Behavior expert warns against ‘dangerous’ but ‘common’ mistake when introducing dog to your baby

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By Chaitra Krishnamurthy

29 May 2024

Introducing your baby to your dog is one of the most memorable moments, but not doing it cautiously can be catastrophic.

Videos of pet canines meeting their human baby for the first time fill social media to the brim. However, most depict a common mistake a dog psychology and behavior expert warns against.

Common mistake when introducing your dog to your baby

Steve Del Savio says people often give their baby’s blanket to their pet pooch before introducing them – a “big mistake” one must avoid.

He says several dog parents can be seen coming home with their newborn’s blanket and giving it to their pet to get them familiarized with the baby’s scent.

Not only does it get the dog excited, but it also activates their “number 1” sense, which is the smell. This makes the dog behave the same way when it meets the baby in excitement.

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While your pet pooch may not intentionally hurt the new member of the family, it can accidentally cause damage by getting on top of it to “invade its intimate space.”

He also recommends against introducing the baby to the dog directly as it can have similar effects on their senses.

@packleaderdogs

In the last video, we talked about how many people are doing a flawed approach to introducing a baby’s scent to their dog. It’s understandable because many trainers are the ones teaching their clients to this flawed approach. It usually involves a lot of excitement, the dog invading space, while giving treats and affection. In my humble opinion, we should not be teaching dogs to get aroused and/or invade space when we are introducing the scent of the baby. As you can see, when I introduce the scent to my dogs, I make sure they are in a calm state, and I ask them to keep their distance. I actually ask them to move just a little back so upon imprint of the first time smelling the baby, it teaches them that the scent of the baby is something to show respect and give distance to. For doing a great job, I positively reinforce their calm, respectful behavior around the baby. Notice I did not reward in an excited/aroused way using baby talk, a high-pitched voice, or anything like that. The goal is for them to stay calm so I stay calm when rewarding. Remember, an order of a dog’s senses is Nose -> Eyes -> Ears. The nose controls 60% of the mind, so upon imprint, the first time they are smelling the baby, it teaches them this is not a scent to get aroused around or to move forward towards. Next, when we bring the actual baby, they will already know that with that scent, it means to stay calm and give distance. I will show the actual introduction of the baby in the next video. I also HIGHLY recommend significantly exercising your dog before doing this exercise so we are not dealing with pent-up energy during this critically important imprint. Stay tuned for the next video when I introduce my dogs to the baby for the first time. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments below!

♬ original sound – Pack Leader Dogs

The correct way to do it

The dog behavior and psychology expert suggests a different method, instead. He uses the diaper and swaddle to introduce the baby’s scent to the dogs.

You should teach your dog to stay calm and keep some distance in the beginning and “over time when they are showing respect, you can start bringing in a little closer.”

You can do this by first introducing your dog to the scent of your baby’s diaper and asking them to back up. Then, make them smell the baby’s swaddle, followed by the same command to move away.

This teaches the dog to move away from the baby upon smelling it for the first time, thus stopping them from reacting.

This is called “imprint” when the dog is first introduced to the baby’s scent and all their senses – nose, ear, and eyes – will register the pattern.

However, it’s important to reward your dog while teaching it to back up after smelling the diaper and swaddle for positive reinforcement.

Steve Del Savio is a dog psychology and behavior expert with over 15 years of experience. He is the Owner & Founder of Pack Leader Dogs, who has turned his passion for animals and their behavior into a flourishing career in dog training, according to the official website.