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Good Dog, Happy Baby: Preparing Your Dog for the Arrival of Your Child
For years dog trainer Michael Wombacher has worked with expecting dog owners to prevent problems between dogs and children. He has also unfortunately witnessed too many families forced to surrender their beloved family companions because they failed to prepare the dog for the arrival of a new family member.
In Good Dog, Happy Baby, Wombacher lays out a 12-step process that will give families the skills they need to navigate this new era of their lives. These skills include how to evaluate dogs, resolve common behavior problems, and fully prepare dogs for a new baby.
This easy-to-use guide, filled with simple instructions, makes a great gift for any expecting family with a dog, whether the dog is perfectly trained or in serious need of behavioral help.
In Good Dog, Happy Baby, Wombacher lays out a 12-step process that will give families the skills they need to navigate this new era of their lives. These skills include how to evaluate dogs, resolve common behavior problems, and fully prepare dogs for a new baby.
This easy-to-use guide, filled with simple instructions, makes a great gift for any expecting family with a dog, whether the dog is perfectly trained or in serious need of behavioral help.
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Published May 23, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
September 18, 2023
As a veterinarian and expectant mother, I was appalled by this book. You are better off reading *nothing* than reading this one. Many of the recommendations are dangerous for the dog or for the family that is trying to create a safe environment. If I could,I would give it negative stars. A voracious reader, I often take my books to a used bookstore when I am done with them. Instead, I will be throwing this one away to make sure others do not read it.
Luckily, there are much better options. Instead, read Tell Your Dog You're Pregnant: An Essential Guide for Dog Owners Who Are Expecting a Baby which has good advice, is a short read, is extremely practical, and is written by an expert in the field. *** UPDATED TO ADD *** I now also often recommend Please Don't Bite the Baby (and Please Don't Chase the Dogs): Keeping Our Kids and Our Dogs Safe and Happy Together which not only covers positive approaches to dog behavior but also how to teach our kids to be kind to our pets.
Here are just some of my problems with this book:
1. Do not tether your dog to inanimate objects like tables, especially unattended, as we vets have seen dogs strangle themselves to death.
2. The book sometimes talks about paying attention to your dog's fear threshold or watching for signs that it is nervous or wary. However, the book does not show descriptive images or explain in detail the sometimes unusual signs that a dog is nervous. The book in one place recommends you make sure you do not cross over your dog's fear threshold while you leave your dog unattended. It does not suggest how you can tell this when you cannot see your dog. A couple images in this book actually show children hugging or handling clearly anxious dogs.
3. A lot of the advice offered in the book could be counter productive and could make fearful or aggressive behaviors worse in some dogs.
The author would *not* be considered highly qualified expert by veterinarians or the larger animal behavior consultation community. He holds no veterinary medical degree (especially not a behavior residency or board certification), cites no masters degree, doctorate, respected animal behavior consultation certificate, nor any dog training certifications considered nationally respected by veterinarians or other dog training professionals. The major type of training he recommends throughout the book is considered unscientific (more on this later) and harmful by many in this community.
It is one thing to take a "mixed" approach to training that involves both correction and positive based approaches. However, here corrections are not just sometimes used, or used in isolated cases when needed, but are the primary training tool. As the author clearly states his main training technique is to "set up" the dog for failure by creating a scenario expected when a child arrives, expecting the dog to do the "wrong" thing, and then punishing the dog with a variety of methods - primarily using spraying in the face with loud noises, air, bad smells but also sometimes painful pinches around the neck or electric shocks, to teach the dog not to engage in this behavior. Below I discuss why this often escalates fear, anxiety, and can lead to bites and aggression.
Also, some instructions are contradictory. For instance, one chapter recommends teaching a dog to never enter the baby's room by showing them they get punished or even shocked by a mat for walking in, but shortly afterward he discusses teaching the dog to have good associations with the baby by rewarding the dog for approaching when changing the baby's diaper in the baby's room.
The book also sometimes recommends slow desensitization and counter conditioning to give your pet time to get used to new ways of doing things, while at the same suggesting what many would consider extreme protocols that may be very scary for some dogs (for instance in the separation anxiety chapter section with surprise spritzing for barking).
We generally recognize that these methods teach dogs *not* to see you as a reliable and trusted "leader" as the author claims, but to see the people as scary, unpredictable, and a potential source of pain, just at a time when coming changes are going to create a lot of uncertainty and fear for a dog. When dogs are fearful they are generally more likely to bite.
Because the author sometimes recommends using corrections when children are around, this could actually make the dog fearful of children and escalate instead of preventing aggression. While I genuinely believe the author wrote this book with the intention of helping, I fear this book may in fact make things worse.
This training method also shows a woeful lack of understanding for human psychology. Telling people to "not tolerate" certain behaviors, "reprimand", and "correct" dogs, does lead people to act like bullies, and does not lead to the kind of calm, reasonable, trustworthy leadership this author says dogs need. I know because I see pet owners attempting this kind of training in our veterinary hospital.
This is why in my clinical practice I see a much higher number of dogs who have been trained with these methods have anxiety, fear, and aggression later in life - unfortunately often leading to medication, abandonment, or euthanasia.
Again, there is room for a middle ground, but this author is definitely still far on the side of fear-inducing punishments and corrections.
4. At one point the author recommends giving the dog a raw frozen bone. Freezing does not kill all pathogens and raw foods can expose people to dangerous pathogens, this is even more risky for pregnant women who are naturally immune suppressed and babies and young children who do not have complete immune systems. Also, true animal bones and antlers put dogs at risk of fractured teeth.
5. Packs don't work the way the author believes and trying to to be an "alpha" in your home is generally not a good idea. The type of pack mentality the author is suggesting is based on out of date, bad science drawn from studies of wolves living with others wolves that were strangers to them piled together and living in zoos together under duress. We now know in the wild wolf packs are made up of families. The "alphas" are just a mom and dad and the rest of the pack is generally their kids. Much of the behavior that was previously studied simply does not apply in the real world. It would be like studying people in prison and then trying to apply that knowledge to living every day with your family. Additionally, studies into wild dogs - as opposed to wild wolves - shows that wild dogs show little strict pack behavior and hierachy compared to wolves. Even if it was best to try to be the alpha, in wolves if a wolf is intent on becoming the alpha, often they significantly injure or kill the current alpha in order to become "top dog." Generally when I ask owners if that is the kind of scenario they *want* to set up in their home they say no. The way the author describes alternative training methods is oversimplistic and inaccurate.
6. While the book title implies it will be mostly about babies, it focuses more on the concerns we worry about for toddlers and older children. This may be a good or bad thing depending on what you were looking for.
7. There is a great section about how the dog's physical health could get in the way of a dog being 1) medically safe around children and 2) could interfere with effective training. This section clearly should have been at the beginning, not the end of the book.
Luckily, there are much better options. Instead, read Tell Your Dog You're Pregnant: An Essential Guide for Dog Owners Who Are Expecting a Baby which has good advice, is a short read, is extremely practical, and is written by an expert in the field. *** UPDATED TO ADD *** I now also often recommend Please Don't Bite the Baby (and Please Don't Chase the Dogs): Keeping Our Kids and Our Dogs Safe and Happy Together which not only covers positive approaches to dog behavior but also how to teach our kids to be kind to our pets.
Here are just some of my problems with this book:
1. Do not tether your dog to inanimate objects like tables, especially unattended, as we vets have seen dogs strangle themselves to death.
2. The book sometimes talks about paying attention to your dog's fear threshold or watching for signs that it is nervous or wary. However, the book does not show descriptive images or explain in detail the sometimes unusual signs that a dog is nervous. The book in one place recommends you make sure you do not cross over your dog's fear threshold while you leave your dog unattended. It does not suggest how you can tell this when you cannot see your dog. A couple images in this book actually show children hugging or handling clearly anxious dogs.
3. A lot of the advice offered in the book could be counter productive and could make fearful or aggressive behaviors worse in some dogs.
The author would *not* be considered highly qualified expert by veterinarians or the larger animal behavior consultation community. He holds no veterinary medical degree (especially not a behavior residency or board certification), cites no masters degree, doctorate, respected animal behavior consultation certificate, nor any dog training certifications considered nationally respected by veterinarians or other dog training professionals. The major type of training he recommends throughout the book is considered unscientific (more on this later) and harmful by many in this community.
It is one thing to take a "mixed" approach to training that involves both correction and positive based approaches. However, here corrections are not just sometimes used, or used in isolated cases when needed, but are the primary training tool. As the author clearly states his main training technique is to "set up" the dog for failure by creating a scenario expected when a child arrives, expecting the dog to do the "wrong" thing, and then punishing the dog with a variety of methods - primarily using spraying in the face with loud noises, air, bad smells but also sometimes painful pinches around the neck or electric shocks, to teach the dog not to engage in this behavior. Below I discuss why this often escalates fear, anxiety, and can lead to bites and aggression.
Also, some instructions are contradictory. For instance, one chapter recommends teaching a dog to never enter the baby's room by showing them they get punished or even shocked by a mat for walking in, but shortly afterward he discusses teaching the dog to have good associations with the baby by rewarding the dog for approaching when changing the baby's diaper in the baby's room.
The book also sometimes recommends slow desensitization and counter conditioning to give your pet time to get used to new ways of doing things, while at the same suggesting what many would consider extreme protocols that may be very scary for some dogs (for instance in the separation anxiety chapter section with surprise spritzing for barking).
We generally recognize that these methods teach dogs *not* to see you as a reliable and trusted "leader" as the author claims, but to see the people as scary, unpredictable, and a potential source of pain, just at a time when coming changes are going to create a lot of uncertainty and fear for a dog. When dogs are fearful they are generally more likely to bite.
Because the author sometimes recommends using corrections when children are around, this could actually make the dog fearful of children and escalate instead of preventing aggression. While I genuinely believe the author wrote this book with the intention of helping, I fear this book may in fact make things worse.
This training method also shows a woeful lack of understanding for human psychology. Telling people to "not tolerate" certain behaviors, "reprimand", and "correct" dogs, does lead people to act like bullies, and does not lead to the kind of calm, reasonable, trustworthy leadership this author says dogs need. I know because I see pet owners attempting this kind of training in our veterinary hospital.
This is why in my clinical practice I see a much higher number of dogs who have been trained with these methods have anxiety, fear, and aggression later in life - unfortunately often leading to medication, abandonment, or euthanasia.
Again, there is room for a middle ground, but this author is definitely still far on the side of fear-inducing punishments and corrections.
4. At one point the author recommends giving the dog a raw frozen bone. Freezing does not kill all pathogens and raw foods can expose people to dangerous pathogens, this is even more risky for pregnant women who are naturally immune suppressed and babies and young children who do not have complete immune systems. Also, true animal bones and antlers put dogs at risk of fractured teeth.
5. Packs don't work the way the author believes and trying to to be an "alpha" in your home is generally not a good idea. The type of pack mentality the author is suggesting is based on out of date, bad science drawn from studies of wolves living with others wolves that were strangers to them piled together and living in zoos together under duress. We now know in the wild wolf packs are made up of families. The "alphas" are just a mom and dad and the rest of the pack is generally their kids. Much of the behavior that was previously studied simply does not apply in the real world. It would be like studying people in prison and then trying to apply that knowledge to living every day with your family. Additionally, studies into wild dogs - as opposed to wild wolves - shows that wild dogs show little strict pack behavior and hierachy compared to wolves. Even if it was best to try to be the alpha, in wolves if a wolf is intent on becoming the alpha, often they significantly injure or kill the current alpha in order to become "top dog." Generally when I ask owners if that is the kind of scenario they *want* to set up in their home they say no. The way the author describes alternative training methods is oversimplistic and inaccurate.
6. While the book title implies it will be mostly about babies, it focuses more on the concerns we worry about for toddlers and older children. This may be a good or bad thing depending on what you were looking for.
7. There is a great section about how the dog's physical health could get in the way of a dog being 1) medically safe around children and 2) could interfere with effective training. This section clearly should have been at the beginning, not the end of the book.
September 2, 2016
This book was horrendously awful- it almost had me in tears imagining treating my dog like he suggested. Take away his toys? Make him move all the time so he never gets comfy? Spray him with Bitter Apple for wanting to play? PRONG COLLARS? Terrible book- I want to get as physically far away from it as possible. Pack mentality dog crap.
March 10, 2019
While it does provide some useful advice for behavioral problems to look for in your dog, the exercises in this book are far more likely to cause your dog stress and confusion than to help prepare her for the arrival of a new family member. The “alpha” dynamics referenced in the book are outdated and unscientific.
May 27, 2016
Full of good training tips on how to prepare your dog for the arrival of a new baby. The author bets repetitive at times (particularly when it comes to aggression issues, but there is a lot of good information regardless.
June 8, 2016
Hopefully this helps us get our dog ready for our first baby.
November 28, 2021
I am due with my first baby in a few months and have two dogs that I’ve essentially not trained really, so I found this book IMMENSELY helpful. All three chapters are chock full of amazing information for both dog owners and new parents alike.
The first chapter outlines an entire 12-step program for cultivating a healthy relationship with your dog, which, unfortunately, I NEED haha. I wish I’d read this book when I got my first dog 5 years ago! The author has really great training tactics and seems really balanced between a strong hand and compassionate training. Even if I wasn’t pregnant, I would have found the first chapter alone worth reading!
After finishing this book, I have a fully formed and detailed plan for how I’m going to spend my third trimester of pregnancy preparing myself and my doggies for the arrival of our newest pack member. Honestly, I’m looking forward to this challenge now, rather than dreading it. I feel very hopeful that I can change my relationship with my dogs and create something beautiful that will last a lifetime in my daughter’s memory. What a relief!
Even if you’re not expecting, or already have children, I highly highly recommend this book for any new or inexperienced dog owners. It’s a quick read with an unbelievable amount of really helpful information and training ideas. Super impressed!
The first chapter outlines an entire 12-step program for cultivating a healthy relationship with your dog, which, unfortunately, I NEED haha. I wish I’d read this book when I got my first dog 5 years ago! The author has really great training tactics and seems really balanced between a strong hand and compassionate training. Even if I wasn’t pregnant, I would have found the first chapter alone worth reading!
After finishing this book, I have a fully formed and detailed plan for how I’m going to spend my third trimester of pregnancy preparing myself and my doggies for the arrival of our newest pack member. Honestly, I’m looking forward to this challenge now, rather than dreading it. I feel very hopeful that I can change my relationship with my dogs and create something beautiful that will last a lifetime in my daughter’s memory. What a relief!
Even if you’re not expecting, or already have children, I highly highly recommend this book for any new or inexperienced dog owners. It’s a quick read with an unbelievable amount of really helpful information and training ideas. Super impressed!
September 1, 2022
Read my full review here: https://www.between-bookends.com/2021...
As a part of my cramming for baby (25 days to go!) I found this book about how to prepare your dog for your baby and knew I had to check it out. We have a year and a half old pup and have been wondering about how she will handle the new addition to the family, so I was definitely interested.
This is my first fur baby and my first human baby, so I have my concerns. But this book offered a lot of good advice to help put me at ease. The first part of the book goes over the “Doggie Twelve-Step Program” and I found this advice to be super helpful. If you have already trained your dog extensively, then this may not be that useful to you, but for me, there were many tips that I have already started using on my dog to improve her general behavior. I feel much better about handling my dog’s obedience with these tips on hand.
The next section delves further regarding specific problems, and the final section addresses the transition of introducing your child. I was able to take away some major points from the book, including “a tired dog is a good dog” (keep your dog exercising) and if you are going to make changes with your dog, make sure to do them before the baby comes so it doesn’t cause a negative association. But I can’t say I am willing to take all of the advice. For instance, one of the techniques is to teach your dog only to sit on your lap when you give permission. I can confidently say I probably will not be kicking my dog off my lap because I love when she snuggles with me and don’t think I could bear going through this training. I understand why Wombacher encourages it, but if I’m being realistic, I just don’t see myself implementing everything he suggested.
The overall advice was good, but the book itself was a little blah. I would have preferred more personal stories to make it relatable and interesting; it came off very “textbook”. Also, Wombacher never really discusses differences in types of dogs. I am sure that there is a difference between the threats of a bigger dog versus a smaller dog, or different dog breeds, but this isn’t ever addressed.
Overall, I thought the training advice for your dog was something any dog owner could benefit from, and especially if your dog is going to be around children. It was a short and easy read so I still recommend going through it if you think you could brush up on your dog’s behavior before baby comes!
As a part of my cramming for baby (25 days to go!) I found this book about how to prepare your dog for your baby and knew I had to check it out. We have a year and a half old pup and have been wondering about how she will handle the new addition to the family, so I was definitely interested.
This is my first fur baby and my first human baby, so I have my concerns. But this book offered a lot of good advice to help put me at ease. The first part of the book goes over the “Doggie Twelve-Step Program” and I found this advice to be super helpful. If you have already trained your dog extensively, then this may not be that useful to you, but for me, there were many tips that I have already started using on my dog to improve her general behavior. I feel much better about handling my dog’s obedience with these tips on hand.
The next section delves further regarding specific problems, and the final section addresses the transition of introducing your child. I was able to take away some major points from the book, including “a tired dog is a good dog” (keep your dog exercising) and if you are going to make changes with your dog, make sure to do them before the baby comes so it doesn’t cause a negative association. But I can’t say I am willing to take all of the advice. For instance, one of the techniques is to teach your dog only to sit on your lap when you give permission. I can confidently say I probably will not be kicking my dog off my lap because I love when she snuggles with me and don’t think I could bear going through this training. I understand why Wombacher encourages it, but if I’m being realistic, I just don’t see myself implementing everything he suggested.
The overall advice was good, but the book itself was a little blah. I would have preferred more personal stories to make it relatable and interesting; it came off very “textbook”. Also, Wombacher never really discusses differences in types of dogs. I am sure that there is a difference between the threats of a bigger dog versus a smaller dog, or different dog breeds, but this isn’t ever addressed.
Overall, I thought the training advice for your dog was something any dog owner could benefit from, and especially if your dog is going to be around children. It was a short and easy read so I still recommend going through it if you think you could brush up on your dog’s behavior before baby comes!
July 26, 2018
Informative and Detailed
This book is detailed in the multiple processes for preparing your dog for a new baby. The methods are in line with other dog trainers I worked with over the years. I thought it was informative and well organized and structured. I like that there is both a positive and negative reinforcement for the dogs depending on what skill is being taught. I think it is a good resources for anyone expecting a new child, both in regards to what to think about, as well as how to prepare. It is not a good resource for someone who isn’t willing to do the work of dog training, which includes time and repetition, and patience.
This book is detailed in the multiple processes for preparing your dog for a new baby. The methods are in line with other dog trainers I worked with over the years. I thought it was informative and well organized and structured. I like that there is both a positive and negative reinforcement for the dogs depending on what skill is being taught. I think it is a good resources for anyone expecting a new child, both in regards to what to think about, as well as how to prepare. It is not a good resource for someone who isn’t willing to do the work of dog training, which includes time and repetition, and patience.
June 12, 2016
The other reviewer who titled it "how to be a dick to your dog" is right. However, I feel like I really needed this little book. It's small, and short, but the amount of time I need to put into training my little dog is overwhelmingly large. I think the book is pretty comprehensive of all the problems that could happen between dogs and babies, and there are solutions for each. The real commitment comes not with reading the book, which is fast and easy, but training the dog in the limited time you have!
March 14, 2022
Out dated information that is more likely to increase your dog's anxiety/aggression than help them handle the transition to baby well. It claimed to be a "balanced" approach but is very aversive right from the get go, encouraging creating a totally unnecessary abuse dynamic in your relationship to get your dog compliant. All while painting it as what the dog wants... We know better now, we can do better. Look elsewhere for your advice.
November 18, 2015
Primarily very good advice on this topic. I wish more soon-to-be parents who own dogs would read this as I think most first-time parents in this situation are woefully under-prepared for dealing with it.
Read
April 10, 2016
July 15, 2018
I stand by and don't stand by my choice to listen to vs. read parenting books (coincidentally, mostly when I walk the dog). I think it's good to listen because it makes you then focus on the really important bits and write them down to remember later or to plan somewhere else instead of just highlighting and forgetting. I don't stand by it because I procrastinate actually doing that writing down part.
This book really gave a me a lot of good things to think about as I prepared for the birth of my child and how it would affect my dog of five years. It's been a month now and while the more trying times are still to come once she is able to crawl or wants to play with toys (especially ones that squeak), I will be sure to review what I learned in this book many times to make sure I can get ahead of any potential problems.
One issue I guess I had though is more in structure or description but the majority of the book is more focused on training your dog and combating any issues that will likely worsen with the advent of a child. Again since I listened this is an odd way to say it but the last 30 minutes were the only part that dealt with once the child is born and actual situations between dog and child, so I guess I wish there was more of that.
This book really gave a me a lot of good things to think about as I prepared for the birth of my child and how it would affect my dog of five years. It's been a month now and while the more trying times are still to come once she is able to crawl or wants to play with toys (especially ones that squeak), I will be sure to review what I learned in this book many times to make sure I can get ahead of any potential problems.
One issue I guess I had though is more in structure or description but the majority of the book is more focused on training your dog and combating any issues that will likely worsen with the advent of a child. Again since I listened this is an odd way to say it but the last 30 minutes were the only part that dealt with once the child is born and actual situations between dog and child, so I guess I wish there was more of that.
July 13, 2025
This is the only book I've thrown in the trash. The questionnaire about what problems your dog may need to work on is the only decent page. There's an over-reliance on a spray bottle and unnecessarily causes excess stress or work for no reason that will only harm your communication and trust with your dog. Your dog doesn't get something after a few tries? Apparently they need a spray bottle rather than more practice. Impatience isn't a leadership quality. He states leadership requires confidence, yet apparently has so little that he thinks your dog standing above you on the stairs or laying their head on your lap means they believe they're "above" you. The most ridiculous notions I've ever heard. As ridiculous as his idea of using a citronella collar (citronella is toxic to dogs) for barking.
While his method for preventing the dog from rushing out of the door isn't bad, his comment of making sure to slam the door loudly so you startle the dog is silly. Your dog understands the door closing, there's no need to cause excess stress in the training session.
And spray your dog from wanting affection? Silly. Train a command for them to move away instead of harming your relationship with your dog.
While his method for preventing the dog from rushing out of the door isn't bad, his comment of making sure to slam the door loudly so you startle the dog is silly. Your dog understands the door closing, there's no need to cause excess stress in the training session.
And spray your dog from wanting affection? Silly. Train a command for them to move away instead of harming your relationship with your dog.
August 15, 2024
Edit: I revisited the subtitle and I think I may have misinterpreted what to expect from this book. So, I’m revising my rating from 2 to 3.
It’s very evident the author is a knowledgeable dog trainer. However, though initially excited when this book was gifted to me, I found this book disappointing. Less than 5% of the book is applicable to the act of introducing dogs to a new baby with the majority of the 120 pages instead focused on basic training and correcting existing behavior problems in the months leading up to the baby’s birth. I think if this book was marketed as a training guide for dogs with a section for growing families, it would be better—I at least wouldn’t feel frustrated with the time I spent reading this to gain nothing of value for my situation. But perhaps I put too much stock in the title and subtitle.
If you’re looking for solid advice for the day you bring your newborn home and navigating the following days and weeks, consider looking for other resources. However, if you’re looking for an easy to follow guide on basic dog training, then definitely check this title out!
It’s very evident the author is a knowledgeable dog trainer. However, though initially excited when this book was gifted to me, I found this book disappointing. Less than 5% of the book is applicable to the act of introducing dogs to a new baby with the majority of the 120 pages instead focused on basic training and correcting existing behavior problems in the months leading up to the baby’s birth. I think if this book was marketed as a training guide for dogs with a section for growing families, it would be better—I at least wouldn’t feel frustrated with the time I spent reading this to gain nothing of value for my situation. But perhaps I put too much stock in the title and subtitle.
If you’re looking for solid advice for the day you bring your newborn home and navigating the following days and weeks, consider looking for other resources. However, if you’re looking for an easy to follow guide on basic dog training, then definitely check this title out!
February 2, 2024
informative, fast-paced
As I'm preparing for little bean to make his arrival in a few months, I wanted to make sure I made preparations for the dogs to have a good transition as well. This was a book I saw recommended for that so I picked it up. Given that our dogs have already been through basic behavioral training, the first 2/3 of this book weren't really necessary. There were, however, a few pieces of advice in those sections that I liked and we are implementing. The last section, "A Seamless Transition", was much more helpful in providing specific things we could do to better prepare the dogs to have a baby in the home. Would definitely recommend that section for owners of already trained dogs and if your dogs are not trained yet, the first 2/3 of the book would be extremely helpful.
As I'm preparing for little bean to make his arrival in a few months, I wanted to make sure I made preparations for the dogs to have a good transition as well. This was a book I saw recommended for that so I picked it up. Given that our dogs have already been through basic behavioral training, the first 2/3 of this book weren't really necessary. There were, however, a few pieces of advice in those sections that I liked and we are implementing. The last section, "A Seamless Transition", was much more helpful in providing specific things we could do to better prepare the dogs to have a baby in the home. Would definitely recommend that section for owners of already trained dogs and if your dogs are not trained yet, the first 2/3 of the book would be extremely helpful.
March 24, 2022
This book had such good reviews and I was so disappointed to read it and find out that he only suggests one "shaping"/positive reinforcement type technique before immediately suggesting that you spray your dog on the nose with water (or WORSE, water mixed with bitter apple spray) and/or resort to electric shock or pronged pinch collars. These are not acceptable training methods. This book relies heavily on pack mentality and is filled with discussions about dominance. The most useful thing about this book is it goes through all the skills that you might want to consider training your dog to have before the baby comes - though don't expect it to be chock full of suggestions about how to get there given how quickly the author resorts to unacceptable methods of discipline.
February 3, 2018
This is sort of like trying to learn how to swim by reading a book, it might have worked better as a series of youtube videos or ideally working in person with a dog trainer. The topic was pertinent, and the book helped me identify a laundry list of my dogs' behaviors that would be more than annoying with the added multitasking of parenthood. We're already seeing progress in addressing some of the more straightforward ones. I felt like this book could have also used a few interviews with families about their newborn preparation and integration experiences (good and bad), the anecdotes about mishaps were pretty alarming without being offset with some success stories.
June 27, 2023
This book has some good tips on training dogs whether or not you have children. I currently have 5 dogs and I was very worried about my pregnancy and having children around a pack of dogs. However, this book give some real, practical advice on how to prepare my dogs for my incoming baby as well as general tips of keeping everyone safe and happy. almost more important than training the dogs is the challenge of teaching the child how to be safe around the dogs! What I appreciated most about this book was the way that it built the information on top of its self so that one strategies would feed off of another. Over all good book!
February 1, 2025
I would give this book 0 stars if I could. Pack leader theory has been debunked a number of years ago and collaborative training is what is more widely used and the one which yields results.
Creating a space of uncertainty for your dog at a moment when things have shifted so rapidly can only increase and exacerbate previous aggressive/fearful/reactive behaviours. You’re most likely to get results from your dog if you establish an environment of collaboration and positive association. If you follow his rules, your dog will very likely associate your baby to scary/uncertain/negative things, the complete opposite of what you’re trying to achieve.
DO NOT buy this book.
Creating a space of uncertainty for your dog at a moment when things have shifted so rapidly can only increase and exacerbate previous aggressive/fearful/reactive behaviours. You’re most likely to get results from your dog if you establish an environment of collaboration and positive association. If you follow his rules, your dog will very likely associate your baby to scary/uncertain/negative things, the complete opposite of what you’re trying to achieve.
DO NOT buy this book.
January 27, 2018
I really felt this book was common sense. Or maybe I just have a well behaved dog? I certainly did not learn anything new. I do agree with others though that some of the training techniques seem counter-intuitive. We do positive reinforcement training with our dog and he is a very well behaved dog. So parts of this book were common sense, and parts were a bit outlandish. If you really are having a lot of behavioral problems with your dog I would suggest checking out Zak George's videos and training book instead.
January 23, 2020
Has some really good advice but not everything needs to be followed in order to have a well behaving dog for your kids. Our dog lives on our couch and she still does with your 2 month old twins. We just taught her that she can’t be standing near the babies, she has to lay down and crawl if she really wants to be close. She still tries to lick them a lot but nothing crazy. Also, this is all coming from a dog who growled, shy’d, and even nibbled at kids that got close to her. She’s come so far and this book was a huge help!
September 21, 2023
I recently read "Good Dog, Happy Baby" and absolutely loved it! As a proud owner of two German Shepherd dogs, I was a bit worried about how they would react to the arrival of my new baby. But this book gave me all the confidence I needed. The author does an amazing job of providing practical tips and insights on how to introduce dogs to a new baby, and how to ensure that they coexist peacefully. I found the book to be very well-written, informative, and easy to follow. It's definitely a must-read for all dog owners who are expecting a new baby. I highly recommend it!
November 4, 2024
This was not as well-rounded of a book as I had hoped for. It was pretty repetitive in the negative reinforcement used, just in a variety of situations. The book seemed aimed at dogs with serious problems or who are not obedient to start with and essentially is about teaching them discipline. It wasn't really specific to bringing a baby home. It did not address any aspect related to how to safely encourage bonds between dogs and babies, instead it just tries to avoid dogs attacking babies. The information could be useful to some, but not all.
January 23, 2020
This was a useful book to read to get ideas on how to prepare our dog for the arrival of our baby. My wife and I don't agree with some of Wombacher's approaches, but overall I think it provides good food for thought. I've started to implement some of the practices and already feel more confident with my ability to direct our dog and ensure his obedience in a way that will be very beneficial once there's a tiny human addition.
March 2, 2020
Despite one extremely critical review here, I can't say I found this book to be harmful in any way. It basically boils down to two important principles:
1. Train your dog
2. Have your dog associate the baby positively, not with sudden loss of love, attention and freedom
All in all the book offers helpful advice and strategies while keeping the dog's wellbeing and happiness as much in mind as safety and practicality.
1. Train your dog
2. Have your dog associate the baby positively, not with sudden loss of love, attention and freedom
All in all the book offers helpful advice and strategies while keeping the dog's wellbeing and happiness as much in mind as safety and practicality.
June 6, 2020
Michael Wombacher training style is not something I am used to. It is a little old fashioned and does not incorporate how to properly incorporate the baby and the dog to become a family. The book focuses on a type of "punishment" training to correct the dog's behavior, i.e. squirt bottle, air can spray on the face. This may work on certain type of dogs, but not on already skiddish, anxious, or nervous dogs.
July 11, 2021
Very insightful. Learned some really valuable things about dog psychology/behavior as we plan to introduce a new baby to our dog. Some practices we will not implore, and some I had no idea would be a problem and now I have time to train for it. A little dated, and not every method will work for every dog, but if you know that going into this book it’s a good read before baby gets here.
July 22, 2024
The information was good but did not apply to our situation. He describes behavioral issues from dogs that seemed to never have any training completed or discipline in the home. We also already know that our dogs love kids from having friends with babies and toddlers. Just didn’t seem worth it to listen to the end.
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