The Secret of Introducing Baby to Great Dane Dog

Last Updated on December 31, 2020

Giving your children childhood pet memories is probably the best soulful gift you can present to your kids. Newborn babies and Great Dane dogs can live together with peace and love. The only thing required is virtuoso handling of the situation before and after introducing your baby to the Great Dane dog.

Great Dane dogs predominantly hold friendly temperament. This ‘gentle giant’ is amenable and kind around babies and grown ups alike. Moreover, Danes can grow possessive of the babies. It might assume that the baby’s protection is its metier. Anyhow an efficacious bonding, kicking off at the introduction of baby to the Great Dane, can be ensured through these useful tips.

Dogs are sensitive animals and can sense emotions and energies fare more than humans can. Similarly, your Great Dane dog can sense the heralds but unable to interpret the situation properly. Therefore, it is high time for you to take the lead and acquaint the Great Dane dog with the eminent changes.

The Danes can become aggressive, depressed, uneasy, jealous, over-protective if not trained efficaciously. You have to cater to all these probable changes in your Great Dane’s temperament. While preparing it for the arrival of a baby.

How to Prepare the dog for introducing baby to Great Dane  

Sense of sight is the most basic tool in preparing a Great Dane to meet the baby. Thus, let the Dane visualize some peculiar things that would be associated with the baby solely. Namely, baby toys, baby products like lotion, shampoo, etc. Additionally, the Dane dogs must be taught some basic things beforehand for introducing a baby to it. Which are,

Training

Basic command training revision

Kick off preparing for the baby with the Great Dane’s training. The dog must have learnt basic commands by now, if not, do not delay and train your dog. Given the Great Dane dog’s huge existence training the dog becomes even more imperative.

It is presumed that the dog has been trained to follow basic commands. Its best time to revise the command training. Commence exercising and revising fundamental obedience training like; sit, come, let go, down, stay with your dog. 

Obedience training: Revision needed for introducing new born baby to Great Dane dog

If you observe reluctance in dog’s behavior for following commands, or the dog is delaying your call, these are the real problems. You need to solve them before baby’s arrival.

Imagine, when your baby is around and the Great Dane dog is not willing to listen to you. It would be a quagmire. Deal with any such probable situation in time and practice basic command training with your dog even more.

Particularly aggressive dogs if not trained accordingly, become a grave problem when babies are around. The dogs do not behave well on leash and show hesitation in acting on commands. Therefore, if you sense that your Great Dane dog has a touch of aggression in its temperament correct its behavioral problem right now.

• You can revise training by simply sitting on a couch or chair. Do not forget to have a lot of treats beside you. 
• Call the dog’s name. ‘come!’ 
• Give the dog a treat when it acts on the command and ‘come’ to you.
• Now tell it to ‘sit’.
• The dog can have another treat as it follows ‘sit’ call.
• Practice this training routinely.
• Make some place for your Dane to settle in your feet or somewhere near you at your call.

Discipline the Dane before introducing baby to the Great Dane dog

After recalling basic obedience training spruce up your Dane’s behavior with disciplining the dog. The following commands are the integral part of this process.

Leave and Let Go: 

These disciplining session might prove to be most significant in an interaction between the baby and the dog. The Great Dane dogs must be taught to leave when required. Basically the dogs do not know their options to react beside growling or things of the like. When you train your dog to leave it means you are furnishing the dog with another way to deal with any unwanted meeting. 

How to teach ‘leave’

• While grabbing the treat in your hand, utter “leave”.
• When you see the dog going backwards or taking steps in the direction as per your order. Praise the dog immediately ‘good boy’ and throw the treat towards the dog.
• Toss the treat five to six feet away such that the dog can get away from ‘the action’ completely. For instance, when you anticipate that the situation around new born baby and dog gets uncontrollable for the dog tell the Dane to “leave”. 

‘Let go’

The dogs are usually curious about new things in the home. You might find the Great Dane dog sniffing and licking baby’s items. In such situations ‘let go’ would be of assistance. 

• Call out the dog.
• Tell it to let go.
• Give it treat the moment it leaves the things alone. Or provide it with its favorite toy to play with it instead.

This might take sometime but practice is the key to discipline your Great Dane dog.

Set up threshold

Second most basic preparation in introducing your new born baby to the Great Dane dog is to establish boundaries. Provide the dog with a cozy, peaceful, and secure personal place. Probably a crate would be a perfect place for the purpose. 

• Direct the dog towards its crate.
• Admire the dog and give it treat as soon as it reaches its crate.

Do not forget to buy a large enough comfortable dog bed for your Great Dane dog and place it in its crate. The crate is solely your dog’s place where it can retreat to when necessary. Even the baby might not be allowed to disturb the dog when it is in its realm. Additionally furnish the crate with Dane’s treats like chewing bones. In this way the dog would not feel neglected. 

Note;

Simple mat, or bed can also be regarded as dogs place if you do not want to use crate.

Likewise, if you want your Dane to stay out of the baby’s room unless invited, teach it to stay and sit by the door while you enter a room. In this way the dog can learn to stay out of the baby’s place.  

Hence, both the baby and the Great Dane dog must not intrude on each others boundaries.

Modernize routine

Before introducing new born baby to the Great Dane dog, it is advised to modernize your routine anticipating the changes. It would not be possible to stick to the prior routine with the baby. Thus change your daily activities and schedule with the Dane accordingly. Albeit slowly and gradually.

This would save the dog from aggressive or stressed behavior. For a smooth transition towards new routine it is advised to go with regular momentum rather than imposing new things on dog all of a sudden when the baby is around. For instance,

Where the dog sleeps? 

Your Great Dane dog would not be able to sleep in your bed as soon as the baby comes home. It is better to change this habit of the dog before the baby’s arrival.

When and where the dog gets to eat?

You might not be able to feed your dog as per schedule when the baby is around. Or You might not be able to even feed the dog according to some routine so begin feeding at random times. 

Similarly if you are going to put a ban on floor eating or chewing for the Dane, do it right now. Moreover, regularize the dog’s feeding time expecting the upcoming changes. 

When you walk the dog?

The Dane would not be walked as per schedule. Either change its walk routine according to your changed plans. Or engage a dog walker for your Great Dane.

Where the dog sits in the car?

The Great Dane would not be able to sit on the seat beside you anymore. Most probably you need to move it all the way back or behind a protective barrier. Train the Dane to sit on its new seat before the baby is around.

Note;

The goal of these pre-arrival changes is to avert jealousy in the dog. Dog might develop enmity towards baby provided you make such changes in baby’s presence. For example,

 if your rear seat is given to the baby which hitherto belonged to the Great Dane. The dog would associate the change with the baby’s presence and would bear jealousy towards the baby. In the given circumstances you might not be able to develop an amity between the two. 

Therefore, all such changes are suggested to be made before the baby comes home.

Diet recheck for introducing baby to the Great Dane dog

Great Dane dog diet is also consequential to controlling its temper. Some dry dog food contains higher amounts of sugar. Which is not good for a dog’s behavior overall. 

Evaluate your dogs food and diet thoroughly. Switch to the required perfect diet for your dog if necessary. Before introducing baby to the Great Dane dog.

See, 

Do not overlook your dog’s feed when the baby is home but rather increment on its feed, treats, and toys. This would make the dog confident and satisfied. And the dog would associate the increased benefits with baby’s presence.

New activities

Add new activities for the Great Dane dog expecting the change. For example, if your Dane has a penchant for playing with other dogs. It is recommended to take your dog to a dog day care. In this way you would get a break from your hectic schedule and the dog can have a new, healthy and playful activity added to its routine.

Play new games with the dog that can train the dog as well. 

Note;

You can also practice fetch with your Great Dane before a formal introduction between baby and the dog.

Reducing attention

It is natural that the Great Dane dog gets less attention when you have a baby to take care of. Also the amount of playtime will be reduced to half or so after the baby comes home. It is suggested to reduce the attention playtime the dog is having right now.

Make all the changes keeping the baby in your mind.

Introducing infant voices

There are a lot of infant and baby voices recorded in tapes available on the market. Get one for yourself and play it inside the house. Make sure that the Dane gets to listen to these sounds.

This will help the dog to adjust itself with the baby’s voices beforehand. Additionally you might get a doll almost the size of a baby so the dog can relate the sounds with the baby.

Note:

Teach the Dane not to jump on while you are walking around holding the doll. 

Imitating baby stroller walk

Imitate stroller walk with your dog, and teach your Dane to walk behind calmly. If you notice any trouble with the dog whilst walking, correct the dog’s behavior beforehand.

In case your dog seems uneasy with the walk, practice it more. If you want your walk to be a family time make sure to work on this integral part of pre-introduction.

Introduce Baby’s scent

Let your Great Dane dog familiarize itself with the baby’s scents before introducing baby to the Great Dane dog. This would discourage any probable burden on the dog. At once smelling a flood of new unknown smells would disturb the Dane.

• Use baby lotion and shampoo repeatedly so that the dog would know the smells before the baby’s arrival.
• Additionally, bring the baby’s smell home before the baby’s actual arrival. 

For the purpose, fetch an item holding the baby’s scent from the hospital. It could be anything, its booties, or blanket.

Let the dog sniff from some distance while holding ‘the baby’s sent’ in your hand.

Do not let the Dane take away the item from your hand. Rather control the whole sniffing practice and tell the dog that this new item belongs to you.

•  Or you can also wear the baby’s scent on your body when you come home. When you bring your baby home for the first time, allow your Great Dane dog to sniff and lick your hands to get used to baby’s scent.

How to Introduce a Baby to the Great Dane dog?

When you return home greet the Great Dane dog alone. The dog might feel excited at your sight after a few days. Tell your partner to keep the new born baby outside and meet the dog without the baby. In this way the dog would be able to get a hold of itself and its excitement before introducing baby to the Great Dane dog.

Note;

An excited Great Dane can jump on you. In case you are holding the baby while you greet the dog, the new born baby might get hurt.

To reduce the dog’s excitement you can also take the Dane for exercise or for a walk before the introduction. Make it a long walk so that the dog would not be as energetic as it usually is. A dog without much energy would resort to obedience and submission. Such temperament of the dog would be good at the first meet up.

Interesting myth,

Upon introducing a baby to a dog, bring keep the baby’s feet bare. Let the dog see and sniff the baby’s feet. In this way it is assumed that the dog can develop a strong bond with the baby. 

Although it is recommended not to bring baby too close to the dog. In proximity, the dog might be overwhelmed and not able to control its emotions properly. Hence you might end up getting the baby hurt.

Therefore, it is better to introduce baby to the Great Dane dog while the dog is on leash.

Gradually when the dog shows signs of relaxation and becomes acquainted with the new born baby’s scent you might let it come closer. Wait a few days until the dog gets acquainted with the baby’s scent to let it have a look at the baby.

Note;

The new born baby and dog interactions ought to be supervised no matter how submissive your dog is.

How to prepare yourself for the challenge of introducing baby to Great Dane?

You also need to practice somethings for introducing baby to the Great Dane dog. Such as,

• Don’t reprimand the Great Dane dog for sniffing and checking out baby items. It is fairly natural for the dogs to become inquisitive about everything new. Do not scold the dog for its interest for the baby’s items. It is all right for the dog to sniff and smell the clothes, and toys.
• Be aware of how you behave with the dog around the baby. Rather appreciate the Great Dane dog every time it approaches the baby. Particularly, if the dog is gentle and kind do not try to shoo it away. 
• Remember scolding the dog when it gets near the baby would make it associate the baby with negativity. The dog would identify the baby as a symbol of unpleasantness. Whilst your praise and appreciation every time the dog approaches the baby gently, will help the dog recognize the baby with gains.
• It is crucial to link the baby with good things for the Great Dane dog. This would provide the linchpin of the baby and dog’s bonding. 
• Separating the dog from baby or giving attention only to the baby must be avoided. If not the dog would register the baby as its nemesis. Therefore Pet the dog more when the baby is around. 

What to teach the baby? 

how the baby behave around the dog is an integral part of introducing baby to Great Dane dog. Once the baby grows it becomes crucial to teach it how to behave with the dog. The infant and Dane interaction is partially based on child’s behavior. Let the baby understand what is allowed and what is not a favored attitude towards the dog.  Although Great Dane dogs are ‘gentle giants’ yet the most amenable Dane has limited endurance.

For example, infants must not be allowed to pester the Great Dane by pulling on its tail or ears. Its natural floppy ears appear attractive to the babies.

Infants should also learn not to hurt the dog from an early age to make the baby and dog’s bonding positive.

Points to reckon

The most paramount point in introducing baby and Great Dane dog is training. You need to establish great control and mastery over your canine comrade before the baby’s arrival in order to have a sound relationship afterwards. 

Socializing a puppy with children could be of some help as well. Keep in mind that nothing negative should happen for the dog when the baby is around. Anyhow Great Dane must not regard the baby as a disapproval, this is the key to introduce baby to the Great Dane dog.

If you find yourself unable to teach and train the dog for introducing it to the baby, you can also look out for professional assistance right away.