Preparing Your Dog for the New Baby While You Are Pregnant

My husband and I found out in November 2010 that we are expecting our first child! We are delighted about the news, but we feel that our dogs, Petey and Harley, have been like our children. In fact, you could say for the past 10 years, we’ve been “parents” to them. We’ve taken care of them when they were pups, woke up all hours of the night for potty training, kept them fed, clean, and loved. By being pet owners, we feel it gave us an edge on what to expect when the baby is here–from messes on carpets, to middle of the night awakenings. Of course, we are extremely excited about the new arrival, but like many other pet owners who are expecting for the first time, we have some concerns as to what health risk our dogs could pose and how to get them ready for the baby. Some of the questions that were rolling around in our minds: What is safe for the baby and me when it comes to taking care of my dogs, and what special precautions should I take with them now before our new baby arrives?

We took the initiative and spoke to our vet and friends that have already had experience with owning a dog and then starting a family. I would like to share with you some tips and information we gathered which helped give us some peace of mind. We own two dogs, and there are honestly no restrictions on taking care of them during my pregnancy, as long as they are well cared for and healthy. Naturally, the further into my pregnancy I get, my daily routines will change. Because of these changes, my husband and I decided during this time he will pick up most of the dog care duties until the baby is here. If you are a cat owner, then you need to be aware of toxoplasmosis — a disease that can be transmitted through old cat feces and can be harmful to your unborn baby. No need to put your cat to the curb, but someone will have to take on litter-box duty during your pregnancy. Keep in mind, toxoplasmosis can also be transmitted through uncooked meat and soil. So, if you garden, take precautions like wearing gloves or pass the duty on until the baby arrivals. Any questions I had, I just asked my practitioner. Your health professional will be able to inform you more about precautions with this disease.

There are some preparation you can do for your dog to help with the adjustment prior to the baby’s arrival. Expose him to everything babies: their scents, noises, gadgets and smells. We are lucky enough to have family and friends with infants our dogs can be around. This will help them get a little more familiar to having a strange element in their environment. We tried to put ourselves in our dogs “paws” and realized this is a huge adjustment for our entire household. Their lives and everything they know now will soon be changed, including where  their dog stuff will be and their eating and sleeping arrangements once the baby is here. A great thing to do is start getting them familiar with the new arrangement now. Some even say that using a baby doll to rock, cradle and push in a stroller weeks before your due date helps get their pets comfortable with a baby’s daily care and routine.

Hopefully, these tips will help you and help your pet’s transition for the arrival of the new family member be a breeze. There are other challenges ahead once the bundle of joy arrives, but that’s for another day. The most important thing to remember is to enjoy your doggie and your pregnancy!