How do I prepare my dog's routine before a baby arrives?

Sit down and honestly plan what a typical day will look like with a newborn: who walks the dog, at what time, and what backup exists on hard days. If a partner, family member, or dog walker will take over some duties, start that handover early so your dog builds a relationship with that person before the transition is also tangled up with a new baby.

Move walk and meal times in small increments, 15 to 20 minutes every few days, toward the schedule you expect to use later, rather than making an abrupt jump. Dogs adapt far more easily to gradual shifts than to a sudden overnight change, and this approach avoids adding schedule stress on top of a busy newborn period.

Practice occasional shorter walks or a later than usual dinner now, so your dog has some tolerance built up for the inevitable unpredictable days ahead, rather than a routine so rigid that any disruption causes stress. A dog with some flexibility already built in copes far better with the genuine unpredictability of early parenthood.

Line up specific, named help for specific days rather than a vague offer of support, since new parents rarely have the energy to organize help reactively. A neighbor covering the Tuesday midday walk, a family member handling weekend outings for the first month, or a booked dog walker for weekday afternoons all reduce the number of decisions you need to make while running on very little sleep.