Is it safe to have a dog around a newborn? Get Your Pet Thinking

David S. Geller is an American Academy of Pediatrics fellow and is on staff at a number of Boston hospitals, including Children’s Hospital.Advertisement

Teaching Your Dog Important New Skills

Having good verbal control of your dog can really help when it comes to juggling her needs and the baby’s care. The following skills are particularly important.

Basic Manners:

  • Sit and down
  • Stay, wait at doors and settle: These skills can help your dog learn to control her impulses, and they’ll prove useful in many situations. For example, you can teach your dog to lie down and stay whenever you sit in your nursing chair.
  • Leave it and drop it: These two behaviors can help you teach your dog to leave the baby’s things alone.
  • Greet people politely: A jumping dog can be annoying at best—and dangerous at worst—when you’re holding the baby.
  • Relax in a crate: If you crate train your dog, you’ll know that she’s safe when you can’t supervise her, and she’ll have a cozy place of her own to relax when things get hectic.
  • Come when called
  • Special Skills:

  • Hand targeting: If your dog is nervous or timid, teaching her to target your hand with her nose will give her something to do when she’s around the baby, which might make her feel more comfortable and confident. After your dog learns how to target your hand, you can even teach her to gently touch the baby with her nose!
  • Please go away
  • Teaching your dog to go away when you ask will enable you to control her movements and interactions with your baby. For example, you can use this cue to tell your dog to move away from the baby if he’s crawling toward her and she seems uncomfortable. Many dogs don’t realize that moving away is an option! If she learns that she can simply walk away from the baby when he makes her nervous, she’ll never feel trapped in a stressful situation—and she won’t be forced to express her anxiety by growling or snapping. Here’s how to teach your dog this invaluable skill:

  • Show her a treat, say “Go away,” and toss the treat four or five feet away from you. Repeat this sequence many times.
  • The next step is to refrain from tossing the treat until your dog starts to move away. Say “Go away,” and move your arm as though you’re tossing a treat. When your dog moves in the direction of your gesture, even if she only takes one step, say “Yes!” Then immediately toss a treat four or five feet away, in the direction your dog started to move.
  • After more repetitions, try waiting until your dog takes several steps away before you say “Yes!” and toss the treat.
  • Play fetch: Teaching your dog to play fetch with a toy can prepare her for safe, fun interaction with your child.
  • Clubs Offering:

    Dee S. writes that she’s concerned about how her dog is acting around her 6-month-old baby. “He mouths her feet, sniffs and licks her head, hands, and feet. He takes her socks off. Is he being protective or jealous?” AKC GoodDog! Helpline Trainer Paisley Lunchick offers up some advice.

    It’s always an exciting time when a new baby comes into the house. But for dogs, it can be stressful. When a dog bites a child, it is most often the family pet reacting in his own home. These types of bites are also more likely to cause severe injury. Here are some tips to keep your baby safe and your dog stress-free.

    Active Supervision

    At no time should a small child be left alone with a dog, no matter the age, breed, size, or temperament of the canine. Dogs are unpredictable animals, and despite domestication, can still have predatory drives. The unusual sounds and unpredictable movements of babies and small children can trigger arousal in any dog and can lead to bites. Even the smallest nip to a baby can be traumatic. Never leave a baby on the floor with a dog, even if you are there next to them. A nervous dog can move very quickly.

    Signs Your Dog Is Concerned

    Dogs don’t show affection by giving kisses or hugs, and it’s a common myth that licking is a sign of love for a new baby. Licking, sniffing, and mouthing are exploratory behaviors and can be a sign of stress. Never allow your dog to lick or “kiss” the baby. Dogs that are stressed or worried about a baby or toddler give subtle signals that they need space: licking their lips, yawning, turning their head away, furrowing their brows, and ears laid low. A dog won’t necessarily get up and move away from a baby or toddler. That’s why it’s important for an adult to watch for signs of stress in a dog and act quickly to separate the canine and baby, if need be. Do not punish the dog for showing signs of concern. Instead, send him calmly to a bed, crate, or gated area with a fun chew toy.

    Success Stations

    Before your baby comes home, set up areas where your dog can relax away from chaotic activity in the house. Crates and baby gates can be used to provide your dog with a feeling of safety. Give him high-value treats, chews, and toys that he can have in these areas. When you cannot actively supervise your dog with your baby, send him to one of these spots.

    Our dogs are cherished members of the family, sharing our lives and providing unconditional love. But all dog owners know that our canine partners have different perspectives on life than we do.

    If you have ever asked, “Why does my dog do that?” then this feature is for you. The AKC GoodDog! Helpline training team will answer your questions on dogs’ behavior and offer training advice to help you and your pup have the best relationship possible. The AKC GoodDog! Helpline is a seven-day-a-week telephone support service staffed by professional dog trainers. For more information on the service and how to enroll, go to www.akcgooddoghelpline.org. https://www.akc.org/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php Get Your Free AKC eBook

    Introducing Your Dog to a New Baby (The NATURAL Way)

    I recently cared for a nine-month-old baby girl who came to our emergency room with a dog bite that had ripped her face and scalp into pieces. As soon as I entered the room her father’s first words were, “It wasn’t the dog’s fault.” He went on to explain how this crawling infant had provoked the dog. I spent a long time talking to this nervous father and crying mother about dog bite prevention, and I reported the situation to animal control and the local police. The parents assured me that this infant would never be around this dog again. A few months later this same infant came back to our emergency room with another dog bite to the face, from the same dog.

    I wish I could say that this was an unusual story, but it’s not. While the plastic surgeon was sewing up this infant’s face, we exchanged dog bite ER stories. Most notably, he sewed up one woman’s dog bite to the face only to read in the newspaper that she had been killed by her dog a few months later. The ER nurses also had plenty of dog bite stories to share.

    What makes these stories so amazing is the consistent denial from dog owners that “man’s best friend” can be an enormous risk, especially to young children. While sitting in the ER with their bitten child, dog owners have told me, “He’s really a very friendly dog,” and “he’s never bitten anyone before.” Usually, there is a sentiment that the dog was provoked by the child and therefore the dog is not at fault.

    There are almost five million dog bites every year in the United States and nearly one million require medical attention, according to the Centers for Disease Control. There were 31 fatal dog attacks in the United States in 2011, including a 15-day-old infant. You can read their stories at www.dogsbite.org. Children under ten years of age are at particular risk of dog bite. Although any breed can bite, pit bulls, pit bull mixes, rottweilers, and wolf-mixes are consistently noted to be the most dangerous breeds in multiple studies. Most dogs bites are from dogs known to the victim, owned either by the victim’s family or neighbor.