Babies and dogs, what’s not to love? Well, there actually can be quite a few issues that can occur while babies and dogs interact. When bringing home a newborn to meet your dog, there are lots of precautions that you can and should take. The first thing that you can do is ensure you are the alpha of the “pack”. Dogs brains work very similarly to wolves in that there are those above and below them in “rank”. Make sure to establish that you are the alpha. Not only is this good for keeping your pup calm around your child, but also will assist in forming a better bond between you and your dog. Another thing is to give your child spaces where you know they can be alone entirely, that includes your dog, often times it is a good idea to make sure that your dog knows they cannot go into the child’s room. One of the first actual steps of introducing your dog and baby is bringing home the hospital blanket, dogs are very scent oriented and should be able to smell the baby before meeting them, and make sure your dog knows the blanket isn’t a toy. Beyond that, make sure to have some sort of game plan when it comes to the time to finally introduce the two, and keep close watch on how your dog interacts with your child.