Preparing Your Dog for the Arrival of Your New Baby.

Meet Chloe!

Chloe is a 90 pound Boxer/Great Pyrenees Mix and she is used to being the center of attention. That's until her owners came home one day with a brand new baby!

Other than a little curious, Chloe seemed fairly comfortable with the families newest addition. Chloe belonged solely to her male owner first and her female owner had some problems getting Chloe to obey her commands as obediently as her husband's commands. Add to that the daunting tasks off having a new baby and I'm sure you imagine a whole list of possible problems that could arise. Lucky for Chloe her owner's realized the need for some professional help and that's when they contacted Zen Dog.

Honestly, the best possible time to start preparing your dog for the arrival of a baby is NOW. If you wait until the baby arrives you'll find yourself in a very comprising position and allot less free time to devote to your dogs training. Working on basic obedience with Chloe and both her owners would help ensure prompt responses to commands given as well as help define the new rules for Chloe. One of the most important things to get Chloe to understand was not to use her teeth for any reason. For Chloe her size alone was an issue and even incidental contact of her teeth could cause injury to an infant or small child. Games like Taking Treats Gently can greatly improve your dogs bite inhibition. In this game you present your hand with a treat concealed inside to the dog and wait until the dog gives up trying to use their mouth to access the treat then you feed it to them open handed.

Last but not least was introducing the idea of an indoor tether. A tether is a leash anchored to a secure object that you attached the dog to the end of. This would prove extremely useful when mom was home alone with the dog and baby. For example when someone comes to the door or the phone rings, when ever a situation comes up in which there disciplining isn't an option.

For more information about games like Taking Treats Gently, visit Zen Dog Online.