All Things Dog Blog

Friday, October 1, 2010

Fido Meets Baby: A Program to Prepare New Parents

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

Baby will Soon be on Level with Your Dog

Bringing home a new baby is one of the top reasons that dogs end up in shelters. Yet there is much a couple can do to prepare their pup, whether 10 lbs or 150. One trainer is taking up this challenge in the Orlando area by working with hospitals to offer a class for expectant parents with dogs. When I learned about this, my jaw dropped. What an obvious, unserved niche for dog trainers to focus on.

New parents have enough challenges, without having to figure out how to create a balance between baby and dog. Enter Mike Shamp and his program, Fido Meets the New Baby, currently offered through Florida Hospitals in central Florida. His class is presented monthly, helping couples prepare by offering education and tips to assist them with getting their dog through the transition. I was pleased to learn that his first topic is to explain the pack structure from the dog’s vantage point. So many owners struggle with their dog’s behaviors simply because they lack a basic understanding of how dogs view our families’ way of working.

Mike continues by acknowledging the challenges and stresses involved, and then helps couples establish a plan to prepare their dog for a new pack member, even before the baby arrives. By establishing new rules over time, these changes will not be interpreted as having association with the arrival of the new infant. This works to the family’s advantage, often making a significant difference in the dog’s acceptance and observance of his new rules.

While maintaining barriers of distance between baby and dog, the dog can still be given exposure to the new family member by scent, sight, introduction to baby’s ‘things’, and supervised visits that allow the dog to learn his limits with the baby.

Parents are encouraged to assure the dog that all is normal by maintaining a strong leadership role and continuing regular exercise and attention to the dog, as well as the infant. It is important not to banish and ignore the pup, when baby enters the scene.

If you, or someone you know, is preparing to bring home a new family member, this class or something similar to that offered by Mike, with Bark Busters USA, is a great way to prepare for a happy transition for both family and Fido. I encourage you to seek professional help--especially if you have a large or dominant dog--long before your infant is due to come home. How do you know if your dog is dominant? That's for your training professional to decide.

Join me again soon when I continue with this topic in more depth, sharing some tips and techniques both from my own repertoire and from Mike's. Thanks to Bark Busters USA for being a great resource on this topic.

Want to read more? Try one of these books, and don't miss my interview with a new mom, linked just below the books:

Related Reading: Dogs and Babies. An Interview with a New Mom

Today is giveaway day for our Music to Calm Your Canine Companion. Want to know who won? Check in with Oliver, our prize manager, at 5 Minutes for Fido. He's making the announcement over there on his own blog!

Did you miss the announcement for next Friday's prize package? Check out yesterday's post, where we showed you one more way to help your kids and dogs bond.

Visit Adopt a Dog Park

Help protect our precious dog parks

Follow All Things Dog at Twitter Find me at Facebook

Bookmark this on Delicious

Monday, July 5, 2010

An Interview with Tanner, My Golden Retriever, and Houdini Wannabe

by Carrie Boyko

Tanner, My Goofy Golden

This idea was prompted by a reader's letter that suggested I help you guys get into the heads of my dogs--i.e. get to know them a little better. What better way to get acquainted than with an interview.

I know it's a little quirky, and a lot corny, but if anyone knows what my dogs are thinking, it's me, so here's Tanner's interview. Hope you enjoy:

Tanner:

"I'm over the hyperactive stage now; just give me a daily walk or dog park visit and don't leave out the afternoon swim with my favorite fetch toys. Fetch is loads of fun, and I'm trying to teach Mom to throw a Frisbee. I could use some help with that, but I guess we all have talents and challenges. Mom says she throws like a girl, and she's not kidding!"

"I love chow time and I'm the master of patience while waiting for meal preparation. What is it that takes Mom so long to put food in a bowl? She rubs her scent on our bowls, then scoops the food with her hands, makes meatballs for Xena's thyroid medicine, and finally, our bowls are put on the floor. I almost always get to eat first, because I'm the best at waiting patiently. Mom and I are both proud of my personal best stay. While we were waiting for permission to eat one morning, the doorbell rang. By the time she returned it was nearly 30 minutes later and I was sitting in a puddle of drool. My breakfast was still in my bowl though. I got lots of praise for that!"

"Meeting mom at the door when she comes home from errands and stuff is really exciting. She always has good smells on her and I enjoy giving her a good once-over. Sometimes we think about getting into Therapy dog work so that I can go out and share my friendly nature with lonely folks. I'd really like that."

"I love going to see the vet. We always shop for goodies there in the place where they keep pup toys and stuff. My vet gives me a nice massage while I get my physical. Mom says I have to get shots sometimes, but she talks to me like everything is fine and I never notice them. What's up with that? Patches, my cat, turns a shot into an international event!"

"Next to my pool and the dog park, my favorite place to play is my doggie daycare, where I go to hang with the 'ruff crowd.' All my best friends are there and we play with the toys, run on the grass, play in the pool, and jump around on the walls and obstacles. The girls that help us play have to put extra locks on the gates to keep me from opening all the doors, gates and other latches. It's a talent I have that is very useful. Yesterday, we had company in my pool, and I was not invited. Imagine that?! I let myself out the front door and went around back to swim with the guests. I'm so smart!"

"Speaking of obstacles, I tried out agility training for a year and a half. I really had a blast on everything except the teeter; it was sorta scary, but I did it anyway. Mom and Miss Joanne said it was okay, so I believed them. Between you and me, I'm much better at Fetch.

"I can't give an interview without telling you what an extrovert I am. I LOVE everybody--dogs, people, cats, rabbits--you name it. I'm so friendly that I get my feelings hurt when people walk by without stopping to say hello. And snobbish dogs; well, I just don't understand that!"

"I better go now. Xena is frolicking with one of Dad's socks; that always means she'll be wanting to wrestle with me soon. I'm there for ya, Xena! Us pups gotta have our playtime."

Have you been over to check out OUR BLOG? It's called 5 Minutes for Fido. Xena, Oliver and I have started our own blog with tips for living happily with your dogs. After all, we're the experts. We have the happiest family ever. If you read more here, you'll see. I have the life!

Coming Soon:

An Interview with Xena, my Super Sweet, Senior, Retriever Mix, Rescued Rover and An Interview with Oliver