Few parts of expecting my second child were as terrifying as anticipating how our less than one year old husky puppy would react to a new baby.

You see, I fall firmly in the “dogs are family members” sect of pet owners.

Sure I may not always like Moana’s behavior, like when she uses my favorite flip flops as chew toys or destroys a brand-new gate, but I do always love her and value her as an irreplaceable part of our clan.

So I really needed this to go well, very very badly.

Because if it didn’t, giving her away wasn’t an option meaning I would have a significant amount of work cut out for me.

One of the reasons we settled on a husky is that they are renowned for their even temperaments. They will act the same if you turn your back or if you are standing glaring at them after their most recent misinformed escapades.

We valued this quality because it provided some level of assurance as to how she would behave around our oldest child, but when it came to a new baby I had more than a few nightmares about her viewing it as her newest squeaky toy.

So I set about making this transition as easy as I could for her (and hopefully us as well).

I read plenty of articles, but also considered some details I felt they missed. It’s these details that I believe led to the addition of our new baby going as smoothly as it did.

So if you are where I was then and are more than a little worried about how your fur child will adapt, here are a few tips you may not have thought of.

Work on Training Early

You need your dog to listen to you with a new baby in the house and that will require a bit of training, especially if you haven’t done so before.

In our house we primarily focused on Sit, Stay, Down, Out, and Outside (although I’m pretty sure the lesson she learned the fastest is what “Treat” means).

If funds allow taking your pet to training classes would definitely be a worthwhile investment, but if you can’t just be consistent in your at home training endeavors.

 Relocate Sleeping Arrangements Early

This is probably less of a concern if your dog is crate trained, but our Moana did not do well in a crate at all (in spite of months of trying).

So for the first 6 months of her life with us she became accustomed to sleeping on the floor in our room. This obviously had to change, not only because I had concerns about our pup getting curious about the new addition but also because animal fur and dander don’t mix well with safe-sleep guidelines.

We opted to move Moana out of our room during my fifth month of pregnancy and I would suggest that be the latest you relocate your pet if necessary.

You don’t want your pet to associate the baby with them losing their favorite sleeping spot, and it is WAY easier to deal with any whining, scratching, or in our case howling if you aren’t sleep deprived and aren’t trying to keep a newborn asleep.

Adjusting to a new sleeping spot is hard, adjusting to a new baby is harder, so do your pet (and yourself) a favor and put as much time as possible between the two.

Plan for Your Hospital Stay

Home birth’s account for less than 2% of all American births, so chances are you will have to leave your furry friend somewhere while at the hospital or birthing center.

You know your dog best and it is extremely important you find an option that will have your dog feeling as good as possible for their introduction to your newest love bug.

Our dog does not do well at a kennel, we have used one once and, despite it being a nice facility, the separation anxiety reduced her to skittish mess that cried whenever we left her side for weeks after our return.

I knew I could not deal with her in that state after returning from the hospital baby in tow, I also knew that leaving her unattended was not an option seeing as she has a proclivity to get destructive if left alone for too long. So I asked my mom to stay at our house and thankfully she obliged.

I strongly suggest leaving your furry friend with someone they know, preferably in your home, while you are away.

You want your dog to be in the correct state of mind for this meeting and being wound up after being handled by strangers in an unfamiliar place is potentially setting yourself up for failure.

Introduce the Baby’s Scent

Have whoever is watching your doggo bring home a worn onesie, blanket, or hat.

Ask them to let your pet sniff it from a distance while the item is being held and get used to the scent.

It should go without saying, but don’t let the item be left around as a chew toy.

Greet Your Pet First

If your dog is anything like mine, they are going to be extremely excited to see you when you get home, after all you’ve been gone FOREVER in dog time.

In this highly excitable state all that training you’ve worked so hard at may become a thing of the past, which means it is not good idea to bring baby in just yet.

When we got home I came inside first and greeted Moana and gave her lots of love while she checked out all the new smells I brought home with me.

My husband then spent his own quality time with her and took her out for a long walk to get her calmed down and wear off of her seemingly endless energy.

Hope for the Best, Plan for the Worst

We all love our furry family members and hate to think that they would ever hurt our children, but it does happen.

Hoping that your dog will behave during this meeting isn’t enough, you need to have a plan in place for the unthinkable.

Our plan was to leave her harness on and that, while both of us would be watching carefully, my husband would be focused solely on our dog’s actions and nonverbal cues. If at any point she showed any signs of aggression or got too excitable he was to haul her out of the room immediately.

Luckily it didn’t come to that but I would highly encourage you to take very precaution you need to to keep everyone safe.

Monitor Relentlessly

Moana has been so good with Greyson, but that doesn’t mean I’ve let my guard down.

I don’t leave them unattended and, while Moana has gotten in a few licks here and there, we still try to keep a known boundary around the baby.

I know you love your pet, but it is in their and your baby’s best interest to always supervise any interactions closely (especially once your lil’ one starts exploring and may go for the dog’s tail).

Luckily for us everything went swimmingly and, despite her youthful exuberance, our not-so- little puppy made room in her heart for our newest addition.

As our little one becomes more mobile I’m sure we will experience a few new challenges, but so long as we keep in mind the goal of keeping all of our family members safe no matter their species, I’m sure it will be fine.