Kids and Dogs - Part 1

Having a 4 year old son and a 3 year old Border Collie has made me really aware of what skills will keep these two active boys interacting in a matter that I find appropriate.  At the time my son was born I had a 10 year old Akita, an 8 year old Siberian Husky and an 5 year old Chesapeake.

If I had to pick a perfect age for a dog to bring a baby home I would say between 5 and 8 years old.  Old enough that they have a lot of their yayas out and are settled but not so old that they are starting to show their age; hearing and eyesight declines, they are sore and really just want to lie quietly and sleep which is not always possible with little children running around :).

This is going to be a 4 part series on what skills your dog needs before the baby comes home and then as the children get older.

Starting at the beginning are the skills your dog will need before you bring your baby home.

1. Crate trained or gate trained.  There will be times when the best place for your dog is away.  Make sure your dog is capable of doing this QUIETLY and calmly before you bring your new bundle home.
2. Long down.  Every baby has to spend time on the floor to develop strength and coordination, at first you don't want  your dog to inadvertently step on the baby so a long down or stay on your bed works great.
3. You can sit on the couch and the dog does not have to be on top of you.  When you bring a baby home you spend a lot of time sitting on the couch feeding or rocking the baby.  Your dog cannot be on you or sooner or later it will sit on or scratch the baby.

You want to include your dog in the goings on so that he doesn't get all bent out of shape.  When I would give my baby floor time I would have the dogs all lie around me and get rewarded for staying in their downs.  Reward the dog for lying quietly at your feet or next to you on the couch while you are feeding, this will come in really handy when the baby starts spitting up and your dog discovers that babies are always covered in food.

Make sure you have scheduled enough exercise for the dog.  That could be something simple like throwing kibble to the bottom of the stairs and calling the dog back up to do it again.  This will give you a dog that can settle instead of a dog that is bouncing off the walls.

The biggest thing is RELAX.  If you are not comfortable take your dog out of the situation but at the same time remember you know your dog and what he is capable of.  That being said don't get over confident, if the baby is on the floor you are sitting next to the baby if the dogs are in the room.