Welcoming a new baby into the home can present challenges for your beagle, as disruptions to routine, shifts in attention, and new sights, sounds and smells may all cause stress or anxiety in your dog.
It’s important for owners to be mindful of these challenges and take proactive steps to help their dog adjust to the new addition to the family. This may include providing plenty of positive reinforcement, maintaining consistent routines, supervising interactions between the dog and baby, and seeking guidance from an accredited dog trainer if needed.
With patience, understanding, and proper management, many dogs can successfully adapt to life with a new baby in the home.
There is so much you can do before the arrival of your baby to ensure a smoother transition for your dog:
Probably the most important thing to do before your new baby arrives is to deal with any behaviour problems your hound currently has. Even if your dog is well-behaved in general, issues like lead pulling can be much more challenging when you are walking with a pram. Contact an accredited trainer for help with this.
It’s important that you set up “safe zones” for your dog where they can take themselves away from the baby and get ample rest. Dividing your living areas with fencing or introducing baby gates between rooms can be a helpful way of doing this, BUT it’s important to get your dog used to the new setup as early as possible and avoid springing too many changes on them at once!
Teaching your dog to go to a place and settle can be invaluable for when you need to change a nappy, feed, or dress the baby. This exercise can be a fantastic tool, as, when trained correctly, your dog can be very motivated to go to their “place” and relax.
Lots of dogs find baby noises alarming, especially if they haven’t heard them before. So, it is important that you help them get used to these before the arrival of the baby. You can find lots of baby noise soundtracks on Spotify or YouTube. Starting at the lowest volume, play these to your dog daily whilst they are occupied with something that they enjoy (such as when they are eating dinner, have a chew, or during play). Over the days, you can slowly increase the volume until they are at a real-life noise level. The aim is to see NO reaction from your dog, so if they are worried or responding by barking, go back to a quieter noise level.
It can be really helpful to get your dog used to prams, highchairs, toys, playpens, and any other baby equipment, well before the arrival of your baby. Gradually introduce these items around the house in the months leading up to the birth.
Consistency is key with this training, and we suggest practising the below for a couple of minutes, twice per day:
It can be helpful to plan the first few meetings of dog and baby in advance:
Routine changes can have a big impact on your dog, especially if they struggle with anxiety.
Taking time to learn some basic body language can be hugely helpful for preventing any escalation in behaviours from your dog. It’s rare for dogs to engage in aggression simply for the sake of it, but many dogs will resort to growling or snapping if their early warning signals have been missed.
It is essential to contact a qualified professional if your dog is showing any signals of discomfort around your baby.
You should never leave a small child alone with a dog, however friendly the dog may have been to a child in the past. When dogs and children are present in the same space, it is essential that you are actively supervising them. This means watching them without the distractions of phones or other devices.
Once your child starts moving around, things can become more challenging as toddlers’ movements are sporadic and unpredictable.
When you are unable to supervise, the best way to prevent accidents is to keep everyone separated by using a child gate.
Beagle Welfare was formed in 1979 to give help and advice on beagles and to rehome those whose owners cannot keep them.
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