Tips to train your dog to cope up with your baby

For a puppy your baby is a toy like thing that is hogging all the attention that belongs to him. This can sometimes create some difficult situations. For the dog his home is his territory and he feels that the new arrival is encroaching on his territory so he feels threatened by the baby. Since the baby will receive a lot of attention from you the pup also gets jealous of the baby. There are no sure fire remedies to deal with this situation. However, there are some tips which are useful such as-

The biggest challenge for your puppy is to deal with all the attention that the new baby gets. With a new baby around sometimes you inevitably ignore the puppy and he will have to learn to accept this. You can help your dog through this transition by introducing certain gradual changes.

If you start ignoring your dog suddenly upon the arrival of the baby it becomes very difficult for your dog to adjust, so it is important to get him used to it slowly. You can do this by ignoring him every day for sometime usually an hour should suffice. You don’t need to sit in one place. Go ahead with your regular chores like watching TV or doing your laundry just don’t talk to or look at your dog.

Once the baby arrives it will be normal to have baby toys lying all over the place. Your dog will find it hard to resist these toys and may get into a tug of war with the baby over the toy. He may also try to rip or eat these toys. It is important to stop your dog from doing so. The best way to do this is to not keep these toys in dogs reach. But this is not always possible. So train your dog before the baby arrives to stay away from the toys and baby products.

A good practice session for your dog should involve a couple of baby toys/ baby apparels thrown along with his toys in front of him. Since the baby toys look different and new the dog will definitely reach for them and when he tries to do so stop him with a firm “no” and divert his attention to his own toys. You can also lace the toys with mouthwash or sprays available in the market that stop furniture chewing. These sprays and the mouth wash produce an uncomfortable odor and taste for the dog. Soon the dog will start associating the command with the odor and taste and stay away from them. You can get these sprays and mouthwash when shopping online on good online shopping deals. You can even try online shopping malls.

Your baby and your dog will eventually become best friends but you will have to help this friendship to start. For your puppy the new baby is a strange being that makes peculiar sounds. The baby may feel that a dog is a big ball of fur to be grabbed and tugged at. The different perspectives may create a slight situation because of the baby tugs or pulls at your pup it will startle him and he may not react favorably. So to get him used to the tugging and pulling start by quickly pulling his ears when you pet him or by tugging at his coat when you are petting him. You can also add some baby sounds for effect. The whole point of this exercise is to get your dog habituated to the new sounds and actions that he may encounter with the new baby around.