There's A Baby in the House: Preparing your Dog for the Arrival of your Child

by Mike Wombacher, Bruce Henderson (Illustrator), Rose Marie Guilbert (Photographer)

This book is the product of years of working with expecting dog owners both to resolve child/dog issues as well as to prevent them. After speaking with one person more than I cared to that was forced into surrendering their beloved family companion because they hadn’t taken measures to prevent problems I decided to put everything relevant on the subject into writing in hopes that others would not have to undergo the same ordeal. The first section involves relationship building and the elmination of annoying behaviors that would be problematic in the presence of a young child such as counter surfing, door crashing, jumping up and so on. The second section deals with more serious behavior problems such as object guarding, fearfulness, separation anxiety, territoriality and more. The third section discusses criteria for determining whether you should consider rehoming your present dog given certain dangerous behavior problems. The final section explains how to prepare for your child's arrival and teach your dog to develop powerful positive associations with him/her while at the same time exhibiting acceptable behaviors and becoming more closely integrated into your "pack."

124 pages, Paperback

First published September 21, 2001

Reviews

[Joolie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommend this book for dog training. You don't have to be bringing a baby into the house for this to be useful. it is really clear and simple and explains why he does the things he does. There's a sort of "12 Step" program for obedience. It saved me and my dogs life in some ways - plus training with the author and i would recommend it for any pit owners or folks who have dogs with behavior issues. Warning: It blends positive reinforcement with corrections. His philosophy is closer to the Dog Whisperer than the SPCA.

[Bekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It gave us great ideas of how to implement new rules and training methods to our dog as we prepare him for a new baby. The 12-steps in the book are very straight-forward, logical and easy for the reader to develop a strategy.