3. Before Baby Arrives: Pre-Baby Prep
This is the most important category on a dog-parent registry, and it doesn't exist on any other registry. A dog who's never seen a playmat, a carrier, or the sound of a crying baby before day one is starting from zero, at exactly the moment you have the least bandwidth to teach him anything. Start introducing these in your third trimester, a little at a time, so it's all familiar by the time the baby's home.
Our top 3 items for pre-baby training:
- Shwally Play Mat — non-toxic and reversible, made by a family with two kids and a dog of their own.
- SmartPetLove Snuggle Puppy — the heartbeat and heat pack genuinely calm anxious dogs through all the change happening around them.
- Solly Baby Wrap — Wirecutter's Best Wrap pick, and the earliest carrier you can start practicing with.
Shop the rest of the pre-baby prep categories:
4. Nursery Setup That Works With a Dog in the House
You finally get the baby down. Forty minutes of pacing, and she's asleep. Then the doorbell rings, your dog loses it, and you're starting all over again. White noise machines, air purifiers, and a doorbell that rings straight to your phone instead of through the house all help protect everyone's sleep, yours included.
Our top 3 items for the nursery setup:
- Hatch Rest+ — our community's most-recommended light-and-sound machine, for any age.
- Coway Airmega — 4-stage filtration that doubles as white noise; we personally own five.
- Ring Video Doorbell — routes alerts to your phone instead of a chime, which removes the single most common trigger for reactive barking.
Shop the rest of the nursery items:
5. Walking With a Baby and a Dog at the Same Time
The first walk with a stroller, a leash, and a newborn isn't the moment to discover your dog pulls. A no-pull harness and a hands-free leash mean both your hands stay free for the stroller, so you can practice together before the baby arrives and feel confident heading out the door as a family.
Our top 3 items for walking:
- Ruffwear Front Range Harness — two leash-clip options, so you can adjust for however your dog is walking that day.
- EzyDog Road Runner Leash — hands-free and shock-absorbing, a personal and team favorite.
- Pet Corrector Spray — the thing that gives you peace of mind walking through areas with loose or stray dogs.
Shop the rest of the walking items:
6. Keeping Your Home Clean With a Dog and a Newborn
If you didn’t mind dog hair before, after having your baby, you might find that it drives you nuts. That was me. Here’s a selection of tools and vacuums that help tremendously to keep your home dog hair-free and lower your stress levels.
Our top 3 items for managing dog hair and stains:
- Dyson V15 Detect — our team's daily driver, 60 minutes of run time, genuinely handles dog hair.
- eufy BoostIQ RoboVac — set it to run during nap time; we personally run two.
- FURminator — has saved my sanity over and over on long, double-coated dogs.
Shop the rest of the cleaning items:
.png
)
.png
)
