’t just throw him in there and hope he adjusts; that would be traumatic. The crate needs to be a comfy, safe place your puppy loves to spend time in. Here’s how to get him used to it:
A time guide to crating puppies:
8–10 weeks up to one hour
11–12 weeks up to two hours
13–16 weeks up to three hours
Over four months up to four hours
Do you have a bundle of joy on the way? Congratulations! Introducing a newborn baby into your home is a big change for the entire family, including the family dog. However, a baby on the way shouldn’t mean an eviction notice for your dog. With preparation and a few good management strategies, babies and pets can be a successful combination.
Here are some guidelines for a safe, smooth introduction, and the beginning of a wonderful friendship.
Before Baby: Pregnancy Months 1–3
Enroll in a reward-based dog training class that teaches humane techniques. This will refresh your dog’s obedience behaviors and manners, and teach him new, useful behaviors. We offer a specialized training class for expecting and new parents, as well as a wide range of beginner to advanced classes.
If your dog has an existing behavior problem, you need to address this with behavior modification and management. We have a referral list of trainers available for private in-home consultations. This is also the time to visit your vet for a complete medical checkup and to make sure your dog is current on vaccinations, deworming, and otherwise healthy. If you haven’t already done so, spay or neuter your pet.
Before Baby: Pregnancy Months 3–5
Prepare a comfortable confinement area or crate for your dog inside your home. Your dog may be stressed or confused by all the day- and night-time activities and he may be more relaxed in a quiet resting area. This is also a good time to introduce baby gates as threshold barriers.
Introduce baby sounds (CDs are available online) and practice holding a baby-sized doll in your arms. You need to get used to doing many things with only one arm, as the baby will be in the other, so it’s good to practice now.
Walk the dog with baby equipment, such as a baby carrier (front-of-chest carrier) and/or stroller. Remember to reward with tasty treats often during this preparation time. You want to build a positive association with all these changes.
Before Baby: Pregnancy Months 5–7
Introduce a change in schedule to your dog’s daily routine, randomly and slowly. Practice varied time in his confinement area with a KONG® or another stimulating puzzle toy. This will make quiet-time training fun. If the expectant mother is the primary dog walker or caretaker, it’s time to introduce a new walker or caretaker. This can be a spouse, partner, friend, or professional dog walker. We have a referral list of dog walking services and pet sitters.
Don’t overlook car safety. Your dog will need to be confined to a specific area of the car by a barrier or crate. This ensures a safe ride for both baby and dog.
Before Baby: Pregnancy Months 7–9
Introduce the baby room and baby furniture around the house so your dog can get used to his changing home environment. Use a baby gate if your dog won’t be allowed into baby’s room. Practice Sit, Stay, and Leave It around the baby’s furniture and baby equipment.
Simulate baby-feeding time, either in your bed or nursing chair. During this time, your dog should be on his bed, in his confinement area, or crate. While nursing, you will need to be calm and focused on the baby, so remember to give the dog a KONG or other puzzle toy during this quiet time.
Make preparations for your dog to be cared for while you are at the hospital. Arrange for a person who can pick up the dog from your home or stay in the home with your dog. Make sure this person has a set of your house keys in case you’re already at the hospital but the dog is at home.
After Baby: Months 1–3
While Mom is in the hospital, a spouse, partner, or friend can bring home some newborn items (such as a blanket or clothing) to introduce to the dog. Your dog may spend a day or two with a friend or sitter so you can settle in with baby. You can also enlist extra help when you arrive home from the hospital. You can say hello to your dog and spend some time with him while someone is caring for baby.
Newborn care can be overwhelming for new parents. Help around the house, with childcare or dog care can be a relief and help reduce stress. Remember to keep soiled diapers in a tightly closed container.
Your dog’s exercise routine should stay consistent. If possible, increase his exercise activity for the next several weeks. A well-exercised dog is calmer and more relaxed. Be sure to enlist the help you need to keep your dog’s routine as constant as possible.
Make all introductions to your newborn short and positive, using rewards liberally. You want to build a positive association with the newborn and all the exciting changes in your family.
After Baby: Months 4–7
Your newborn is now a baby and is changing daily. The baby will play in a playpen, roll around on the ground with toys, and start to move around much more. Your baby will squeal, laugh, and cry in frustration. Manage and supervise diligently! Again, rewards for your dog during this time are very important.
This is a good time for family and dog outings, either for walks or rides in the car. It is important to include the baby in activities that the dog will find enjoyable such as fun family outings.
After Baby: Months 7–12
Babies and toddlers are often the most difficult to manage around dogs. They are crawling, pulling themselves up on objects, and beginning to walk. They become explorers, intrigued by their tactile, oral, and visual senses. They grab, pull, bite, and have raw determination.
Babies should never be allowed to climb on, crawl on, or startle your dog. Babies and toddlers don’t have complete control of motor skills, so they may inadvertently throw or hit a dog with a hard toy. Toddlers are not expert walkers and may trip and fall on or near the dog, another reason for strict supervision.
Supervise all interactions between your baby and your dog. Keep the interactions enjoyable for both and use a baby gate or dog area to separate baby and dog the rest of the time.
You should now begin to model appropriate behavior with dogs. Show your baby how to gently pet your dog, and praise both for a successful interaction. You will be teaching this for many years to come. Remember that babies and toddlers are too young to understand boundaries and must be kept away from your dog’s safe area, crate, and feeding bowls.
The most important thing you can do to safeguard your baby and your dog is to always supervise. Never leave your baby alone with your dog, even when the baby is in a crib, bassinet, high chair, playpen, rocker/bouncer, swing, doorway jumper, bathtub, baby carrier, car seat, or stroller.
Don’t ask baby sitters to be responsible for both baby and dog. When you leave your baby with a sitter, keep your dog in a secure confinement area.
A Final Word
The success of child-dog relationships depends on constant parent/adult supervision, management, and the teaching and modeling of appropriate behavior for interactions. Make these principles part of your family life and everyone wins.
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