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By Leonie Helm
Life Reporter
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We've all got that voice we use when we speak to dogs and babies, but one woman has had to switch things up after confusing her dog while talking to her new baby.
In a video posted to TikTok, Niagara, Canada-based dog trainer Shalina Seifert explains that she recently had a baby four weeks ago and thought she had prepared her dog really well for the child's arrival.
"But there was something I didn't expect," she says, "I talk to my baby exactly in the same way that I talk to my dog."
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Seifert has a 3-year-old Bernedoodle called Indy.
Speaking to Newsweek Seifert said: "One thing I didn't plan on or realize was that I use a very specific tone of voice to speak with my dog that I used for her only. When the baby came, I used that same voice!
"It's a happy, excited voice with a higher pitched tone that we often speak to our babies in," she added. "It became very confusing for my dog because she thought I was speaking to her so she would come running over."
How To Prepare Your Dog For A Baby
Some people believe that dogs and babies don't mix, and others, like Seifert argue that with the right training and constant supervision, dogs and babies can get a lot out of each other.
"I think there's this big misconception that there are dogs that are GOOD with babies and dogs that are BAD with babies," said Seifert, "The reality is that all dogs need to be supervised with our children for safety reasons no matter what! I recommend checking out Family Paws. There are lots of free resources for families needing support with this huge transition!"
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A lot of the preparation Seifert did revolve around items.
"We set up with the crib, the rocking chair (which she was very nervous of at first), we practiced walking next to the stroller, and we put down baby items on the floor and taught her to 'leave it'," she said.
"The other thing I did was set up a baby gate and practiced having her on the other side of it," she added. "Babies and dogs should never be left together unsupervised and you need safe places to put your dog and baby when they cannot be actively watched. We practiced having her separated from us for varying lengths of time behind that baby gate."
Seifert shared her top three professional tips for handling a dog and baby at the same time.
"Most of your day will be hanging out together as a family and it will be amazing but there will be times where you will either need to separate your baby or separate your dog while you take care of something. That's where baby gates, pens, crates, etc. come into play. Practice having your dog separated from you so they are comfortable relaxing in that space alone. Your dog will likely use that space to go and retreat to when they need space from the child as well!
"Second, babies come with a lot of things! It's a good idea to desensitize your dog to those items slowly and one at a time if you can. If the item will be within reach of your pup, make sure they are taught to leave it well before baby comes.
"Thirdly, body language. The number one thing you can do for your dog is to educate yourself on their body language signals. When we can better see fear, aggression, anxiety coming, we can better help our dogs. I often hear, 'My dog bit my child out of nowhere!' But often there are many signs that were missed beforehand because the parent was not educated on body language cues. A couple of examples are: A wagging tail is not always happy. Licking the baby is not always 'giving kisses'. We sometimes call it a 'kiss to dismiss' when the dog is asking for space."
The video has been viewed over 472,000 times on TikTok, and users in the comments section said things such as, "Im currently pregnant and this happens when I talk to my belly, my poor doggie comes over thinking Im talking to her."
"Hahaha yea my dog was very confused the first few weeks," said another user.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
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