A local animal welfare service is urging new parents not to get rid of dogs when babies are born.
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Bendigo Animal Welfare and Community Services’ founder Debbie Edwards said the group did field calls from parents as dogs struggled with changes at home.
“It’s not infrequent. It is certainly one of the reasons people surrender dogs,” she said.
“It is upsetting for us as an organisation because these animals have often been part of the family. We see it as a betrayal of pets.”
Sometimes parents believed they did not have time for the dog anymore, or had noticed it was acting unpredictably around the baby, Ms Edwards said. Often dogs felt jealous or ignored.
Obedience trainer Mark Murray said dogs should be companions for life, not until they proved inconvenient. Owners had to manage troublesome behaviors.
He said it was best to start planning and training with dogs as soon as people discovered they were expecting.
“You’ve got to remember that if a dog has not had that prior experience with children coming into the house it may well not see a baby as a human and as a result be quite unpredictable … when the baby’s in the house for the first time,” Mr Murray said.
“Keep in mind dogs are pack animals. So when a dog’s unsure what it is you can understand why sometime they might be a little uncertain about how to behave.”
He recommended people first make an accurate assessment of the dog’s temperament around other dogs, adult humans and children.
Then they needed to begin obedience training, especially for instructions like“leave it” and “don’t touch”.
“You can’t have the dog going up to the baby and investigating. There’s just too much risk involved,” he said.
Towards the end of the pregnancy Mr Murray encouraged parents-to-be to train dogs to walk alongside prams.
He also liked dogs to become familiar with the smell and presence of a baby once it had arrived. Dolls and baby-scented blankets could help.
For those already struggling with dogs, Mr Murray the most important thing was to sit with a trainer and create a plan detailing how the dog needed to be managed.
“That involves dog obedience training. That involves containing the dog when it’s around the baby. That involves the discipline of making sure you manage and control the dog,” he said.