This entry was posted on Thursday, January 10th, 2008 at 11:07 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
When our daughter came home for the first time, one of our concerns was how to introduce our American Staffordshire Terrier, Whiskey, to her. The dog was used to getting a LOT of attention, and we were worried that her jealousy of the new baby may have undesirable or dangerous results. Our dog trainer gave us a great tip that worked very well.
At least a couple of times a day, we would bring our daughter over and let the dog sniff her bare feet…when she gave her toes a little lick, we would say “good kisses whiskey” and lots of other praise and attention. Additionally, whenever the dog went near the baby’s face or hands, we would simple redirect her to her feet an repeat the process. Obviously, you should consult with a trainer or professional before using any technique to introducing your dog to your baby, but this one worked for us.
We’d love to hear any other ideas or success stories that anyone else may have had with this situation.
Matt
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January 13th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Four years ago, when bringing home my baby son, my husband and I were frightened of what would happen when I introduced him to Honey, our 80lb female mix. Honey was our first baby after all! My husband brought home a blanket my son had used in the hospital the day before my son came home. He let Honey smell telling her to be nice and rewarding her with treats. When we brought our son home to Honey my husband took our son into a different room so I could give Honey some attention. We then brought our son out, let Honey sniff his feet first and had Honey sit. We again rewarded her for good behavior with treats. Honey quickly learned that this was a baby brother for her and that she had to be gentle! Now, four years later, they are the best of friends.
January 14th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Great idea….I’ve also heard that letting the dog smell a diaper works as well, but it seems a little strange to us.
January 14th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Yeah we did the blanket thing too when Lincoln was in the NICU. We have a chocolate lab. The hard part was, we were in NC on vacation when Lincoln was born, so getting the blanket home to Toronto keeping Lincoln’s smell was a bit interesting. We took a blanket he’d been sleeping on for a few days and put it in a ziplock bag and shipped it.
I’ve also heard of using their hats and socks (similar to the bare feet thing, I guess). A lot of strong body odors are expelled through the head and feet so it makes sense.
So glad you found Lincoln’s site. Thanks for reading. I enjoy this site very much as well. I’d love to link it too!
Also, thanks for the comments regarding Lincoln’s most recent contraversial post
It’s so nice to hear someone who has been parenting for over 3 years agree with me on points that I’m just guessing on right now, since we just hit the year marker. I can’t wait to read more about you and your family…
March 29th, 2008 at 3:57 am
I don’t think cat owners have to worry about safety with a newborn as much as dog owners, but does anyone have suggestions on how to keep your cat from feeling alienated by your new arrival?