10 Ways Dogs Can Have a Positive Influence on a New Baby
Dogs are notoriously friendly creatures, but what if you’re integrating a new baby into the picture? Discover how your furry friend could help out in so many ways…
Anyone who has ever had a pet will know that they bring such positivity and light into the world. That said, many people choose to get pets before they have children, and then they must later become accustomed to any new arrivals, including babies.
As an expecting or first-time parent, you may have some anxieties about integrating your dog with your new born. That said, today, I’ll be showing you how dogs can actually have a positive impact on your baby, in more ways than one.
I’ll also be diving into how your dog could benefit you if you’ve experienced an injury to your baby during childbirth. If so, your new born baby, who could end up with a disability, may require extra care. So, if you’re trying to figure out how the world of a new baby works, and how your dog could help, read on.
How to Introduce the Dog to my New Baby
Before we dive into how your dog could have a really positive impact on your child, it’s important to put your mind at ease. The best way to do this is to provide some key pointers on introducing dogs and babies to one another for the first time:
- Ensure to give your dog a good amount of attention: it’s common for pets to exhibit a little jealousy when a new baby comes into the picture. So, ensure you make as much time for your pup as you can, and gradually change their routine before the baby arrives. What’s more, if you make sure to give the dog attention when the baby is around, this will reinforce positivity.
- Get your dog used to baby smells: before the baby arrives, make sure to acclimatise your dog to the smell of nappies, baby lotion, and powder. What’s more, when the baby first comes home, allow your furry pal to sniff them, whilst controlling them with a leash.
- Ensure your home is free of dog hair and dirt when the baby arrives: new-borns require much more sanitised living spaces than adults, so it’s important to do a good spring clean before the arrival.
- Don’t scold your pup for being curious: your dog will likely want to explore your new baby’s toys, cot, and nappy station. Let them do so, so they can learn to get used to everything quicker. But, if they start to cause mischief by jumping up to the crib etc. placing a baby gate on doors is a good plan.
- Make sure your baby doesn’t pull on your dog: once your child becomes old enough to crawl, it’s important that you teach them not to hurt your dog. The baby may be inclined to pull on his or her tail or ears, and this could seriously aggravate them.
- Never leave the two alone together: even if your dog is trusted, you never know what might happen. Making sure you always supervise the two together is, therefore, paramount.
In most cases, your dog will become used to your new addition to the family pretty quickly. Different dogs breeds and personalities will affect the transition, of course. That said, it’s highly likely that they’ll become firm friends after the first few sniffs.
10 Ways Dogs Can be a Positive Influence on Your New Baby
So, now that we’ve explored the nitty gritty bits, to help you to overcome this first transition, what next? Well, once your dog and baby are introduced, there are plenty of ways your dog could truly benefit your child, including…
1. Protecting Your Baby
Dogs have a truly innate ability to protect their humans, especially new born babies. Their strong drive to protect their “pack”, otherwise known as your family, means you can forget anything bad happening to your child!
2. Showing Your Baby Responsibility
Once your baby becomes old enough, your dog can be a great tool to help your child learn what it means to look after something. You can have them help you with feeding and watering the dog, picking up their waste, walking them, and training them. This could really help to set them up for future responsibilities, including looking after their own pets and children.
3. They Can Play With One Another
Once your baby becomes a little older, they can become the dog’s play pal! So, whilst you’re working away in the kitchen doing housework, cooking dinner, doing the laundry, or anything else in between, they can keep each other occupied. Not only is this great for mum and dad, but it’s also fantastic for both baby and dog, who get more exercise when playing together.
4. Your Baby Could End up With a More Resilient Immune System
Some research has shown that children who grow up with pets become more resilient in future. For example, many children with pets grow up with less allergies, and even without asthma, too. But how is this so?
With dogs, in particular, it’s likely that more bacteria will be brought into the home than with other house pets. This is down to the fact that they play outside a lot, and this ‘good’ bacteria can certainly help with boosting your immune system. Because of this, when the child is later faced with certain bacteria, their body can be better prepared to deal with it, much like a vaccine.
That’s not to say that all the bacteria brought into the home will be good. Of course, with pets bringing in stray birds and mice, as well as mud and faeces from other animals into the home, it can be a minefield. However, as long as you maintain sanitary practices when something like this happens, the benefits will certainly outweigh the negatives.
5. Reduced Risk of Obesity in Your Child
Similarly, dogs, and other pets, can track bacteria like Oscillospira into the home. It might surprise you to learn that, when this bacteria gets into the gut, it can actually promote leanness within your child. Pretty amazing, right?
6. Improved Emotional Intelligence in Children
Dogs have the amazing ability to show people how to lead a compassionate life through having to care for something other than themselves. That’s not all, though, as your pup can also help your baby with recognising non-verbal social cues, and behaving non-judgmentally, amongst other things.
7. Great for Supporting Disabled Children
One of the most unique new baby gifts out there, especially for a disabled child who may require extra support, is a dog. Dogs are utilised professionally in the sphere of disability anyway, from guide dogs to therapy dogs for PTSD. So, why not approach this idea in your everyday home life, when your disabled child arrives into the world.
8. Improved Self-Esteem in Your Child
A dog will never make you feel bad about yourself; they love you unconditionally. So, having a dog is a fantastic way for your child to learn to love themselves too!
For example, if your child is a little embarrassed about reading out loud to a parent, perhaps reading to your dog could be a happy medium? This way, they can practice their literacy skills, whilst bonding with a creature, and improving their confidence in the process.
9. Improved Cognitive Development in Babies
Some studies, which introduced dogs into educational settings, even show that they can improve cognitive function. This is because they aid concentration, motivation and attention, and can help people to relax more. By reducing stress, which is a known productivity killer, humans become much more productive.
10. Your Dog Can Make Your Baby Happy
Cute dogs have a real habit of improving general welfare in people, including those who suffer from mental health conditions. In fact, studies show that pets actually contribute positively to those managing a long-term mental health illness. Clearly, dogs have an extremely positive psychological impact on anyone, and this goes for babies too.
Thinking of Getting a Dog for Your New Baby?
Clearly, despite preconceptions of how a dog could affect a child, the opposite is, in fact, true. It’s now become obvious that, once you’ve gotten over the initial barriers of introducing dog and baby, the benefits can’t be overstated. In fact, after all this, you might even be thinking, “where can I find dogs for adoption?”
The main thing to take away from all this is not to rush into getting a dog now, as this could be a challenge on top of a new baby. That said, if you already have a furry pal, and are concerned about how they might cope with your new arrival, hopefully your mind is now at ease.
Have you had any luck integrating your dog and baby together? I’d love to hear, in the comments below, how you found it. Perhaps dogs are the answer to a happy and healthy baby…