Dog and New Baby: How to Prepare Your Dog Before the Birth

In brief

A baby changes almost everything for your dog: the daily routine, attention, sounds, smells, visitors. Five things matter. First: in the studies summarized by Jakeman et al., the biting dog belonged to the family in around 70 percent of cases, and children were commonly bitten at home. Second: in children under six, the most common context in a clinical case series was the dog guarding a resource, often food. Third: two thirds of the dogs in that series had never bitten a child before—“our dog is sweet” is no safety guarantee. Fourth: preparation belongs in the pregnancy, not in the week after the birth. Fifth: risk changes substantially once the baby becomes mobile and can close distance, reach objects and enter the dog’s resting areas.

This guide shows what the data on bites to young children say, how to prepare your dog, and how to set up everyday life so that dog and child can live together safely.

1. What changes for your dog

For a dog, a baby is not a happy event he understands but a series of changes that arrive all at once. In practice, these are the main ones:

• The daily routine. Walks at different times, shorter, more often with other people.
• Attention. Less time together, less play, tired people.
• New stimuli. Crying, new smells, stroller, infant car seat, bouncer, squeaky toys.
• New rules. Rooms that are suddenly off-limits, the sofa he’s no longer allowed on.
• Visitors. Often many more people in the house during the first weeks.

A veterinary review on preparing pets for new family members recommends exactly this: change the household early, get the dog used to the new stimuli beforehand, reward desirable behavior, and seek professional help early if problems arise (Bergman & Gaskins, 2008). That is a recommendation from clinical practice, not a study comparing different approaches. But the logic is simple: every change that is already routine before the birth is one your dog doesn’t have to process at the same time as the baby.

2. What the data on bites to young children show

2.1 The family dog, at home

In the studies summarized by Jakeman et al., the biting dog belonged to the family in around 70 percent of cases, and children were most commonly bitten at home. Children under two and those around nine to twelve years old were particularly often affected. In children under five, the head and neck were especially common injury sites (Jakeman et al., 2020). Small body size contributes to this, because a young child’s face is closer to the height of the dog’s head.

👉 Dog bites and children: what the risk data show and what prevention achieves

2.2 Food, toys, resting places

A study of 111 children bitten by 103 dogs separated the triggers by the children’s age (Reisner et al., 2007). In children under six, the most common context was the dog guarding something, in 44 percent of cases. Where the dog knew the child, guarding food was the single most common trigger, at 42 percent.

In the same series, 66 percent of the dogs had never bitten a child before, and 19 percent had never bitten any person. In half of the dogs, a medical condition that might have contributed to the bite was identified or suspected, and an anxiety-related problem in 77 percent (Reisner et al., 2007).

A note on scope: this is a case series from a veterinary behavior referral clinic in the United States. The figures describe dogs that were referred after a bite and can’t be generalized to all dogs. The study could not determine whether the medical conditions contributed to the bite. But the patterns are clear, and they show where preparation has to start: with food, objects, resting places and the dog’s health.

👉 Resource guarding in dogs

2.3 What happens while adults are present

In a survey of 402 caregivers of children up to six years old, 46 percent frequently observed the child hugging the dog and 27 percent the child kissing it. 27 percent reported that the child frequently took its own toys back from the dog (Arhant et al., 2017). These interactions were reported as part of everyday family life. The study also showed that several child interactions became more frequent as children got older, and that their occurrence was associated with caregivers’ attitudes toward supervision.

In practice: a child hugging a dog is holding him, bringing its face to the dog’s head and taking away his option to move away. To many people this looks affectionate. For many dogs it is a situation they cannot leave.

2.4 Behavior patterns often change before a bite

A video analysis of bite situations found that in some dogs, non-neutral body postures and some conflict-related behaviors increased during roughly the final 20 seconds before the bite (Owczarczak-Garstecka et al., 2018). There was no uniform warning sequence, however, and not every known stress or appeasement signal showed this pattern. Changes in body posture were particularly notable.

👉 Warning signals in dogs

3. Preparing during pregnancy

The following steps combine the recommendations of the veterinary review (Bergman & Gaskins, 2008) with experience from training. No study has tested this exact sequence.

3.1 See your veterinarian first

In the case series, a possibly contributing medical condition was identified or suspected in half of the dogs (Reisner et al., 2007). Pain or illness can alter a dog’s response threshold and tolerance of touch. A health check during pregnancy, especially for older dogs, is therefore sensible.

👉 Recognizing pain in dogs

3.2 Anticipate the new routine

In practice: change the routine and rules as early as possible, ideally a few months before the birth.

• Adjust walk times to the later routine, and let other family members walk the dog now.
• Rooms and furniture that will be off-limits later should ideally be reorganized beforehand, for example with baby gates. Abrupt rule changes only after the birth can create additional strain.
• Don’t artificially increase time together only to cut it abruptly after the birth. A realistic rhythm that still works with a baby is better.

3.3 Set up a retreat

Your dog needs a place where nobody disturbs him—later including a crawling child. A blanket in a quiet room, behind a gate, or an open crate he uses voluntarily. Set it up now and link it with good things: chews, food, quiet.

👉 Crate training dogs: when a crate makes sense

3.4 Practice the cues you’ll need

In practice: with a baby in your arms, you don’t have a hand free. So practice the cues now that will then have to work without a leash and without a treat in your hand:

• Going to his place and staying there relaxed.
• Coming when called indoors, including from another room.
• Leaving something alone, for example a dropped pacifier.
• Loose-leash walking next to the stroller. Practice with the empty stroller before it’s full.

3.5 Get to know new stimuli beforehand

Infant car seat, bouncer, stroller, baby lotion, crying: what your dog gets to know calmly before the birth is no longer new afterward. Set up new furniture early and let him explore it calmly. One possible practical approach for sounds is to play a baby crying very quietly at first and pair it with something pleasant; increase the volume only if your dog stays relaxed. There is no direct comparison study for this exact procedure in this context.

👉 Desensitization and counterconditioning in dogs

3.6 Address known problems now

If your dog guards food, toys or his place, reacts fearfully to noises, growls when touched or has ever snapped, now is the time for professional help. Not in the week after the birth, when everyone is tired. According to the data in section 2, resource guarding in particular is the most important starting point.

👉 Why dogs growl—and why you should take it seriously

4. The first weeks

4.1 The arrival

In practice: come in alone first, without the baby, and greet your dog calmly; he may not have seen you for a few days. Afterward he can get to know the baby from a little distance, on leash or behind a gate, while a second person stays with him. Let him sniff if he wants to and reward calm behavior. Don’t force an encounter, and don’t hold the baby in front of his nose.

4.2 Baby present means: good things happen

In practice: calm presence of the baby can be paired deliberately with pleasant consequences—such as attention, access to a resting place or occasional food—provided the dog remains relaxed. The aim is not to feed constantly, but to avoid making the baby predict only exclusion or loss of attention.

4.3 Supervision worth the name

The common advice is: never leave dog and child unsupervised. It is right, but it does not yet define what good supervision looks like. Arhant et al. found that potentially stressful interactions such as hugging, kissing and taking objects occurred commonly in family life and were associated with caregivers’ attitudes toward supervision. In practice, one simple rule helps: either an adult is actively there and watching, or dog and baby are separated by a door or gate. “I’m next door in the kitchen” is not active supervision.

5. When the baby becomes mobile

Children under two and those around nine to twelve years old are particularly often affected by dog bites (Jakeman et al., 2020). For families with a baby, risk changes especially once the child becomes mobile: the child crawls toward the dog, grabs fur and ears, takes objects and reaches the food bowl and resting areas.

• Eating and chewing separately. The dog eats and chews where the child can’t get to, behind a gate or door. Food was the most common trigger with familiar dogs in the case series (Reisner et al., 2007).
• The resting place is off-limits for the child. A sleeping or resting dog is not disturbed.
• Separate the toys. Dog toys and children’s toys often look alike. Whatever lies on the floor soon belongs to nobody in particular.
• No hugging, no sitting on the dog, no kissing. Even if the dog has “put up with it” so far.
• Practice petting early. As soon as the child is old enough: with one hand, on the side, briefly, and only when the dog comes over himself.

👉 Children and dogs: living together safely

6. When to get help

Get professional help if your dog stares at the baby and freezes, approaches stiffly, growls, lifts his lips or snaps—or, conversely, conspicuously avoids the baby, withdraws persistently or eats noticeably less in the child’s presence. A marked general change in behavior after the birth should also be assessed by both a veterinarian and a behavior professional. Until then, keep dog and child consistently separated. Do not punish growling. It provides important information about the dog’s state; punishment can suppress visible warning signals without changing the underlying motivation.

7. A note on the evidence

The data on bites to young children are comparatively good: a review of management and prevention (Jakeman et al., 2020), a clinical case series with 111 children (Reisner et al., 2007), a survey of 402 caregivers (Arhant et al., 2017) and a video analysis of bites (Owczarczak-Garstecka et al., 2018). But none of these studies tests whether a particular preparation before the birth prevents bites. The recommendations on preparation come from a veterinary review (Bergman & Gaskins, 2008) and from practice; where this guide reports experience from training, it says “in practice.”

8. Conclusion

A baby and a dog can grow up well together. Safety does not depend on the dog’s character alone; it also depends heavily on how daily life is organized and interactions are managed.

The three things that make the difference:

Prepare early. Vet visit, routine, retreat, cues and new stimuli belong in the pregnancy.

Protect food, toys and the resting place. Resource guarding, especially around food, was the most common context with young children in the case series; toys and resting places are important management points as well.

Actively supervise or separate. Especially once the baby becomes mobile.

Key takeaways on dogs and new babies

Often the family dog, often at home. In the studies summarized by Jakeman et al., the biting dog belonged to the family in around 70 percent of cases, and children were commonly bitten at home. In children under five, the head and neck were especially common injury sites.

Two age groups are particularly affected. Children under two and those around nine to twelve were particularly often bitten (Jakeman et al., 2020).

Resource guarding was particularly common in the clinical case series with young children. In children under six it occurred in 44 percent of cases; with familiar dogs, food was the most common single context at 42 percent (Reisner et al., 2007).

“Our dog is sweet” isn’t enough. Two thirds of the dogs in the case series had never bitten a child before (Reisner et al., 2007).

The health check is part of it. In half of the dogs, a possibly contributing medical condition was identified or suspected (Reisner et al., 2007).

Supervision needs to be active. Hugging, kissing and taking objects were commonly reported in family life, and their occurrence was associated with caregivers’ attitudes toward supervision (Arhant et al., 2017).

Behavior patterns often change before a bite. In the video analysis, non-neutral body postures and some conflict-related behaviors increased in some dogs during roughly the final 20 seconds before the bite; there was no fixed warning sequence (Owczarczak-Garstecka et al., 2018).

References

• Arhant, C., Beetz, A. M., & Troxler, J. (2017). Caregiver reports of interactions between children up to 6 years and their family dog – implications for dog bite prevention. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 4, Article 130. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2017.00130
• Bergman, L., & Gaskins, L. (2008). Expanding families: Preparing for and introducing dogs and cats to infants, children, and new pets. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice, 38(5), 1043–1063. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvsm.2008.04.004
• Jakeman, M., Oxley, J. A., Owczarczak-Garstecka, S. C., & Westgarth, C. (2020). Pet dog bites in children: management and prevention. BMJ Paediatrics Open, 4(1), e000726. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000726
• Owczarczak-Garstecka, S. C., Watkins, F., Christley, R., & Westgarth, C. (2018). Online videos indicate human and dog behaviour preceding dog bites and the context in which bites occur. Scientific Reports, 8, Article 7147. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-25671-7
• Reisner, I. R., Shofer, F. S., & Nance, M. L. (2007). Behavioral assessment of child-directed canine aggression. Injury Prevention, 13(5), 348–351. https://doi.org/10.1136/ip.2007.015396

Note: This guide does not replace individual advice. If your dog growls at, stares at or snaps at a baby or toddler, keep them consistently separated and get help from a veterinarian and a behavior professional.

Frequently asked questions about dogs and new babies

Preparation, first weeks and the crawling stage