'Train dogs before babies are born', says East Mids animal behaviour expert
Our #TakeTheLead investigation is looking into why there's been a rise in dog attacks
Getting dogs used to the sights and sounds of a baby before they're born can help reduce the risk of incidents happening at home, local dog experts say.
It's after there's been calls to better educate children in schools on the dangers dogs can pose if they're mistreated.
This week our #TakeTheLead investigation's revealed 90% of incidents involving dogs and kids happen at home.
There's also been a big increase in the number of dog attacks in the last 25 years - with a number of deaths coming this year alone.
Figures show hospitals in England treated nearly 9,000 people who'd been involved in attacks in 2022 - with figures predominantly made up from bites on adults.
Attacks on children remain high, but are more steady.
Anna Pollard works with dogs in Rutland, and is from the organisation Kids Around Dogs (KAD).
She says there's a number of easy tricks that owners can do whilst they're pregnant to prepare their dogs for the arrival of a child:
'Speaking from someone that does have two shepherds and a baby, I don't live in a massive house, or have pots of money to be able to spend on training for my dogs. It's all about safe management; being able to read your dogs' body language.'
'Getting a dog used to being away from you, or having their meals at times varied throughout the day is key, because one day that baby's going to be crying and you're not going to be able to feed your dog at 5pm.'
'What can they do that keeps their brain busy, but doesn't mean that they need that two hour walk everyday to get rid of that energy?'
'Moses baskets, the baby noises - all of these things will be as new and confusing to dogs as they are to you. They can be brought in for dogs to get used to while you're pregnant.'