Tucker Pup's New Baby Program helps your dog get used to the reality of a new baby in your home. We can help with common challenges such as walking calmly next to your stroller, being calm around your new baby, reducing resource guarding, and reducing anxiety about being touched. Our trainers have successfully helped many parents over the years so their dog and baby can peacefully co-exist, while you can walk more confidently with a stroller in one hand, with a loose leash in the other.
We can help your dog walk calmly next to your stroller
How the Program Works
This includes:
- Calmly walking next to a stroller without pulling
- Safe, controlled introductions to your new baby
- Setting up your home properly to accommodate dog and baby
- Teaching your dog to be independent and separated from you and your baby
- Minimizing resource guarding, which could happen when your baby picks up a dog toy or gets near the food bowl
- Reducing anxiety if your baby touches your dog, such as on the ears or tail
- Reducing negative response to baby noises such as crying or babbling
We can help with other behaviors as well - just ask!
Additional potential costs:
- $10 per session if we come to your home
- Reimbursement for any parking fees that we incur
Don't try to go it alone - we can save you lots of time, money, and headaches!
FAQs
Can we enroll in the program if we haven't had our baby yet?
We strongly recommend that you start working on baby preparation before you actually have your baby. We can work with stuffed dolls, baby toys, and a real stroller in order to desensitize your dog and start creating positive associations.
Can we work on stroller walking if we don't have a stroller yet?
Yes! Tucker Pup's has a baby stroller at our training facility, and we can go right out to the sidewalk to start working on stroller walking. We strongly recommend this BEFORE your baby arrives, so you don't struggle on the sidewalk and potentially have your dog pull you down on the sidewalk or create a dangerous situation.
What if our baby is now a toddler or young child?
We can still work with you, and will change the context a little to focus more on challenges such as jumping up on your child, becoming possessive over toys, and more.
What if our dog is becoming aggressive towards our baby?
Our trainers frequently help with reactivity and aggression, and can help in this context. Our goal is that your dog and baby can peacefully co-exist so you don't need to relinquish your dog.
A Happy Customer
Jamie Walker, CPDT-KA, CCDT
Our trainer, Jamie Walker, is incredible. Most importantly, she immediately bonded with our dog, Sophie, and understood how to motivate and communicate with her. That led to quick and lasting behavioral changes that improved quality of life for us and our pup.
Jamie is a total professional. Beyond being an expert at what she does, Jamie is on-time, communicative, and kind. We looked forward to training every week because she made it fun and stress-free.
(Backstory: Jamie helped train Sophie when she was a puppy back in 2020. Fast forward five years, and my husband and I are expecting our first child. We were debating doing additional training with Sophie to help prepare her for having a baby in the house, but we weren't sure if it was necessary. When we saw that Jamie had availability to work with Sophie again, the decision was made in a snap. We knew the value of Jamie's guidance from our first round of training, and we signed up again right away, and we're SO glad we did.)
- Allison Hickson
Positive Reinforcement Methods
Tucker Pup's only uses positive reinforcement, which combines the use of rewards, an encouraging tone of voice, and relaxed body language.
We do not use aversive methods include prong collars, choke chains, shock collars, poking, yelling, or leash popping. If you are using any of these with your dog, we can help you successfully stop, and still get the results you want.
Positive reinforcement gives you the best chance of success, and can be the fastest way to get results. Aversive methods cause distrust, fear, and potentially pain or discomfort, all of which can be detrimental to getting the results and relationship that you want.
Common questions:
- Do I need to carry treats for the rest of my dog's life? Treats are for teaching behaviors - once your dog can reliably perform, treats can be phased out at your discretion.
- Do I need to carry treats at all times? No. If there are times where you are not carrying treats, our methods can still work.
- Can I use a different type of reward than treats? It may be possible to use something else your dog values, such as a favorite toy.
- Is positive reinforcement too soft for my dog? Not a bit. The best way to build reliable skills is through trust and motivation. Being tough with your dog can cause him to shut down, have anxiety, ignore you, and not truly learn.
- I have tried treats, but they don't work for my dog. You were likely using low-value treats, including from a store. We will recommend high-value treats that work beautifully for most dogs, including in high-distraction environments.
- Will it take longer to achieve results? This is a common myth. Positive reinforcement can create faster results than aversive methods, because your dog is motivated to listen to you, and truly wants to learn.
- Is it bribery? No! All animals learn behaviors from being rewarded, including humans. You wouldn't go to work for free, would you? Motivation + repetition = new behaviors.
If you are hesitant, please trust us on this one and feel free to ask us questions.
Neighborhoods We Serve
Tucker Pup's is located in the West Loop / Fulton Market District neighborhood. People come to us from all over Chicago, especially from .