What to Expect (From Your Dog) When You’re Expecting

You’ve read all the books, you’ve bought all the stuff, and now you’re ready for your baby to come home. What an exciting (and exhausting) time. But, is your dog ready for this life change?

Have you noticed any behavior changes from your dog during your pregnancy or as you prepared your household for your child? You might not be surprised to learn that your dog is an adept reader of your body language and moods. They know change is afoot and they may respond in a variety of different ways. Here is how you can set your dog up for success and help them know what to expect when you’re expecting.

Expect Communication

If you’ve had your dog for a while, chances are you communicate very well with them. You understand when your dog is asking for something, even if that is just a bite out of a sandwich that you’re enjoying. Study the cues that your dog is giving you to show you that they are content versus uncomfortable. We can expect our dogs to continually give us information through their body-language cues, but it is up to us to use that information to make informed decisions about our actions.

Copley is relaxing comfortably and is alert to things in her outdoor environment. She is not showing any stress signals due to her new human brother behind her, but has the ability to move away if she needs to.

What does your dog look like when they are uncomfortable? Do you know the items or situations that currently make them uncomfortable? If so, think about how they hold their body around those situations or objects. Do they get closer to the ground, pin their ears back, or flee? Those are all important indicators of stress and fear that you should pay attention to. Subtle signs of discomfort and stress include yawning, lip licking unrelated to food or eating, showing the whites of their eyes more than is typical for your dog, tail tucking, and a change in overall body stance to appear lower or more backward-leaning. These subtle signs indicate your dog may need a break or some time alone. These cues may not crop up immediately when your baby is brought home, but it is important to know what they look like prior to making any large life change.

Learn to recognize your dog’s subtle stress signals and change the environment in their favor at that moment. This may be as simple as encouraging them to move into another space, or it can be as involved as training them to move to a specific location when asked. Do not wait until your dog has to give more overt signals of distress such as shaking, fleeing, baring their teeth, growling, or even snapping their teeth toward you or another family member. If any of those signs occur, do not delay. Change the situation your dog is in and reach out to a dog training professional or your veterinarian.

Your dog should also be able to read you for important information because communication is a two-way street. Prepare your dog for the cues you may have to give them in advance through training.

Expect to Need to Build a Routine

Your dog thrives on routine, but that routine goes out the window when a new life arrives. Prepare your dog by making adjustments to their lives prior to your baby arriving home. Think of all the commonplace things that occur in your dog’s routine and take note of how they may be adjusted when you are attending to the needs of a newborn. Set everyone up for success by installing barriers that you may place in advance to get your dog used to the new restrictions. Allow your dog to see any baby containment devices before there is a baby in them, but don’t allow for free exploration as your dog won’t be allowed in these new comfy spots.

Do you think you’ll walk your dog less? Hire a dog walker now and get your dog to see that as part of the regular routine! If your dog doesn’t need as much exercise but craves the mental stimulation of a neighborhood walk, add some mental games to their day. You can fill some food puzzle toys in advance and save them in your freezer. Give them to your dog thawed when you need them to have some time alone, or provide them frozen for an extra long-lasting challenge. If people ask what they can do to help you before the baby arrives, a dog toy-filling task should be on that list.

Expect to Manage Behavior

Gus and Gabby learn how to remain comfortable and happy behind a gate. Gates can be useful for managing your dog around a new baby in the household.

You also can set up your home so your dog is comfortable when the baby arrives. Look at the layout of any room you plan to spend a lot of time in as a family. If your baby will spend time on the floor, does your dog have a way to get away if they need to? Make sure your dog has plenty of escape routes by moving furniture away from walls where safe to do so, and by keeping a clear path to the exit in each room so your dog can make a fast escape when they are feeling pressured. Putting some thought into this before your baby is crawling will go a long way to lowering stress overall in the household.

Managing your dog’s behavior also entails preventing negative behaviors before they start. If you want your dog to not have access to a specific area, use gates or other barriers. If you’d like them to be calm when the baby is nursing or napping, use those barriers and then give them a previously filled food toy so that they can relax in their own space.

Expect to Train Certain Behaviors

Is your dog young or do they require a lot of exercise? Do you feel like they’re already underfoot, and adding a baby will make it that much harder? Set your dog up for successful communication by teaching them some all-important cues that you will use throughout the lifetime of having a human child.

The first behavior to prioritize is a “go to mat” behavior. This involves training your dog to lie on their bed comfortably and not move until you release them. To start teaching this, build value for moving to the mat and reward your dog big for lying down on it on their own. As you move forward, you can add to the time that they’re willing to remain there. When the baby arrives, this is the perfect behavior to cue if your dog is underfoot and you need them to move to a specific place.

Before the baby arrives, teach your dog to greet people with no jumping. This will be challenging especially when you have something interesting in your arms, like a baby. To teach a dog to not jump, make the ground more rewarding. Put treats on the ground when you enter your home and before your dog jumps up. You can also teach an “off” cue to quickly inform your dog that you need them to move all their paws to the floor, then feed them there. As you move forward and your dog has success, practice carrying interesting things throughout the house and reward your dog for keeping all of their feet on the floor.

Check out the videos for information on how to start teaching “go to mat” and “off” behaviors.

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Ask for Help

If your dog shows significant signs of anxiety after you’ve brought your baby home such as a change in appetite, change in overall activity level (either extreme lethargy or over-activity), or avoidance, chat with your veterinarian or a certified professional dog trainer. If your dog previously has shown any issues with resource guarding, contact a trainer who uses modern, science-based training methods to work on these issues before your child becomes more mobile. Remember to ask for help from your friends and family. Ask them to take your dog for a spin around the block or to fill Kongs. Even a little bit helps, and your dog will notice the difference.

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