The short answer
Most families do not need to rehome the dog when a baby arrives. The picture of a dog and a baby who cannot coexist is largely a myth. What a new baby needs is preparation and steady supervision, not automatically a new home for the dog. Prepare the dog before the birth, keep its routine steady, give it a retreat space, and never leave the dog and baby together unsupervised. If behaviour changes, see your vet to rule out pain, and for anything worrying, ask for a referral to a veterinary behaviourist. Rehoming is the right call only when there is a genuine safety risk or the family truly cannot cope, and if you reach that point, owner-to-owner rehoming lets you choose the new family and keep the dog at home until then.
If rehoming is the safest choice
List free on LocalPetFinder. Your dog stays with you until adopted, your email stays private, and you choose the family.
List your dog free →The myth: a baby means the dog has to go
Somewhere along the way, plenty of expecting parents pick up the idea that a new baby and a family dog cannot safely share a home, and that the responsible thing is to rehome the dog before the baby arrives. It is one of the most common worries we hear, and for most families it simply is not true. Dogs and babies grow up together in homes across Australia every day.
The reassurance is real, but it comes with a condition: it works when the dog is prepared and the household is set up to supervise properly. This is not about the dog being naturally good with children in some fixed way. It is about management. A settled dog with no history of aggression, given preparation and steady routines, usually takes a new baby in its stride.
So before you start looking for a new home, it is worth doing the preparation first and seeing how the picture actually looks. The RSPCA Australia Knowledgebase and the Australian Veterinary Association both treat preparation and supervision, not rehoming, as the default answer for a healthy family dog.
How to prepare your dog before the baby arrives
Think of preparation as management rather than a training programme. The aim is to make the changes gradual and predictable so that nothing lands on the dog all at once on the day you bring the baby home. A few sensible steps do most of the work:
- Introduce the sounds and smells early. Let the dog get used to baby noises and the smell of baby products in the weeks before the birth, so none of it is startling and new when the baby is actually there.
- Set up the nursery ahead of time. New furniture, a cot, and moved rooms are more interesting to a dog when they are fresh. Get them in place early so they are ordinary by the time the baby arrives.
- Make routine changes now, not on the day. If walk times, feeding, or where the dog sleeps will change, shift them gradually in advance. A sudden drop in attention the moment the baby comes home is what dogs notice most.
- Give the dog a retreat space. A bed or crate in a quiet spot that the dog can go to and is never disturbed in gives it somewhere to take itself when the household is busy.
- See the vet if anything changes. If your dog's behaviour shifts during the pregnancy or after the baby arrives, book a vet visit to rule out pain or a medical cause before assuming it is about the baby.
For a dog with existing anxiety, or if any warning signs appear, this is the point to bring in a professional rather than pushing on alone. Ask your vet for a referral to a veterinary behaviourist, who can assess the dog properly and build a plan that fits your household. This guide deliberately does not lay out a behaviour-modification routine to follow at home, because getting that right around a baby needs a professional who has seen your dog.
The one rule that never bends: supervision
Never leave a dog and a baby or young child alone together, not even for a moment, and not even with a dog you trust completely. Supervision means an adult actively watching, within arm's reach, not simply in the same room. Use baby gates and separate spaces so the dog and the baby are never together unsupervised. Treat this as a permanent rule for the early years, not a phase you relax out of.
This is not about mistrusting your dog. Most incidents happen in ordinary homes with gentle, much-loved family dogs, during a brief lapse when someone stepped away. A dog can be perfectly safe and still be a dog, and a baby cannot read the signals a dog gives. Active supervision plus physical separation when you cannot supervise is what keeps everyone safe, and it is the same advice you will get from any vet or welfare organisation.
Warning signs that need a professional, not online advice
Some behaviour is information you should act on rather than work through yourself. Growling, stiffening, showing teeth, snapping, or persistent avoidance of the baby all count. If you see any of these, keep the dog and baby fully separated straight away, then take two steps in order: book a vet visit to rule out pain or illness, because a dog that hurts often reacts differently, and if the dog is healthy, ask your vet for a referral to a veterinary behaviourist.
Do not try to resolve warning signs with online tips or by encouraging the dog to accept the baby. Growling in particular is communication, and suppressing it can remove the warning without changing how the dog feels, which is more dangerous, not less. A veterinary behaviourist can assess whether the situation is manageable with the right plan or whether, for the child's safety, rehoming is the responsible outcome. That is a clinical judgment, and it is exactly the kind of decision worth getting expert eyes on.
When rehoming genuinely is the right call
Preparation and supervision handle most situations, but not all. There are real cases where rehoming is the responsible, caring choice, and reaching one of them is not a failure on your part:
A genuine, assessed safety risk
A qualified professional has assessed an ongoing risk to the child that cannot be safely managed in your home. This is a clinical judgment, not a hunch, which is why the veterinary behaviourist step matters before you decide.
A high-needs dog and no capacity
Some dogs are highly demanding of exercise, attention, or management, and a family with a newborn may honestly no longer be able to meet those needs. A dog that becomes chronically under-exercised and stressed is not living a good life either.
Genuinely changed circumstances
Sometimes a baby arrives alongside other changes, such as a move, a health issue, or a shift in who is at home, and the household that worked for the dog no longer exists. When the change is real, a good new home can be the kindest outcome.
If you are not sure which side of the line you are on, our honest self-assessment walks through the questions calmly, and our things to try before rehoming covers what is worth ruling out first. If a warning sign is what brought you here, our guide to rehoming a dog with behaviour issues is the honest read on what is realistic.
If you do rehome, how to do it kindly
Once you have decided, the goal is a calm handover into a home that suits the dog. You have two responsible routes. The first is owner-to-owner rehoming, where the dog stays in your care while you find and screen the new family yourself and choose who it goes to. There is no shelter stay, and on LocalPetFinder listing is free. The second is surrendering to a welfare organisation such as RSPCA NSW, Animal Welfare League NSW, or Sydney Dogs and Cats Home, which takes custody and does the screening for you, usually by appointment and often for a fee.
Whichever route you choose, be completely honest about the dog's behaviour, including anything about how it has been around the baby or other children. Hiding a behaviour history sets the next home up to fail and can put people at risk. If your reason for rehoming is a behaviour concern specifically, read our guide on rehoming a dog with behaviour issues before you list, so the dog goes to a home equipped for it.
Skip the free-to-good-home ad. Posting a dog as free on open classifieds such as Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace attracts the small number of people who collect free animals for the wrong reasons. A modest rehoming fee plus real screening is far safer, and it costs nothing to list on LocalPetFinder. Our guide to rehoming a dog for free covers the whole process.
One practical step people forget in a busy few weeks: transfer the microchip. Update the registration to the new owner through the NSW Pet Registry at handover, and pass on the vet records and desexing history at the same time. Our guide to a smooth handover covers the rest.
If a new home is genuinely the right thing
Owner-to-owner rehoming on LocalPetFinder is free. Your dog stays with you, you screen the people who apply, and you choose the family. No surrender fee, no shelter.
List your dog for free →Related guides
A no-judgment framework so you decide with evidence, not worry.
The things worth ruling out before you give up your dog.
The honest read on warning signs and what is realistic.
Every option, what it costs, and the free alternatives worth trying.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to give up my dog when I have a baby?+
In most cases, no. The idea that a baby and a dog cannot share a home is a myth. With preparation and sensible management, most family dogs adjust to a new baby well. What a baby does require is supervision, structure, and a plan, not automatically a new home for the dog. Rehoming becomes the right call only in specific situations, such as a genuine safety risk or a family that no longer has the capacity to care for the dog safely. If your dog is settled and has no history of aggression, start with preparation, not rehoming.
How do I prepare my dog for a new baby?+
Preparation is about management, not a training course. Before the birth, introduce baby sounds and smells gradually so they are familiar, set up the nursery early so the furniture is old news, and start any routine changes now rather than on the day the baby arrives. Keep the dog's walks, feeding times, and attention as steady as you can, because a sudden drop in routine is what dogs notice most. Give the dog a comfortable retreat space it can go to and is never disturbed in. If your dog's behaviour changes at any point, see your vet to rule out pain first.
Is it safe to leave my dog alone with my baby?+
No. A dog and a baby or young child should never be left alone together, not even for a moment, and not even with a dog you trust completely. This is the single firmest rule in this whole area. Supervision means an adult actively watching, within arm's reach, not in the same room but distracted. Most incidents happen in ordinary homes with gentle family dogs during a lapse in supervision, not with dogs anyone thought were dangerous. Use baby gates and separate spaces so the two are never together unsupervised, and treat this as a permanent rule for the early years, not a phase.
My dog is growling at or avoiding the baby. What should I do?+
Treat any growling, stiffening, snapping, or persistent avoidance as important information, and manage it safely straight away by keeping the dog and baby fully separated. Then book a vet visit, because a dog in pain often reacts differently, and the vet can rule out a medical cause. If the dog is healthy and the behaviour continues, ask your vet for a referral to a veterinary behaviourist. Do not try to work through warning signs with online advice or by pushing the dog to accept the baby. Growling is communication, and punishing it can remove the warning without removing the feeling behind it.
When is rehoming actually the right choice for a new baby?+
Rehoming is the responsible choice in a few genuine situations: when a qualified professional has assessed a real, ongoing safety risk to the child that cannot be safely managed, when the dog is highly demanding and the family honestly has no capacity to meet its needs alongside a newborn, or when the family circumstances have genuinely changed. These are real reasons, and choosing to rehome in them is not a failure. What matters is that the decision is based on the dog's welfare and the child's safety, made calmly, and followed through responsibly rather than in a panic.
Is it wrong to rehome my dog because of a new baby?+
No. If you have genuinely reached the point where keeping the dog is not safe or not workable, rehoming it thoughtfully into a good home is an act of care, not abandonment. The families who agonise over this are, almost by definition, the responsible ones. What is not fair to the dog is leaving it in a home where it is stressed, under-exercised, or at risk, or handing it off carelessly. If the decision is real, put your energy into doing it kindly and finding the right new home.
What is the kindest way to rehome a dog when a baby is coming?+
Owner-to-owner rehoming is usually the gentlest route. You keep the dog at home until the right family is found, you screen the people who apply, and you choose the home yourself, so the dog never enters a shelter. List the dog honestly, including anything about its behaviour around children, and hand over the vet records and routine at the handover. On LocalPetFinder, listing is free. If you would rather a shelter take custody and do the screening, surrendering to a welfare organisation is also a responsible option. Both are legitimate; the difference is who does the work and where the dog waits.
Should I rehome the dog before or after the baby arrives?+
If preparation and a professional assessment have shown that rehoming is genuinely the right call, doing it before the baby arrives is usually kinder for everyone, because you have more time and attention to find a good home and manage a calm handover. Trying to rehome in the exhausting first weeks with a newborn tends to lead to rushed decisions. That said, do not rehome pre-emptively out of worry alone. Rehome because a real assessment pointed there, not because of a fear that has not been tested with preparation first.
Should I charge a rehoming fee or give the dog away free?+
A modest rehoming fee is safer than a free-to-good-home ad. A small fee discourages the few people who collect free animals for the wrong reasons and signals to genuine adopters that the dog is valued. The fee matters far less than the screening you do. A modest fee plus real screening is the responsible combination, and it keeps your dog well clear of the risks that come with a free classified listing on sites like Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace.
Do I need to update the microchip when I rehome my dog?+
Yes. Microchipping is mandatory in NSW, and when you rehome a dog you must transfer the microchip registration to the new owner through the NSW Pet Registry. It is a simple online step, and it matters, because if the dog is ever lost the registry is how it finds its way back to the right home. Do the transfer at handover so the new owner is on record from day one, and pass on the vet records and desexing history at the same time.
Sources
- RSPCA Australia Knowledgebase: introducing dogs and babies, supervision, and responsible rehoming
- Australian Veterinary Association: dog and child safety and veterinary behaviour referral
- RSPCA NSW: owner surrender, adoption, and microchip transfer through the NSW Pet Registry