If you have a pet, then he has a big change coming when your adopted child joins your home. In most cases, you will not really know what to expect from your pet. Some pets will ignore the new addition. Others will be afraid. Still others will be oblivious. Until you know how your adopted child and the pet will act around each other, make sure that all interactions are closely supervised. This is for the protection of both your adopted child and your pet.

When I brought my 18-day-old adopted son home, both of my dogs were curious. I allowed them to sniff his blanket but was very protective of my baby. My dog's reactions surprised me. I expected the beagle to take to the baby right away and for the Dalmatian to be difficult. As it turned out, the Dalmatian was curious and surprisingly good with the baby. The beagle, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with the baby.

I believe that my beagle was jealous that I was giving this new baby all of my attention. The beagle had always been my "baby," and now a real baby had displaced him. It is normal for a pet to feel a certain amount of jealousy when his owner is giving more attention to a new child, so be sure to set aside some time to give your pet some extra tender loving care, especially during those early weeks.

Also, give your pet a lot of praise for behaving well around your new addition. You want to build lots of positive interactions between your adopted child and your pet so that they can bond. I did this with my son and my beagle, and now the two are inseparable. In fact, my son has informed me that the beagle is now "his dog" instead of mine.

Bribery also works nicely in building positive interactions. The turning point for the beagle was when the baby started eating in the high chair and threw food onto the floor. The beagle was happy to clean the mess, and he finally found something good about having a baby in the house. They have been deeply bonded ever since.

Related Topic:

Adoption and Pets

Photo Credit: Lynda Bernhardt