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Zazie and Kristi chat with Kate LaSala of Rescued By Training about the important steps to take to help dogs prepare for the arrival of a baby in the family.

Kate takes a lot of fear and aggression cases and she tells us how she came to specialize in working with families with small children. She tells us about the issues people have with their dogs when they are expecting and the reasons why it's so important to start preparation early. The dog needs to get used to being flexible, to no longer getting all the attention, to changes in sleeping arrangements, and to lack of sleep too.

Preparation is key and she tells us about the action plan that is part of her new self-paced course to help people get their dog ready to welcome a new baby and be comfortable with the new arrival. She also shares her favourite fact about child development that's good to know about supervising children's interactions with dogs. Kate also talks us through what to do if your dog growls at the baby or shows other signs of being uncomfortable.

And finally we all talk about the books we're reading.

About Kate LaSala:

Kata LaSala CTC is a professional dog trainer and certified behavior consultant specializing in fear and aggression. She’s helped over 2400 dogs overcome issues their guardians thought were impossible, including fear of strangers, separation anxiety, resource guarding, and growling at toddlers. As a licensed Family Paws Parent Educator, she’s uniquely qualified to help families with babies or kids. She offers one-on-one remote services worldwide and self-paced courses included her new online course, Bringing Home Baby: Preparing Dog and Family for a New Baby.

Kate's website: https://rescuedbytraining.com/

Bringing Home Baby: Preparing Dog and Family for a New Baby: https://rescuedbytraining.com/product/bringing-home-baby/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rescuedbytraining/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rescuedbytraining

Family Paws: https://www.familypaws.com/
The Family Dog: https://www.thefamilydog.com/

The Books:

It's Never Long Enough by Mary Gardner

My Best Mistake by Terry O'Reilly

The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks by Shauna Robinson

About the co-hosts:

Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of the prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers and has her PCBC-A from the Pet Professional Accreditation Board. She lives in beautiful northern British Columbia, where she helps dog guardians through online teaching and consultations. Kristi is on staff at the Academy for Dog Trainers, helping to shape the next generation of canine professionals. Kristi’s dogs are rescue sled dogs, mostly retired and thoroughly enjoying a good snooze in front of the woodstove.

Kristi Benson's website Facebook

Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy and Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy. She is the creator of the popular blog, Companion Animal Psychology, and also has a column at Psychology Today. Todd lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, one dog, and one cat.

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