Roo’s got some news to share…
This was, in fact, the way that Husband learned that we’re expecting another (non-fur) baby in October. Planning this stunt included a two-day crash course in belly-targeting, some uncomfortably misplaced nose-nudges, and a whole bunch of peanut butter smeared on my belly. I couldn’t get Roo to generalize to the outdoors during the short time I had to train him, so you get a messy glimpse of my living room. I asked Husband to film a trick I taught Roo “for the blog” and then waited for him to put the pieces together. It took a looong two minutes.
The anticipation of a new kid has me thinking back on how we prepared Roo for our first baby, introduced her to him, and managed their interactions in the first months of her life. I’ve been pondering what I did, what I’ve learned since, what I hope to repeat, and what I would like to do differently this time.
Some things I did before that I hope to repeat:
- (Continue to) train Roo throughout pregnancy, with an focus on training behaviors that will be helpful with a baby.
- Convince my generous friends to take Roo to the dog park during the postpartum period.
- Indulge in nap snuggles with Roo during those exhausting newborn-nursing days.
- Keep Roo with me at all times. Having him follow me around the house—even to the bathroom—is the easiest way to make sure he’s not left unattended with either E. or the new baby.
Crazy to think I’m going to be doing this all over again…
Some things I hope to do differently:
- Be more intentional when introducing Roo to the new baby.
- Stuff more bones and kongs, and consider puzzle toys to keep Roo occupied.
- Use barriers more, since it will be difficult monitoring both 2-year-old E. and Roo when my attention is on the new addition.
- Blog more about raising kids and babies, and schedule guest writers for the postpartum period.
Tell me, readers with young children, what did you do to prepare your dog(s) for a baby? If you were doing it again, would you do anything differently?
