Dogs · by Youssef Mahmoud · 2026-09-07

best way to introduce our dog to a newborn without making the dog feel exiled?

Baby due in six weeks. Dog is a 4 year old shepherd mix, gentle, a little clingy, well trained but definitely attached to me. We've read the standard lists. I'm more interested in what actually mattered in real houses full of laundry and sleep deprivation.

68 sparks · 5 comments

Comments

Curious River · 7 likes

Protect the dog from visitors too. Everyone crowds the baby and then accidentally crowds the dog because the dog is right there.

Youssef Mahmoud · 4 likes

The unchanged walk ritual makes a lot of sense. Thank you. I can already see how easy it'd be to let that slip first.

Sebastián Rojas · 3 likes

Practice with baby gates before the baby exists. The gear itself can become weirdly emotional for dogs.

Gentle Fern · 1 likes

I know people roll their eyes at scent swapping, but bringing home a hospital blanket first did help ours.

Thandi Mokoena · 1 likes

What mattered most for us: keeping one familiar walk ritual untouched, even on awful days.