When my husband and I were expecting our son, we were nervous like all first-time parents. To alleviate some of our anxiety, we made sure we did our homework and read up on what to expect and what was expected of us. One of our main concerns was how to handle bringing a new baby into the house with our original ‘babies’ – our two pet Shi Tzus. For four years, our dogs were the center of our universe. We made sure we got a brother and sister from the litter so they would not be alone when we were at work and we took every opportunity to spoil them rotten. We took our dogs on vacation with us, took them with us to visit friends, had special beds for them and showered them with special treats, toys and food.

I was fortunate to have a neighbor who faced similar concerns when she brought her son home to her ‘baby’ beagle a few years earlier. She gave me two books for me to read on how to help your dog adjust to the new creature entering their world. The books were great and had a few good tips that we followed through with when we initially brought our son home. However, as our son grew, we began developing our own methods to help him peacefully co-exist with the dogs. Some practices that have worked well for us are:

· Teach ‘gentle, gentle’: Right when our son began to moving around and started reaching and grabbing, we emphasized ‘gentle’ touching and petting with the dogs. It took awhile for him to grasp the concept and it is still something we occasionally have to remind him about. However, he learned early to love the dogs and to take care of them.

· Be respectful of your dog’s peaceful areas: Before our son arrived, our dogs each had an area of the house where they preferred to hang out; one behind a big chair in the living room and another on the couch in front of the living room area. Our son has learned, through constant reminders, that these are special areas for the dogs where they like to rest and to leave them alone. Having these areas away from a sometimes hectic house seems to make the dogs happier and more accepting of a little boy in their world.

· Get kids into the routine: Dogs, like kids, enjoy a routine. Our dogs love to walk and I did not want to get them out of this habit as it seems to make them happier to get out, sniff around and explore. As my son has grown, he has gone from walking the dogs while riding in his stroller to toddling down the street with the dogs to taking the leash and walking the dog on his own (with a little help from mom and dad sometimes…). He has also learned to play fetch with the dogs and to give the dogs treats. These routines seem to make the dogs happy and have helped my son enjoy the family pets.

Not every day is easy with dogs and kids and the combination of the two can get a little overwhelming at times. However, if you take a little time to enforce some basic practices with your kids and dogs, everyone seems to live together happily and the stressful times seem to happen less often.

By Kirsten Goulet