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The cot is being assembled, parcels keep arriving and your dog thinks the cardboard is the most interesting part. This is a useful time to start preparing them, while you can still introduce one change without also managing a feed, a visitor and a crying baby.
Dogs Trust recommends beginning early, making changes gradually and working at your dog's pace with rewards they enjoy. Equipment, sounds, smells and new routines can all be introduced before the birth. The stages below are a planning framework, not a promise that every dog will be ready by a particular week.1
Early pregnancy: plan the ordinary day
PDSA recommends checking your pet's health and preventive care early in pregnancy and establishing any new room boundaries before the birth. Ask your vet about the appropriate vaccination and parasite-control plan. Introduce dog-free rooms gradually, using gates or closed doors as appropriate to the household.2
Write out an ordinary day after the birth. Who gets the dog out, prepares food, answers the door and provides company? Then write an awkward day: a late hospital return, someone unwell, or a partner back at work. Agree named helpers and how they can access the things they need.
The RSPCA recommends bringing out the cot and pram ahead of the baby's arrival and teaching a comfortable resting place away from where you will be busy. Its advice recognises that altered walks, attention and household routines can leave a dog unsettled. Start practising the arrangements you expect to use.3
Try the room layout yourself. Can you carry laundry through without leaving two doors open? Where will the dog be when someone visits? A written plan is a start, but walking through these small jobs reveals what the plan has overlooked. Adjust the furniture or routine while you still have time to try again.
The middle months: one new thing at a time
Introduce baby equipment gradually and let your dog investigate at their own pace. Dogs Trust suggests pairing new items with something enjoyable. For recorded baby noises, start very quietly during a pleasant activity; increase only while the dog remains relaxed. If they look worried, stop and make the next session quieter.1
Keep a short note of what you introduced and how your dog responded. “Pram standing still, comfortable” is more useful than “pram training done”. Next time, decide whether to repeat the same easy experience. The point of the note is to notice change, not to complete every item as fast as possible.
PDSA suggests practising carrying a doll or wrapped teddy and introducing baby-related scents before the due date, rewarding calm behaviour. Set up the furniture as it arrives. These are rehearsals for unfamiliar sights and smells, not a test that proves how your dog will react to a real baby.2
Battersea recommends a quiet retreat and a physical boundary, such as a baby gate, for time away from children. Give the dog rest without being followed or disturbed. Work out where this retreat will be now, including how visitors will recognise that the space belongs to the dog.4
Use a message everyone can follow: “Please leave him when he's in his bed.” Share it before visitors arrive. Include any older children in preparations with age-appropriate jobs, while adults remain responsible for the dog and the boundaries. You are arranging everyday family life, so keep the instructions easy to repeat.
The final weeks: rehearse the handover
Dogs Trust recommends practising walking alongside the buggy before the baby arrives and rewarding the dog for staying beside you. It also suggests helping the dog learn to relax on the other side of a gate before that becomes part of a busy household routine.1
Do one rehearsal with the person who will care for your dog during the birth. Give them the feeding instructions, usual walking arrangements and contact details they might need. Keep supplies in their normal places. Ask them to tell you what was confusing, while fixing it is still a small task.
Before you need the plan
- A named person for dog care and someone who can cover if they cannot.
- Written feeding instructions and the supplies to follow them.
- An agreed arrangement for visitors, deliveries and open doors.
- A comfortable retreat that children will leave alone.4
- A way to separate dog and baby whenever attention is elsewhere.3
The RSPCA's rule is that a child should never be left alone in the same room as a dog, including the family's own dog. Make separation possible before you are tired and occupied. Decide what happens when you need to leave the room, even for a brief job.3
There is no need to arrange a dramatic first meeting for the camera. Give the person coming home from hospital room to settle, and agree who is handling each part of the arrival. You can change the day's plan if someone needs rest or the house is busier than expected.
Homecoming: attention has a practical meaning
PDSA advises choosing a quiet moment when the pet is calm and relaxed for an introduction, with close supervision. If the dog becomes excited, leave the situation quietly and try again when things are calmer. It says an adult should be within reach whenever baby and pet share a room.2
Dogs Trust describes supervision as staying close and paying attention, stepping in when a child or dog needs help, and separating them when you are busy or distracted. Being in the room while concentrating on a phone or another task does not meet that approach.5
When you cannot give full attention
Make the handover between adults explicit: “I'm taking the baby upstairs; the dog is behind the gate with you.” Do not rely on each person assuming the other is watching. Tell visitors the same arrangements, including those who are confident around dogs or keen to help with the baby.
Battersea recommends feeding dogs in a different room from young children and leaving them undisturbed with food and toys. Protect rest as well as meals. A dog's retreat should remain available through the bustle of visitors, rather than becoming somewhere children or guests go to find them.4
The next months: review as your baby changes
Your first homecoming plan is a starting document. Set aside a moment to review it when the daily routine changes: new care arrangements, a parent returning to work, or a baby beginning to move around. Ask the same practical questions about doors, rest, supervision and who is doing what.
A 2017 study surveyed 402 caregivers of children aged six or younger, mainly in Austria and Germany. Dogs that had lived in the home before children arrived were reported to show more fear-related behaviour than dogs already accustomed to children. The authors highlighted the need for early caregiver guidance and attention to the individuals involved.6
This was a voluntary questionnaire about family interactions, not a trial showing that one preparation programme guarantees safety. It supports taking adjustment seriously without assuming every dog will respond in the same way. Review what your own dog does as the household changes.6
Continue giving the dog choice about approaching and leaving. Dogs Trust recommends responding to early discomfort and giving space when dogs are eating, sleeping, resting or enjoying a toy. As your child develops, adults still need to maintain those boundaries on the child's behalf.5
Get help before a difficult pattern grows
If your dog's behaviour changes, especially if aggression appears suddenly, contact your vet. PDSA explains that pain can affect behaviour and a vet can investigate medical causes and recommend an accredited behaviourist. Avoid the situation that triggered the response while getting help. Do not punish warning signals or force another encounter.7
You can ask for help during pregnancy, too. Describe the concern plainly: difficulty settling behind a gate, distress at baby sounds, guarding a resting place or a previous incident around a child. Tell the professional when the baby is due so the plan can address immediate management as well as longer-term work.
Keep allergy findings in proportion
A Swedish study published in 2018 found an association between more household cats and dogs during the first year and less later allergic disease in two groups of children. It combined a questionnaire study with a smaller birth cohort. The authors discussed selection, recall and diagnostic limitations.8
Families were not randomly assigned pets. These findings do not establish that acquiring a dog will prevent allergies, and they do not justify arranging closer baby-dog contact. Health concerns about your child belong with their healthcare professional; your household safety and welfare plan still applies.8
Pick the next manageable job: move the resting place, speak to a helper or rehearse a gate routine. Leave room for your dog's response and for the realities of having a new baby. A plan you can use on an ordinary tired Tuesday is the one to practise now.
Sources and further reading8 sources
The small numbers in the article link to the source behind each fact. Sources open on their own websites.
- How to prepare your dog for a new baby
- Pets and babies: preparing for a new arrival
- Children and dogs: how they can live together
- Keeping children and dogs safe together
- Dogs and children: living happily together
- Caregiver Reports of Interactions between Children up to 6 Years and Their Family Dog—Implications for Dog Bite Prevention
- What should I do if my dog is aggressive?
- Pet-keeping in early life reduces the risk of allergy in a dose-dependent fashion