Preparing your dog for a new baby

Preparation starts before the birth. You can bring in changes to the schedule and the furniture one at a time. The same goes for the areas the dog is allowed into and for walks. Do it gradually and the dog won't link every lost freedom to the baby turning up. In the months before, you can build up a few behaviours: settling on a mat and waiting at the door. You teach it to walk calmly beside the pram and to go off to a safe space.

New sounds and objects get introduced at low intensity first, paired with things the dog enjoys. The dog doesn't need to get interested in the baby. It's enough that it can stay calm and choose its own distance. The first meeting is planned ahead, without a crowd. Nobody pushes the dog closer.

No dog should ever be left unsupervised with a baby or a small child, whatever its breed, age or history. Many people think it's enough to have an adult somewhere in the house. Supervision means an attentive adult, close enough to step in in time. Barriers and gates are normal tools, and so are separate areas.

If you see fear or guarding, or the dog freezes, growls or keeps avoiding the baby, get help before things escalate. Don't punish the dog for what it's telling you.

It's worth it above all if you're expecting a baby and your dog is sensitive to sounds or change. It also helps when access around the house and the dog's resting spot need reorganising.

The dog doesn't have to love the baby or stay near it. It's enough that the two can live safely in the same home and that the dog always has somewhere to get away to.

You look at the dog's routine and how it reacts to change. Then you bring in the barriers and the new objects.

Practise calm settling at a distance. Make a clear supervision plan for after the baby arrives too.

Look out for a few signs. The dog tenses up at certain sounds or tracks every movement intensely. It avoids some rooms. It guards its resting place. Each of these shows you how it's coping with the change.

Before the birth you need safety gates and a retreat area that belongs to the dog alone. Plan how walks will work once the baby is here. Agree shared rules for adults and visitors as well.

With serious preparation, supervision is active: the adult is watching the dog and the baby, not just sitting in the same room. Nobody takes photos with the dog pressed up against the baby, and closeness is never forced. The dog's resources and rest are carefully managed. The goals are realistic and you can see them. You get an explanation of what criteria the dog is asked to meet, how you reward it and how the difficulty goes up.

It helps a lot if the dog knows how to go to its place and retreat behind a barrier. A reliable recall matters too. Physical separation and supervision are still non-negotiable, however well the dog does these.

No dog should be left alone with a small child. Pain or a sudden change in behaviour needs assessing. Talk the risks through openly. Unsupervised access is the first. The second is punishing the dog for signalling discomfort. And the third is changing every routine at once.