Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Training dogs to prepare for a new baby

An article about the increasing demand for trainers who prepare dogs for a new baby:

Christopher Reggio, a publisher of pet-care books, says demand for prenatal dog prep is rising because "dogs today are real family members. They aren't 'owned' by people, they're 'parented' by people." [...]

One recent day, [a dog named] Luca watched as Ms. Rivkin reached into her sport-utility vehicle, gently lifted a plastic doll in a blue "onesie" from the infant car seat and buckled it into a new stroller, then began pushing the stroller and doll through a local arboretum.

"Hey, that's not a real baby," yelled a passing runner. It was hard to know what Luca thought; she was busy nibbling grass.

Ms. Rivkin was doing her homework for Barks & Babies, a seminar taught to 10 couples at a local maternity store. Her instructor...suggests practicing with a fake baby four weeks before mom's due date.

Read the rest here.

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