Pets & Pregnancy/Pets & Babies #2

[Kirley64]

I have two indoor cats. One is almost 3. she is a beautiful Balinese cross..... she is queen of our house. she only likes pats when she wants them and she will meow angrily at you if she wants something that you aren't giving it to her. lol. you can just call her name in an angry manner if she is doing something wrong and she knows and stops what she is doing or leaves the room she's not meant to be in. The other one is just a domestic short hair. he is 1 1/2 and fat lol. he is sooo smoochy and is my baby. he follows me around the house, meows for food or attention. He doesn't really listen like the other one does, however when my husband yells at him he knows he's in trouble (or if you take a step towards him when calling his name he runs); to dicipline him we flicked his ear and he learnt that he gets that when hes being naughty. When i do it, it doesnt' always work, however he doesnt' like it when my husband flicks his ear. He just has to hold his fingers in front of his face like he's about to flick him and he stops what he is doing.

Our cats have hardly ever been allowed in the room that will now be the nursery however they do love to explore it. we have always just had a board up in front of the door (it is low enough that they can jump it sometimes but in a year they have only ever jumped it about 5 times which is pretty good odds), so i am just going to replace it with a solid baby gate. they do like sleeping in the bed at night, however for the last month i have started locking them out at night. My little boy doesn't like it, he wakes up every morning at 4.20 and scratches continueously until i get up and either feed him or yell at him several times. I physically have to make him sit on the couch and tell him to stay. Trying not to get into a habit of feeding him.
Some days it works some it doesn't. If we leave the door open he comes and lies at my head and insists i pat him. Dont really want him to lie at the babies face like he does to me.
alot of family are warning us about cats and babies, trying to convince them otherwise but they dont seem to listen... wow sorry for the long post

[tk1999]

Does anyone know about getting parrots prepared for bubs arrival... the bird hates me... yes it is a strong term but this bird is a one owner person and it loves DP to bits (I think it is a girl parrot but DP says it is a boy, that is what he was told when he got him and there is no changing his mind!)

The bird has never attacked me... well it has tried to bite me when I am tending to his cage but doesn't fly to attack if that makes sense... he can fly (despite having his wings clipped in January 09 and being told they only need to be done once a year)

My main concern is the sqwaking... I know it is better to have bubs sleep somewhere with noise so that they don't get used to only sleeping when it is quiet but I think general noise and a parrot sqwaking because it has separation from DP anxiety are slightly different - so just wondering if anyone has experience with parrots and bubs

Thanks Megsmum for the advice re parrots! Sorry I didn't reply earlier

Well to update... DD arrived early and we hadn't really got a chance to get Tyson (parrot) used to the idea of a little one being in the house.

DD was in SCN for the first 15 days of her life and when she came home DP introduced Tyson to her... he was not phased in the foggiest.

He still sqwaks but not as much as he used to but it doesn't matter really as DD sleeps through it... from the loudest and most frequent sqwaks to the little irritated sqwaks!

[BOC]

My dog definitely knows something is going on. In the first few weeks she was constantly sniffing me, I guess she could smell the change in hormones. By about 10 weeks she had stopped trying to climb all over me & would just sit quietly on my lap with her front paws resting on my belly. My DH thinks she's "protecting" me. She never leaves my side when she's inside.

The other night I was reclining on the lounge and she came and laid across my lap with her head against me, her ear against my belly. It was sooooooo cute! It was like she was trying to listen to the baby. I only wish I'd had the camera with me. It didn't last long though, bubba wasn't impressed and gave her a kick. She gave me a bewildered look as if to say "What was THAT???" and then climbed down and sat on the cushion beside me

[cdc]

I have a 5 month old alaskan malamute puppy and a stray rabbit (who knows ho old he is)

neither of them seem to know what the hell is going on

im just hoping my lil girl doesnt get too put out when bubs comes along

[Kazbah]

How far along are you again?

Pretty much the best way is to introduce any new routines to your pets before bub gets here - so that means if you don't want them in the baby's room, teach them "no" now. If you no longer want them sleeping on your bed, now's the time to do it. Same as jumping on the sofa.

given she's a malamute, I'd really be ensuring you take her to puppy preschool & dog training, as she'll be a big dog for a small baby.

Also, we brought home dirty baby clothes for the dogs to smell before we came home, and ensured we gave the dogs baby-free lovin' as part of their routine.

[MummyTummy]

We also allowed time for our pets to meet our DS under our supervision, so they got to know that he was a new member of our 'pack'. We let them sniff him and didn't tell them off for going near him as we were there monitoring what was going on. It was actually interesting to see how they reacted.

The cat was quite indifferent, didn't like the crying so basically stayed out of the way. She doesn't now, she'll go and rub herself on him and has no problem with him being near her (unless she's in a mood!!)

The dog wasn't quite sure what to make of him either, but was certainly curious and took the time to check him out. He always wanted to greet him when we got home, just as he did to us. And when he cried he would go and get one of his toys and toss it for him (like he was trying to make him better by sharing his toys). We had to watch that he only brought stuffed toys, not his Kong!! But the two of them are now best friends and play all sorts of games together and I never feel anxious watching them play. Of course I keep the supervision up but I really feel that the dog is just as protective of Jett as he is of us.

The other important thing is to allow your dog to remove herself for timeout when she needs. This might be her bed, or a different room, or even outside, but somewhere where your child can not get to them while they are there IYKWIM. I know that might seem a long way off, but it is good to think ahead and plan if you need to.

Goodluck! I'm sure they will grow up great friends too!

[cdc]

hey kazbah

im no that far along yet so prob a lil early

yes, lil miss has already graduated from puppy pre school. she is mainly an outside pup soo im hoping there sholdnt be too much problems when bub comes along

[MrsBexie]

Hi all!

Just wanted to say I have a 15yo lazy fat cat called Pierate and a 7mth old border collie puppy Vixen. We bought Charlotte home from the hospital the day she was born, Pierate could not care less, hasn't even really attempted to check her out.. sometimes he looks a bit annoyed when she screams! lol.

Vixen is more interested, at first she was terrified of Charlotte and if we put her down near vixen, Vixen wouldn't look at her and would run away! LOL. Now she comes in while charlotte is on my legs and gives her sneaky licks on her head or feet (whatever is hanging near her mouth!) but that's about it.
The transition has been easy!

[QCaz]

I'm a long way out from bringing bubs home, but I have what can be a difficult dog. He was a dog I got as a security/gaurd dog that has ended up being my best mate and big sookie boy!

He is a de-sexed 9yo Rottie x Lab (to the best of our knowledge) I got him from YAPS at 5yo. The ONLY thing I know about his past is that his last family gave him up because "he went funny on the baby." At yaps, they told me he would eat my cat and I could never have him near kids etc etc. He is incredibly smart and I have had no real trouble training him to ignore the cat (helps that she beats s*** out of him any chance she gets) and he is usually pretty good with kids. If they are shorter than he is, sometimes they are ok but sometimes not. Other dogs are generally OK if they are the same size or bigger, he won't be the one to start a fight but if the other dog does, he will finish it! Smaller dogs are a definite no-no. I basically always have to watch him with kids and dogs until I KNOW they will be ok (like, after several visits)

He is VERY protective of me, and also jealous. To the point where he normally follows me from room to room around the house and if he has fallen asleep and I've gone outside or something he will panic and run (literally run) around sniffing until he has found me. He always has to know I am OK. He also knows I am the boss, and while he will listen to DH or other people its like he knows they aren't the ones in charge and he doesn't REALY have to do what they say. If he is around, I don't pat other dogs as it causes too many problems. He is SUPER affectionate and cuddly to me, slightly less to DH and will have a cuddle with some other close family but not everyone. He won't let just anyone pat him (a lot of that depends on how I am acting towards the person though). He also gets separation anxiety, especially if left alone but DH says when I go away for a few days he gets very depressed and sometimes won't eat.

He is not allowed on any furniture, doesn't usually sleep in our room, gets fed last behind us and the cat, is not fed treats without sitting, shaking etc, is not fed from the table or anything he has seen us eating (unless we have finished, and take him away from where we are eating) and I used to be very strict on the waiting for us to go through doors first (but not lately as he settled in so well). He waits to be told to eat when he is fed meals (you can leave the room and he won't touch it), he waits to be told to get in and out of the car, he doesn't jump up on anyone either. He really does try very hard to do the right thing to make you happy and is (mostly) an obedient, loving, gentle dog.

I am so worried about him with the baby but I'm not sure if he really went crazy in the past or if his last owners were the ones that went crazy. I honestly don't know why they gave him up as I think he could be easily trained to accept a baby.. but then, I don't know for sure.
What do any of you more experienced dog handlers think?
BEcause if there is anything I can start training him to do early I would rather put the next 7 months into it than have to give him up (or most likely put down) because of a baby in the house.

Sorry about the long post, but he really is my best mate!

[Miss.September]

We made sure that in the months leading up to baby being born, that the dogs were put into a routine that wouldn't be unusual to them once baby arrived. So if they came inside, they were to sit on their indoor mat, we tried to get them used to walking with the pram. Their routine didn't change hugely because they were already outside all day while we were at work, something that would continue once baby was born.

When we had DD, DH came home each day I was in hospital and got them to sniff the used baby clothes. They fretted while I was away (5 days in total). When we came home, we brought them out to the car and they watched us bring DD out. We let them have a sniff, but after that, they were happier in the backyard. If we brought them in, they wanted to be out. Three years on, and this is still the case with one of the dogs. Neither of them have ever shown aggression, get along fine with each other and are okay with other dogs (one is overly enthused, and the other couldn't care less). But I have never let DD near them by herself. Too much can go wrong in a split second, and it's just not worth it. Fact is I trust my dogs, but if DD was to pull a tail or an ear, I have no way of 100% knowing how they will react. I'm hoping I read you wrong when you wrote "I basically always have to watch him with kids and dogs until I KNOW they will be ok (like, after several visits)" but it gave me shivers.

We tried not to exclude our dogs from our life but things do change. Having a baby that didn't sleep too well, and had unforseen medical issues meant that the dogs really did take a back seat for quite some time. But we found a balance again. They come camping with us, DD likes to talk to them, pat them and throw the ball for them and I don't think they'll bat an eyelid when we have this baby.

There are pamphlets you can get about introducing dogs to a new baby - we got ours from the hospital, or maybe talk to your vet for other ideas about how to prepare him. Good luck!

[QCaz]

Thanks PacRakMG. I will talk to the vet next time she does her rounds.
No, you diddnt read anything wrong, I do have to watch him all the time with new kids and dogs which is EXACTLY why I am so worried about him. I agree that you can never know 100% how they will react which is what I really worry about. Mostly because I know what he is like now, but there was 5 whole years of expereiences before I got him and I have no idea when or if his past might come back to bite someone!

[Sab]

This is an awesome thread! We have 2 very spoilt cats. Shadow is a long haired Manx cat who has just turned one. We got her from a pet shop but she has a very friendly attitude towards people but when we got our second cat Oscar who was adopted from the RsPCA she got very out out by the new family member. Oscar is bigger than Shadow he is a long hair male tortie! He is almost two now but was abandoned and left to fend for himself. He is the most affectionate cat I have ever had and super friendly to everyone. Our cats have since learned to get along and now play happily with each other, share food and water bowls and their litter tray!

I feel confident that they are aware of bubs because they have started to follow me around, sleep right next to me and I type this Oscar is sitting on the arm of my couch with his head on my tummy! I'm only 5 and a bit weeks! They started acting strange about a week and a half ago. I don't plan on changing their lifestyle because I honestly think they will be fine when we bring bubs home. They don't sleep on our bed and are now allowed in the nursery but they never have been. They have the run on the lounge room and hallway where their toys are strewn from one end to another.

We had them first and I am very protective of Oscar, due to his less than happy start to life. I told my DH that there was more chance of me getting rid of him than getting rid of the fur babies! Our cats are spoilt rotten and I don't plan to change that either. We will of course watch them with bub when she is on the floor etc but personally I think it will be good for all of them! :-)