And Baby Makes Four: A Trimester-by-Trimester Guide to a Baby-Friendly Dog

by Penny Scott-fox, Uncredited ghostwriter

This illustrated guide helps to address specific pet behaviors that may concern parents-to-be, including possessiveness, jealousy, fear of new people and new situations, inappropriate jumping, and chewing on baby toys. The chapters are arranged chronologically by trimester, continuing through childbirth and the arrival of the newborn baby, to help your dog adjust to changes in the home. The contemporary and eye-catching illustrations help to highlight and define key information throughout the book.

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book if you're worried about how your dog is going to react to a new baby in the house (like we are). The main reason we're concerned is because our dog is so prey-driven with small animals like cats and squirrels. However, our vet told us that most dogs that are animal-aggressive are not people-aggressive and visa versa. Still, remembering how she lunges for attack when I have a cat in my arms makes me nervous.

One of the main ideas in this book is to turn your dog that thinks it's a human into a dog that knows its status as a dog. This was a hard-sell to my husband, but our dog has become a different dog since we've demoted her by not allowing her up on furniture and by making her "work" for everything from food to getting to go outside. My husband was shocked the other day when she automatically followed behind him on the leash instead of trying to pull ahead. And she settled down all night in her new place in the living room (not the couch) while we had guests for movies last night. By just following the suggestions from the first half of the book, we've created a new dog that seems to really like her demotion from child to to dog. I really hope all the other training that is specific to introducing her to a new baby is as helpful as all the other training tips have been.

I think that the people who haven't been impressed with this book are probably the ones that already had a "dog" living with them and didn't need to go through the process of demoting their dog to "dog" like we have. I have to say, though, that the things we've learned from this book work with our dog much better with other training methods I've tried from people like the Dog Whisperer. For example, I think that getting the dog to finally follow behind us on a leash has resulted from a combination of demoting her and teaching her the value of a slack leash as mentioned in this book.

Now I need to go through the book and make a chart so I can check off everything as she learns it before the baby comes.

[Chad · Rating 1 out of 5]

We got this book as part of a class we took. If it was not given to us as part of the class, I do not think I would have ever bothered to buy it and I would not recommend anyone else to. Our class that we sat through was much more helpful and insightful. I would have expected a book, even one like this, to have been researched or if it was. It seemed to me to be written after the experience of someone who had a dog... sure, she is a trainer and knows alot about dogs, but it did not seem to me to be a 'I researched this and this is the best way' but rather 'I did this and it worked out well'. A big chunk of the book is on basic training that should be done when you first get a dog. I will say that the one thing I did not pick up on the book was to kick my poor Grizzly out of our bedroom before our girl arrives. He is having some problems adjusting, so I am glad I did it now after reading about it in the book. Overall, don't buy this book but the 20 minutes it may take to read it is somewhat worth it if you do not have a class available or just want some peace of mind.

[JC · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't want to assume that I already know everything I need to know about preparing my dogs for the arrival of a baby, but after reading this book, I guess I feel like I'm doing everything the way I should. The information is practical, common-sense, and easy to apply. Also very important!! I think the author covers all the main points well. Might be nice if it included a CD of baby sounds, but I already bought one from Dogwise:
Sounds Good CD - Babies by Terry Ryan.
The key is to start preparing early!

[D'Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good intro to introducing your dog to his or her impending baby brother or sister, but it is a bit too simplistic, I think. Probably this book is fine for dog owners who have relatively good dogs to begin with, but not so good for people who have poochers with problems. However, I fully support the author's aim to keep folks who are expecting a baby from getting rid of their pets, assuming they can't make the trasition (and "they" in this case can refer to the people, the pets, or both).

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Illustrated? Yes. Do the illustrations explain or have anything to do with the text? No

Does she explains why to do things like not let your dog sleep in the bedroom? No

Does it cover very simple things like how to each your dog to sit? Yes, but then you can find that information in many many other sources

Really not helpful at all.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't learn a lot from this book. Basic dog obedience and desensitization is all it is. Cute pictures though. And she says cats are easy converts to a new baby (let's hope she's right!)

Maybe good for non dog savvy parents to be (in which case woe to both dog and baby!).

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

This wasn't quite the book I was looking for. I wanted a read about how to introduce a dog to a new baby. I wanted more in depth than this book gave me.

This book mainly taught you the basics of dog training; my dog is already trained and I wanted more dog psychology.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Techniques for helping the dog throughout pregnancy to prepare for the baby arrival.

[Helen]

I really have got to read this book - just haven't gotten around to it yet. Need to know how to prepare my great dane Zeus for the arrival of our twosome. :)

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

short adult non-fiction with really practical tips about preparing your dog(s) for a new baby in the family. this one even has a chapter on cats. think i might buy a copy to have for home reference.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what our "babies" will think of all of the techniques laid out in this book, but I'm trying ... As for the book itself, it's well-written, a quick read and full of information.

[John Woodington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good tips, but only if you have all the time in the world to put them into practice. Not as helpful for working adults.

[Mallory · Rating 2 out of 5]

This may have been more useful when our dog was still a puppy - I found the suggestions didn't really apply to a 4 year old great dane.

[Chrystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makes me realize that my dog is way too spoiled and way too attached to us.