How do you prepare your pet for the arrival of a new baby? Share your tips below.

[CeriMumsnet]

Family is everything, and we know introducing your furry child to its new human sibling can be a very special moment. We’re asking parents (including expecting) to share their tips on how you’ve prepared your dog or cat for the arrival of a newborn baby.

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Give your dog a safe space which is quieter if they are easily scared, start training not to jump up - start this with your bump. give them praise and love, and allow them to get used to the new smells and sounds gradually. Try to limit barking - my dog used to bark at everything - but now with training we have reduced this.

I think it is important to prepare as long as you can beforehand, 3 months before my due date I moved my dogs basket into the dining room, and added a safety gate for him to get used to this, stopped him jumping up to greet me, and let him smell the new aromas (baby bath, sudocream, and others) to get his senses used to the new smells.

If you have a friend with a baby, and they are willing, take your dog for a visit to get used to new noises and smells, give them a safe space to go, if needs be move their bed out of the way of you new arrival - taking time to think about this long term when baby begins to move and toddle.

I agree to so many posts above, a quiet space to go, adjusting to new smells. I prepared mine by buying a new bed (the one they can go into and it surrounds them - like a comfy cave - I thought of this as a safe space, I also set a space in my garden, fenced off from the patio area with shelter under the tree, where he could go - just to get away from it all and be in the fresh air. My back garden is very secure and only accessible by going though the house so very safe.

My tip is to introduce your baby when your pet is calm and relaxed. When baby comes home for the first time, you can introduce your pet to their scent by showing them your baby’s clothes or blanket first. Once they have been shown the scent, you can gently allow your pet to greet your new arrival in a quiet room with close supervision. If they become excited, it’s best to leave quietly and start again when your pet has calmed down a little. Let them know when they are not allowed to jump near baby, by calmly telling them and treating when they sit down in front of baby.
Make sure the litter tray is set in a place that your crawling toddling baby cannot get to well in advance of this stage

If you have family / friends with babies, get them round so your 4 legged friend gets used to that sort of thing.

Also get the baby paraphernalia (moses basket, pram, bouncer etc) out so they get used to seeing it and being around it.

I think our cats knew the baby coming - animals are much more sensitive to those changes in hormones than we are! They would often snuggle up with me (perhaps making the most of my attention before the baby arrived & they moved down the pecking order!)
We let the cats into the nursery to have a good sniff around everything & when we came home with our son - they approached for a cursory sniff, but soon scarpered when he let out his first cries at home! They soon got used to the new arrival & within a week or so, were snuggling up on my lap just as before :)

For my cat, I bought a new cat gym, one where she could perch out of harms way, for my dog, I let her smell the new aperatus, and brought baby to her when he was awake but calm, for her to look at, and get used to the smell of the new little person.

Set ground rules for you pet as early as you can into the pregnancy, no jumping up, make sure they don't pinch food off plates, give your pet a safe space, keep loving your pet - they can feel left out and depressed, we don't want that.

I opened a very active rescue dog when I fell pregnant. He was very bonded to me and could be very anxious.
We didn't know how he would react so we worked hard to make things as smooth as possible for him.
As well as the obvious aspect of a noisy wee human entering the house we were also concerned how he would cope with the increase in visitors and the change in routines.
We set up the nursery and baby paraphernalia fairly early and gave my dog full access everywhere but also made sure he had an escape area which was just his where he could get away from everything and everyone.
We transitioned him from long walks to multiple short walks as my pregnancy progressed so that we were in a more sustainable routine by the birth.
We made plans to have someone he knew come to look after him as soon as Labour started and to stay afterwards, and prioritised walking him over everything else that we could.
When we had visitors expected we made sure he could be away from everything until we knew he was happy.
We knew he could be reactive so we made sure he was never in a situation where he could react to and potentially injure the baby, including for example, knocking over the moses basket if startled.
Fortunately my dog loved our baby, they developed a really close bond and he even used to get up to check on him if he began crying in the night. My son was three when we lost our dog but he still talks about him over eight years later.

Give you pet a calm environment to check around the new buggy, cot, and car seat when you decide to buy. and bring baby him and introduce baby when she/he is awake but not noisy, and do this a couple of times, they will be best friends soon enough. You know the temperment of you pet better than anyone else and if there is ANY chance your pet will bite or snap can I suggest rehoming to a child free home ?

I get my pet 'baby ready' by letting her smell the new gadgets we had, turned on the baby monitor just in case there were any hidden noises what would distress him, we moved his food and bed to a quieter part of the house 3 months before 'D' day.

Give your pet their safe space in the house, plan ahead for when baby is out and about, my dog sleeps in a cage, where he chooses to go, and baby will be shown not to go here. Get them used to new smells and noises.

Let them look around the nursery, then put the safety gate across the doorway so pet knows they cannot go there, if your pet has bad habits, (excessive barking and jumping up) try to treat train to reduce these habits - or seek advice from a professional to help you to get your pet as well behaves and this would make your life easier

My dog KNEW before we did that I was pregnant, the hormones must have really kicked in, and she changed to become calmer and more maternal as if she was having the baby. I gave her a safe space, let her still be close to me, and kept her routine of walks and feeding. When baby arrived, she was subdued and calm and did not bark or jump as much -she knew, we were lucky I guess - you know your dog and will be in the best position to prepare and train them for your new arrival.

I prepared my dog my letting him smell around the new items we purchased after 6 months, he sat on my lap a lot and I know he sensed the new life growing inside me and kind of knew what what happening. We introduced our new arrival when he was sleepy, and he just wagged sat down and then - that was that. We were lucky.

I gave my dog a new place to sleep in the kitchen, where the washing machine used to be, so he had his own space, we brought the pram and car seat into the home, and he got used to the new purchases, we had safety gates at the bottom of the stairs so he could not get upstairs and got used to that. We kept his routines and feed times the same throughout the first few weeks baby came home , to keep him from feeling left out. It seemed to work for us all.

Get them used to the routine you plan with your new arrival, get them used to the new equipment, keep them loved and introduce your baby when baby is awake but quiet - and remind you dog that baby is out of bounds - my dog was a jump greeter- so we took him to a dog whisperer to help solve this habit (we had created)

Your pet is going to have his world turned upside down when baby arrives, so introduce things gradually, I gave him a quieter space to sleep in the hallway, and did this month before my DD, and let them be around the new equipment which will take over your house. We put our safety gates up early so our pets were used to being restricted more within the house.

I think it depends largely around the age of the dog, a puppy/young dog would adapt more quickly with the correct training and boundaries about there they cannot and cannot go in your home, an older dog would take longer to adjust, as they may get stressed with the wrong or late preparation, so give them change to adapt to the new layout of your home, introduce your older pet to you baby when baby is awake and calm, I gave my 8 year old dog a safe space to sleep, and go if it all gets too much for them.

We used to have to keep our old cat in a different room from the baby when they were sleeping in the pram/moses basket, because even a cat net did not prevent them lying on top of the baby. So the prep in that case was removal!

(Two or three cat net brands)

My tips are to watch your pets mood once baby has arrived, does she/he look depressed, are you neglecting him/her, yours and their world will be turned upside down, give them love and affection and let them know that they are still loved.

I had an elderly dog when I had my first DS, we talked about how he would cope with the upheaval and changes, so my tips would be to move his bed into a quieter area of the house, 3 months before your due date, give him the opportunity to look at the pram carseat and safety gates, our dog knew there was a life growing inside me and was protective, and sat near to me more. I think his instincts helped, when our DS arrived he was chilled about the whole thing and took himself off to bed when there was crying.

My tips are to let your dog adjust gradually, and if need be, get a dog sitter for a few weeks whilst you are at your tired, and less able to cope with the constraints of looking after a dog. Let them smell new things, but only if they are interested in them. Most dogs adjust really well, just takes time.