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Babies and Dogs

Babies and dogs can get along. Right then, so what else could make your life hectic on top of having a puppy or a dog? How about having a baby? Have you thought about this possibility and what it could mean for your family? Would it bring more joy into your life? Well, you would hope so. Having a dog around a baby can be a tough time, but there are ways to manage it all and keep your sanity in tack too.

There really isn’t a need to worry about having a baby if you own a dog. I personally find the behavior to be the new “in thing”. If you aren’t worrying about what your dog will do when you are having a baby, you aren’t in the cool group. Well that’s just a load of junk. You should however plan what you will do, and think ahead. As for the worrying, leave that to stock brokers.

Animals become very protective, or shall I say, loyal of their pack. In this case, we are the animals pack, and we are the ones the animal is loyal too. The only real problem with an addition of a baby to a family with a dog is that the baby is something new to the animal. You are just going to have to deal with the issue and introduce the baby to the dog with you keeping a very close watch during the procedure. It is not a viable option to just shun the dog from the baby, because this will lead to severe problems.

When you have some time, set apart some moments each day and let the dog come up to the newborn, sniff it, maybe even give it a little lick on the face if you are very careful not to scare the baby or the dog (more for the baby though). You don’t want your dog to develop any kind of irrational fears or start to become jealous of the baby. This can and will lead to other problems such as aggression and biting. The last thing you want is for your dog to begin biting your newborn baby!

It would be helpful if your dog is somewhat well trained before the arrival of your child. This way, it will be the best dog for your child. You want to have the basic commands done and over with so your dog can listen to you more easily. Most of your time will be spent on the child and it will be harder for you to start training your dog and the child at the same time. Now obviously you are not going to train the child to lay down, or sit on command, but you get the idea here.

As your child gets older and your dog too, they will form a special bond and have a great relationship together. There will be tough times and this is expected for no one is perfect. You will have to take sides from time to time to protect both sides, but in the end, it is well worth the struggle as many owners will agree.

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