Preparing Your Dog for a New Baby: A Safety Guide

What does the evidence say about preparing a dog for a new baby?

1. Children are particularly vulnerable to dog bites, often sustaining injuries to the head, face, and neck because of their proportionately larger heads and shorter stature compared with adults, who more commonly get bitten on the hands and arms. 1
2. Bites to the head, neck, and face carry a high mortality risk in children specifically, due to hemorrhage, proximity to the brain, and an increased risk of skull fracture, which is why supervision around the face matters more with a baby or toddler than it would with an older child. 1
3. Dog bites are not rare in pediatric medicine: they account for about 0.3% to 1.5% of all pediatric visits for medical attention, almost half of children experience a bite at some point, and bites are often unprovoked and happen at home with a dog the child already knows. 2
4. Specific household factors raise a family dog's bite risk toward a child: dogs with no yard space, dogs allowed inside 13 to 24 hours a day, and dogs that sleep in a family bedroom all showed a higher relative risk of biting a child in the home than dogs without those factors, and the risk of a child being bitten was inversely related to the child's age, meaning younger children faced higher risk. 3
5. Simple household steps lower bite risk generally: watching children closely around animals, and spaying or neutering a dog, which is associated with less aggressive behavior, are both specifically recommended alongside routine rabies vaccination for dogs in the home. 4
6. In one pediatric study of head and neck dog bites, about 43% occurred in children between 2 and 6 years old, and 77% of those injuries were to the face or mouth specifically, the exact zone a crawling or newly walking toddler brings closest to a dog's level. 1

Is preparing your dog for a new baby safe in each trimester?

• First trimester. Early pregnancy is a good time to start or refresh basic obedience work, a reliable sit, stay, and leave-it, so training is not competing with newborn care later. This is also a low-stress time to address any existing behavior concerns with a trainer or your veterinarian.
• Second trimester. As the nursery comes together, let your dog explore the new furniture and gear at their own pace, and start getting them used to baby sounds and equipment like a stroller, swing, or monitor running nearby, so none of it is startling later.
• Third trimester. In the final weeks, bring home a blanket or piece of clothing with the baby's scent before you all arrive home together, and plan the actual homecoming introduction on leash, in a calm, low-traffic moment, with the dog's own needs, like a walk first and time to settle, considered rather than rushed.