Michael Wombacher

A useful book.

Notes:

-Before you do something nice for your dog, make her do something for you (sit, down, etc.). This should not be the same thing every time (e.g. sitting before dinner) or it's just "pattern training," not listening to directions. (6)

-Control access to narrow openings: your dog should wait for you to go first through any open door before being asked to follow. (16-17)

-"systematic desensitization" approach for the dog who is fearful of children: expose her to kids in amounts she can tolerate. Slow, incremental progress, not overnight results. (49)

-"situational learning" - have dog do obedience tricks for rewards around and for children, so she associates the presence of children with obedience and positive results. (54)

-when a dog is anxious or fearful, shift some of her attention to you instead via obedience commands and positive rewards. (55)

-Tired dogs are good dogs! (91, repeated). Make sure dog has enough exercise through walks, playing, or obedience routines so she isn't bored.

-Introduce changes ahead of time so that the baby's arrival is only a hiccup in routine. Think about what your house rules are going to be once baby arrives and start enforcing them now. Help you dog figure out which toys are hers and which are not by making them different from baby toys (e.g. tennis balls, kongs, etc.) and limiting their number. Can even dab child's toys with listerine so dog can tell them apart by smell. (95-96) See Canine Rules of Possession: http://www.dogster.com/dogs/227795/diary/Snowies_diary/254395

-The dog should respect the child's eating zones the same as adult eating zones (no begging at the table or snatching up food as it falls around the high chair. "Cleaning up" in the area after a meal is fine). (104)

-Take the dog out on walks with the stroller before the baby's arrival so she can get used to it. Teach the dog to stay near you ("with me" command in combination with treats). Play the "pay attention" game where dog must pay attention to your stops and starts or receive a tug on the leash. The dog should learn to associate the presence of the stroller with controlled walking. (105)

-Baby's arrival: let friends or family members enter the house first. One of them might leash the dog. Ask the dog to sit, then bring the baby down for her to sniff, starting with the feet. Once the dog has sniffed and looked a little, go about business as usual (ha!). Later, sit on the couch and let the dog sniff the baby again. Ask for an obedience command, then allow more sniffing. Ask the dog to lie down nearby (with chew toy or kong) and hang out. (114-115)

-Spend as much time as possible together with dog and baby, so dog learns to associate attention/affection with the baby's presence. Problems generally arise at the 8-month threshold when babies become mobile (crawling, walking, etc.). Never leave your dog and child unsupervised! (118-119)

-Hide-and-Seek game: Have one adult hold the baby (AB), and another adult (C) stand in another part of the room. AB calls the dog and C says "go to AB!" Dog is rewarded with a treat. After repetition, the "come" call is dropped, and just "go to AB!" is used, with AB and C moving farther apart. Thus "recall" becomes "hide and seek." Can also be good if baby is lost - dog can find her ("go to [baby's name]!" (123-125)

Other:
-have a dog bed in the baby's room so the dog has a designated, out-of-the-way place there
-make the baby's room "invitation-only" and/or teach the "out" command… (mehr)