It may be quite difficult to understand as a parent, bringing your new born baby home for the first time and your dog is all over the baby. Of course, you would want to know why this happens.
Then the big question comes, why is my dog obsessed with my new born baby? Many dogs see infants as strangers and all of a sudden center of attraction because the attention would no longer be as much as it used to be for the dog and so this could be disconcerting to your dog.
This change can make the dog behave in a strange and unusual manner. The fact still remains that dogs are very friendly and loving creatures and most of these dogs love people a lot, most especially babies.
And this is one reason why they are called man’s best friend. Just like human, dogs are extremely social creatures. All dogs have a mating drive and den instinct which is part of the so called pack drive.
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Dogs love to protect the pack
When a dog has a strong pack drive and it is tightly bonded with it’s family, it’s only normal and neutral that it becomes very protective of a new born baby on their arrival at home. They usually have this extra deposit of love in their hearts for babies so to say.
Reading through this page would have you know everything you need, to discard whatever doubts you might be having as to why your dog is so obsessed with your new born baby.
There are some things that best explains the love dogs have for babies. The reason why dogs and babies get along so well is because they have few things in common. These two creatures,actually have a strong and common desire for someone who gives them attention. Just as we adults, also find it desiring to get attention from our loved ones. That’s the same way it applies to babies and pets(specifically dogs).
They also need playmates. They love to play a lot, they have a gentle disposition and they are pretty adaptable and they love being around their pack. Dogs are freaking weird and nothing brings out their weird quite like a new baby.
Your Baby’s scent is all new to your dog
I believe before now, we know that the nose of a dog is it’s primary sense for it to undergo and rule it’s own world. A dog’s sense of smell is incredible as it can detect anything regardless of what it is. Hence, smell plays a very much vital role in things that dogs love. For a new born baby, their’s this particular smell that comes from them which is quite different from that of the adult body.
This could possibly be one of the reasons why your dog loves to be around your baby always. The smell and sound of a baby are just unique and could be inviting for the dog. Once this smell or sound is perceived, your dogs picks up on energy, meanwhile the energy your baby gives off while crying could be anything but calm and assertive.This could lead to your dog being distressed and starts barking.
Dogs are naturally protective
From research, we could tell that dogs,have a strong sense of who their owner is and gets pretty much over protective of them, whether as kids or adult, it extends to every human they love. Most especially, those ones that are not big enough to protect themselves.
So the dog sees your baby as a weaker dog that has to be protected from harm because they are generally protective in nature. In a way, this would help create a connective relationship or a feeling of companionship between them.
Babies literally do have less conflict with pets generally, than they have with other family members like siblings. Dogs are great creatures and the bond between them,is just neutral. However, studies have shown that babies who are raised around dogs, have stronger and more resilient immune affinity system.
So, growing up around dogs will help reduce the risk of developing allergies and also reduces the risk of asthma. Also, when a kid is grown around dogs, it helps improve their self esteem. They get to become really bold and you see them happy always,which is one of the most significant benefit.
Research has proven it that when you interact more and stay around dogs often, it helps to raise the level of serotonin (which is crucial to maintain a sense of well being and security and also raises dopamine,which is associated with the attention,learning and pleasure for the brain.
Dogs have feelings just as we humans also do. They can easily tell when a baby is physically or emotionally attacked, which is why you shouldn’t worry much when you see your dog sniff or lick your baby’s face.
It could just be their own way of checking the baby’s health. All you need to do as parents is to be very careful and protective whenever you’re around your baby because dogs are just as sensitive as we human beings,they also listen to cues from their owner and also body languages with infants.
So you need to be really careful so the dog would understand that baby’s need to be treated and handled with caution. And your baby should be trained on how to respect your dog’s boundaries. After all it’s only neutral for your dog to feel this way since it has never had to compete for your attention as much as it is now.
Read also: How To Set Up A Baby Wardrobe: 8 Tips From a Fourth Time Mom
Dogs are highly intelligent (emotional-wise)
Also sometimes, dogs being around kids activates their protective parental instinct because they have high level of emotional intelligence. But if your dog exhibits problems that are beyond your control, I would advice you seek the help of a professional trainer.
Also know that regardless of how your kid loves your dog, your dog shouldn’t be found sitting on a baby sitter and on no account should your baby be left alone with your dog not even for a second because dogs can be violent at times, they could possibly think it’s same way in which they’ve always known to carry babies and in which their mother carries puppies in the mouth.
However, it could be that the dog is used to the presence of your baby and wants to become protective. This happens in two ways. The dog will become territorial and also more suspicious of strangers because it considers the fact that their is a weaker, needy member in the pack. That is why you would notice anytime the door bell rings or strangers come in to the house to come check up on the baby your dog would immediately go into the protect mode.
There are just two reasons or should I call them challenges, that would make your dog so obsessed with your new born baby. Firstly, overly protective and secondly too affectionate. You would see that when the dog is used to the presence of your baby, it is more likely for it to be a loving friend to your baby, and will just be as keen as the parent,just to show the baby some love.
But despite this affection, never leave your baby and dog unsupervised. And in a way, this does more good than harm to your baby but if you don’t like the idea of the dog being all around your baby at all time, you should be ready to address any behavioral issues and work more on training that needs to be done, like you socializing your dog more as this would help it not to be too protective.
However, you could create a decent and safe space, where the dog can be content with while playing with some toys and enjoying bones.That kind of setting would help distant your dog away from your baby.
Always make sure to keep your baby away from the floor when ever you have the dog around. 15-20 minutes shouldn’t be too much to spare while you give your dogs necessary training. Even though you won’t be the one to coach the dog, you could just hook up with someone to help out with this because it’s quite essential for the dog to be well exercised.
I get worried a lot when my dog starts to bark because I get scared that my little one would be hurt but the only way I could help overcome that challenge is to always keep my baby safe with me and not anywhere close to my dog.
You should also try as much as possible not to allow your dog have a close eye contact with your baby.Even while they are both sleeping,you shouldn”t leave both of them alone in the room because animals are unpredictable.
Final Thoughts
As much as your dog is so intensely attracted to your baby, do not let your dog extend beyond it’s boundary, always watch out for your kid whenever your dog is around. To prevent happenings is better than being sorry.