Dogs to Diapers

Preparing Your Dog for a Baby

Skill Level: Beginner

Length: 6 Modules

Access Period: Unlimited

Price: ~~$55.00~~ $41.25

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About

You’ll Learn the following:

-Exactly how to prepare your dog for the new baby

-How to take your dog on a stroller walk

-How to manage door greetings and dogs that jump

-How to keep dog and baby safe for car rides

-The seven types of dogs and how to meet their individual needs

-What might make a good dog bite and the surprising signs to watch for

-The biggest myth when it comes to introducing your newborn to your dog

-New jobs for your dog that will give them a new purpose as they transition to life with a baby

-Last-minute preps to check off before the baby arrives and right after delivery

We created this course because...

*We believe dogs don’t have to be victims of changing circumstances. They can be active participants!

*Much of the information on the internet is outdated and can cause more harm than good. Too many parents came to us after their baby was born, wishing they could have prepared their dogs proactively.

*Dog Trainers, doulas, birth educators, and childcare providers around the country wanted a reliable tool to help their clients’ dogs adjust to life with a new baby.

All the information you need to confidently manage dogs around a new baby is organized, easy to follow, and in one place. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your birthing journey.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Expecting families or Friends/Family/Co-Workers of somebody who is expecting who owns a dog. Doulas, Birth Coaches/Birth Educators, Ob Gyns, and Dog Trainers can benefit from the information in this course.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

none

Course Outline

MODULE 1: Teaching Your Dog Essential Skills
Having reliable obedience will help you be able to give your dog a job to do once your baby arrives. These jobs will make life with your baby and dog easier to manage and give your dog coping skills around the new baby.
- SEGMENT 1: Introduction of the Trainer and Course
  
  The best thing you can do for your dog and your family
- SEGMENT 2: The "Place" Command
  
  One of my favorite commands that gets the most use to this day!
- SEGMENT 3: The "Away" Command
  
  Creating space and the dog respecting your boundaries
- SEGMENT 4: The "Heel" Command
  
  Having a loose leash and understanding a position next to you while walking
MODULE 2: Incorporating Commands and Predicting Upcoming Baby Scenarios with your Dog Free Preview
This module is available for a free preview, no account required!

Your dog will know what you are asking of them once your baby arrives by showing him the “training picture” beforehand.
- SEGMENT 1: Stroller Walk
  
  Ensuring your dog has polite manners with Stroller.
- SEGMENT 2: Rules with Furniture
  
  Teach your dog to respect the rules of the furniture and beds by using the
- SEGMENT 3: Proper Door Greetings
  
  It is a safety concern if your dog jumps on you or is under your feet when you start coming through your door carrying a car seat. Teach your dog a proper greeting at the door by incorporating an
- SEGMENT 4: Invisible Boundaries
  
  Create an invisible boundary at the nursery room doorway. It is important for your dog to respect your time together with the baby in the nursery.
MODULE 3: Establishing New Routines and Habits with your Dog before the Baby Arrives
The earlier you make these changes, the more you will decrease your dog’s stress when your baby arrives. Remember your dog’s life and routine is also about to drastically change.
- SEGMENT 1: Schedule Feeding
  
  You can provide your dog a more structured lifestyle by not allowing him access to food 24 hours/day. Choose your dog’s feeding times and allow them 15-20 minutes to eat. If any food is left over simply remove it until the next feeding, it may take your dog some time to adjust
- SEGMENT 2: Car Travel with Baby and Dog
  
  Seatbelt your dog in your vehicle or accustom them to ride in a crate or your back hatch. Dogs are more comfortable when confined in the vehicle and is safer for the baby to not risk being jumped on while you are driving.
- SEGMENT 3: Baby Gates
  
  Teach your dog that healthy alone time is good by incorporating baby gates around your home. Provide your dog interactive toys to play and entertaining themselves with. Once your baby arrives, baby gates will be critical because you never want to leave your dog and baby together unsupervised.
MODULE 4: Desensitize Your Dog To Baby Sights, Sounds, and Smells
Help your dog adapt before your baby arrives.
- SEGMENT 1: Desensitization to Baby Cries
  
  The sound of a baby crying will not only be alarming to you but your dog as well. Randomly play downloaded baby cries until your dog is nonreactive to them. If you have an overly excitable dog, teach them to go to their “place” when you play the sounds.
- SEGMENT 2: Investigating New Baby Equipment
  
  Allow your dog to be part of the changes around your house. As you add new baby equipment let your dog investigate and show him the swings move, chairs vibrate, and toys sound.
- SEGMENT 3: Acclimating to Sitter/Boarding Kennel
  
  Decide who will watch your dog while you are away at the hospital and arrange some days for your dog to be watched or boarded now so that they won’t be anxious and you won’t be worried while you are away at the hospital.
MODULE 5: Do You Know Your Dog? | Discovering Your Dog's Personality, Temperament, and Genetic Needs
Knowing and understanding your dog’s needs and being able to recognize when they are uncomfortable will help you manage your home environment once your baby arrives and as your baby grows.
- SEGMENT 1: Personality
  
  Your dog’s personality traits can give you an indication of how they will react in various situations, around strangers, new environments, and most of all small children. Personality traits can also intertwine.
- SEGMENT 2: Genetic Characteristics
  
  Dogs were bred for specific reason and were created to have similar characteristics and behaviors. Research your dog’s breed to help your better understand their needs. Research the multiple breeds if you have a mixed dog.
- SEGMENT 3: Body Language
  
  Dogs communicate with us through body language when they’re getting stressed. Recognizing these stressors prior to your baby’s arrival is crucial to understanding when your dog is getting into a situation that they don’t feel comfortable with.
MODULE 6: Life with Baby and Dog
Now that your baby has arrived we have some last exercises to ensure the best introduction between your dog and newborn.
- SEGMENT 1: Introducing Article of Clothing
  
  Debunking the age old myth of having your dog smell an article of clothing from your newborn
- SEGMENT 2: Baby and Dog Interactions
  
  A step by step example of the first introduction of your newborn, Help with your dog until your recovery from delivery, Newborn photo shoots and settling into your new routine with the baby and dog
- SEGMENT 3: Our First Meeting with our Daughter and Dog
  
  From my family to yours

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FAQ

Is this information pertinent to me if I am a grandmother who owns a dog and will be watching the baby part-time at my home?

Yes! Your dog needs the same rules, boundaries, and jobs since the baby will be in your home environment. Don't think just because it is a part-time visit, the situations with the baby and dog will be left determined on their own. Remember that your dog is used to its routines and habits. Once the baby starts visiting, all that will change. We don't want your dog to become stressed or anxious around the baby. This course will show you how to start implementing changes to help your dog adjust and teach them their role once the baby is in the picture. We want to set the dog up for success around the baby and do everything to help form an organic bond.

My dog has been around kids and never had an issue. Do I need this information?

Yes! A child and a newborn/baby are completely different pictures for your dog. Most likely, your dog hasn't been exposed to the cries of a newborn. A dog can become stimulated by an infant screaming and moving in some cases. This can trigger a predatory response in your dog and endanger your baby.

*According to fatal dog attacks statistics, the age group with the highest number of fatalities are children under the age of one year old and account for 19% of the deaths due to dog attacks.
*Of these, 72% of deaths were newborns less than 90 days old.

Your dog might not perceive your newborn as a human. There are ways we can test our dogs to help us know how to train and prepare them for the arrival of our baby.

My dog has always been fearful and snapped at a few people. Will they be safe around my baby?

Any dog can bite even if they have not displayed any aggression. I have trained dogs that are fearful around strangers, and they have entirely accepted the baby as one of their family members. Many factors determine when a dog will not be safe around a baby, and until you educate yourself and train your dog for a baby, we can't make any assumptions about how your dog will respond to the baby and the changes.

Are there certain breeds that are more prone to bite young kids?

It's important to understand that any dog, whether they are friendly, aggressive, reactive, easy-going, service dogs, police dogs, professionally trained dogs, or even dogs raised around children, can bite.

It's also important to know that different breeds have different styles of how they bite, and therefore, they can cause more severe damage if they do bite.

How much content is in this course?

There are 37 videos (72 minutes) of content to watch in this course.