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Thanks for the info Scarlett - I had totally forgotten that I had made this post! I love the fact that your cats jumped in the cot! I just love cats and can't wait to get one...DH wants me to wait until the baby is born, but I am secretly hoping that a cat in the neighbourhood will have kittens and that I will get to keep one......
I miss having pets in the house...
Megan
I agree with a previous poster about having two dogs. I had one dog growing up as a child and now have two. They are each other's best mates and certainly relieve the pressure on husband and myself to entertain them - they entertain each other.
Especially with a new bubba in the house, you may naturally not have as much time for the animals. At least they will have each other.
I am really slack & didn't read all 4 pages of posts on here but just thought I would jump in blind with what I feel is some important information for pet owners bring home a new bub.
Like Christy I am also a vet nurse. First I introduce my house hold.
When I fell pregnant with Evan we were living in Nth QLD & we had Missy, a mini foxy, she was about 6 and as spastic as they get! and Kojack, a foxy x border collie, he was about 5 and didn't really like kids. We also had Luna & Ares both DSH cats. When we decided to move to NSW we thought it was best to find the dogs new homes as Missy was a dog who needed alot of attention & as much as I hated it I knew she wouldn't be happy once Evan had arrived. She went to a old couple who owned a caravan park & had another mini foxy, so I am pretty sure she would have been happy there. Kojack didn't like kids. Again it was a hard thinkg to do but i knew that his future may have ended up being put to sleep after biting one of our kids. So he also went to a new home with a young women who was a sports nut & Kojack loved his walks & was very smart.
(the next two stories are sad)
The cats made the 3 day trip in the car to NSW with us. Luna was a little bit of a scaredy cat and she went from being a cat who was comfortable in her home to a cat who spent most of her time hinding or hugging the walls while going to her food/ litter tray / new hiding spot. The poor thing sat under our bed growling the first night Evan was home. over time she got a little better but sadly she was hit by a car on one of her rare occasions out ( so rare was it to be up near the road we really couldn't believe that this was what had happened, we thought it more likely for her to have been kicked by the horse that lived inthe paddock next door while chasing field mice or something). She didn't show up for dinner one night & Luna being Luna we didn't think much of it but she didn't call at the door like she normally did if locked out after dark that night nor was she about in the morning. By afternoon she still had not been seen so we started the hunt, we thought that maybe she had gotten stuck between the garage & the back patio area so that was the firt place we went to look but needed a flood light to see down between the wall. When we went to get it from the shed, there she was huddled up in a ball, it freaked me out, even though I am a vet nurse I was too scared to touch her as I didn't want to hurt her. I got DH to put her in the cat box & called my boss to meet me at the clinic. She was really messed up. we put her on fluids for the night & then the next day I decided to put her to sleep. She had fractured her jaw in 4 places, she had bleeding behind one of her eyes, she didn't seem to have any control of her bowls or bladder as she had not passed any urine even though she was on fluids. And also my boss (the vet) believed she would need to have her salivary glades removed from one side of her mouth. It was going to be a job for the specialist in Ryde & 1000's of dollars later she might not have regained the use of ehr bladder etc and need to be put to sleep anyway. While the $$$ were also an issue my desission was more based on the fact that her recovery would have been terrible for her, she wasn't a cat that would have coped with being handled so much. We miss her dearly but feel she would not have been happy to go through the mass of surgeryshe would have needed. She was buried at my work. Then we have Ares. He spent almost my whole pregnancy purring on my pregnant belly, he was a beautiful cat, our neighbours had even nick named him "Mr beautiful".
On the trip down he sat at my feet the whole way occasionally popping up to ask "are we there yet". He loved Evan put up with everything the kid could dish out. Never used his claws, although he would bite but never hard. On 2 or 3 times he did get in trouble for puttin ghis paws around evans head but on each occassion he really didn't feel he had any other choice as Evan had him cornered. But again he never used his claws he was just holding him with his paws. He was such a good cat, he would sleep at our feet and be this bif lump of cat that would grunt and moan if you tried to move him to get some of the cover's & when it got could he would come up he wriggle under the donor with you. This cat would purr & purr & purr. When I was about 7 months pregnant with Glenn I watched him cross the road & he just casually walked across & made a car stop for him to pass & I had said to DH that he was getting ****y with cars. We lived on a terrible road and about 2 weeks later I had some kids knock on my door & when i asnwered the boy just said I think your cats been hit by a car. I ran outside and up the drive way & there he was just lying there on the grass where the boys had been kind enough to move him off the road. My nighbour was there & said she thought he was gone. I picked him up & took him inside and just broke down in tears as my poor Ares had been killed. I called my boss to see if he was still at the clinic so I could take him in to burie him with luna. while we got ready I tried to put ona brave face in front of Evan, who thought it was funny to see Ares wrapped in a towel. We let Evan see him be put in the ground but I took him away while DH filled in the hole. It made me feel a little better when again Evan a giggle at Ares in the ground. He had no idea what was going on as he was not yet 2. I miss him so much just writing this up had me in tears. I miss Luna as well but I think because Ares was killed made it so much harder. With Luna it didn't feel like it was one of my animals because she was on the surgery table & under anaesthetic and she looked different from her injuries. I don't know why but It was just harder to loose Ares. He would have been 6 last spetember.
Now we have Zoe she is a super spastic boxer who will be 2 this year. She is great with Evan have never had a problem with her as far as he goes, she is a bit of a digger though!
When I was pregnant I avoided changing the litter trays but you can only get toxo from cat poo that is more then 24 hours old so If you keep up with keeping your cats loo clean every day & wash your hads after you really have very little ris. You have more chance of getting toxo from working in a sloughter house then you do from owning a cat. Chancer are if you own a cat you probably have been exposed to it anyway. You can have a blood test to check this. if you have had it while not pregnant its like having the flu. Get it while you are it can cause birth defects or miscarrage & still births so while the risk is small always keep it in mind. just as little tag as to how unlikely you are to get it. I have worked in vet surgeries for almost 9 years & the last time I was tested for exposure to it I hadn't had it.
A screen door on babies bedroom door is a good way of keeping the room open but the cat out for those who are worried about kitty suggling up to bubby.
Worming your pets every 3 months is very imortant when you have kids. Canine & Feline worms don't like to live in humans so they tend to do nasty things to your body if you get them & they are left untreated. round worm for example can travel to your eye & make you blind. Don't be fooled by the super market "All wormer" or your monthly heart worm that also does intestinal worms, not all of these product cover ALL the worms.
Small dogs are more likely to bite then a big dog. this is because the only way they can tell an anoyin glittle kid to leave them alone becasue they are not a puppy ( little kids tend to think little dogs are puppy's) in to bite or growl. Most dog bites are provoked. Even though the dog bit doesn't mean they will do it again unless little tommy shuves that stick up his bum again that is. Dogs don't like there ears being pulled or the feet being touched or tails being yanked. the best way to prevent a dog bite is to WATCH YOUR KIDS. I see so many dog get put down because they bit the child.........what was the child doing??
Well thats about all I can think of for now so i will leave it there, sorry to have turned my Cats stories into a sad story
I love my cats :(
OMG sorry about all the spelling mistakes, its late & I was crying
Oh Fiona, they are sad stories about Luna and Ares. Thank you so much for sharing them and for the advice regarding toxo and the screen door on the bubs room.
I am 35 weeks pregnant and our cat already now jumps in the bubs bassinette. Not sure what to do about this, probably have to shut the door as we aren't in 'our' house yet, have to move in a couple of weeks.
Our dog is a 6 year old kelpie x border collie and I am more worried about him jumping, when he gets excited he jumps and for toddlers, that can be worrying and for when I have bubs in my arms or in a sling.
I know it doesn't sound nice but lift your knee just as your dog goes to jump & tell him NO if a firm voice & he will soon realise that a knee inthe chest isn't any fun.
With you cat in the bassinet, try putting a weak mouse trap upside down & when he jumps in it will go off & give hima fright. Or what I did on the one ocassion I busted Luna in the cot before I had Evan, I snuck up i\on her and banged the side of the cot & made a big ruckus, scared the bejibus out of her. She didn't go back to it. Maybe seems its a bassinet try sneaking up with two pots & bang them together to give her a fright. Cats are persistant. But I doubt she will go back after one or two times of her peaceful sleep being interupted by that. A bit extream i know but I bet it will work! lol or maybe you could just take the normal door of the hinges & a screen door will fit inthe exsiting holes.
Thanks Fiona! Appreciate those suggestions, will try the 'scare' tactic for kitty cat.
Hi Everyone
I posted in here along time ago when I was contemplating getting a puppy or a kitten. Last week I got a little kitty that was a stray from the vet (my to DH's dismay!) Her name is Poppy and she is just a delight.....she is now my baby girl as I am having a little boy.
DH changes the litter all the time now as he is super paranoid that something is going to happen......oh well - I'm not complaining!! :lol:
Poppy lies on my tummy - but I don't think that she knows anything yet as she is only 8 weeks old. Time will tell I guess.....she is just a little joy though and I love having her around!
Megan
Hey Megan,
Congrats again on your new kitty :) It's possible that Poppy knows you are pg. I have a really close bond with one of my kitties and I'm sure she knows that I'm pg. Lately she's taken to snuggling up as close to my belly as possible and even trying to 'hug' it with her paws LOL. Very cute! I'm sure she's even felt Kynan move whilst she been cuddled up next to me and DH hasn't even gotten to feel him move yet LMAO!
Angel - that is just the cutest thing I have ever heard! Your kitty hugged Kynan! I hope that Poppy learns that trick.....
Just loved reading your post! :lol:
Megan
Christy, I've been meaning to tell you for ages, but keep forgetting!! We've had a blanket on the floor in the loungerrom for a few weeks to get our cat used to it & she doesn't go near it anymore - woohoooo! Just wanted to say thanks for the tip.
Also just wondered what you think of this idea I've had... We have a musical mobile on bubs cot, a swing which makes noise & a fisher price toy that plays music. Now what I was thinking (& have been doing) is if I turn them on every now & then (seperately of course) our cat will get used to the noises associated with the baby. Do you think that might help her to be a bit calmer when he arrives cos she'd be used to some of the sounds?
Definately! I used to play some sound bites I downloaded of babies crying as well to the animals at different times during the day so they would get used to the noises :) Good idea!
hi, has anyone got any suggestions on how to introduce a pet to the new addition? we have a little cross toy poodlex ****zu and he is used to being the baby in the house and getting all of our attention. i am afraid that when the baby comes he will feel neglected and jealous even though we are really conscious of it.
Hi amelie! I've posted in the first page what I started doing, but I do have heaps of info on this very subject... I guess the first thing to do while you are PG is to set up a system so your furbaby will not feel like all priveledges are taken away as soon as the baby comes home, so there isn't as much jealousy. So... if your puppy has to have any changes, i.e. sleeping in your bed that you don't want when the baby comes home, start a few months earlier moving him out to where you want him to sleep. If he doesn't have his own bed, buy him one. Give him a place to go to escape (trust me you'll want to join him later :) ) Start a pattern that will continue after bubs. I mean when he goes to bed give him something to chew on yummy like a pigs ear, so it becomes a good thing to go to bed. Get him used to spending time outside, even when you are inside. My dogs rarely have to be put out or anything nowadays, but early on I couldn't handle everything at once....
Get cd's of baby noises...play it periodically. Play it loud & soft so these sounds become familiar to your dog.
Oh I have sooooo many! Get the baby's things set up at least a few weeks beforehand. Have DH bring home baby smelling things with your smell from hospital everyday. When you get home, have DH bring the baby in after you arrive & greet your dog. Always spend 5-10 minutes quality time with your dog once or twice a day when the baby is out of the room/asleep. This way your dog will know that it has a special place in your heart. Same for DH make sure he spends the same time with the dog when the baby is away/out of the room. This helps the dog feel confident.
BIGGEST TIP EVER:
train your dog. Basic commands, sit/stay/down/come etc... if your dog already knows these commands, work on them daily for a minute a few times a day so that they are done almost everytime :) that way you can trust your dog to sit while you move the baby etc... rather then get excited. Start training now. Continue training forever... at least until your baby is walking. Every new stage your baby does, affects the dogs.
Good luck!
thankyou so much christy that is fantastic!! i will start right away and let you know how it all goes :D
Can I add another tip ;) Also if you can get a baby mat (playgym) or blanket now, and put it on the floor and teach your dog not to walk on it. That way when bubs is around and is ever having floor time your dog will know not to walk on the blanket even in excitement iykwim. I know cats & dogs are different, but so many people were so against us having our cat around our baby and it was and has been always fine. We brought stuff home for Chloe to smell, we had the baby's room set up for ages, as well as the pram, and if she ever went near the pram (or cot) I would growl/hiss at her to not go near it. Same if she went into the nursery. Our cat still slept on our bed (but we didn't co sleep), and we had Paris in the room and there was never a problem. So long as you can continually train your pets (and your kids too, its important for them to know how to treat their furry friends) you should be fine.
*hugs*
Cailin
Cai totally agree with you on the cat issue. We have had a blanket down for the last few weeks as I was saying to Christy & Bear has not gone near it. She tried for the first time last night, cos Aaron was sitting on the blanket, but he hissed at her & away she went, hasn't gone near it again since.
I am not yet pregnant but have always worried how we will manage with our 2 year old dog when we do have a baby (hopefully next year!!). I have just read thru this forum and am amazed and thrilled with all the wonderful suggestons that have been made. I can't thank you all enough as I now know that it will all be fine, so long as some preparation occurs during pregnancy.
Since reading this info I have already shifted the dog (who thinks he's human) to his own bed instead of ours. I think my DH is the biggest problem as he wants the dog with with us! I'm sure he'll be hopeless (soft)with kids as well! What am I getting myself into......... O:)
Thanyou all again for the wonderful advice.
I was very concerned about how my little pomeranian and German Shepherd would react to the baby as they had always been our kids. The pomeranian was a particular worry as she had already shown an aversion to kids in general, and would growl whenever one came to our house. The day I brought Michele home, my pomeranian became frantic and kept trying to get to her. That really worried me but before long, I suddenly realised that she wasn't trying to attack her- she was behaving the way she did when she had her own puppies! So I let her jump up and she sniffed the baby,shook with excitement, and didn't leave our side for days. When the German Shepherd tried to come near, she would warn him off with a growl. He accepted the baby without a murmur, btw. All my fears were for nothing.
I am really worried about my two cats when the baby is born. I have set up the nursery already and we have already had one incident of the cat going into the cot and urinating! NICE!! Luckily we had the waterproof cover on the mattress already otherwise there would have been real trouble!
I saw a thing on Dr Harry a couple of years ago where someone put a screen door on their baby's room to keep the cats out, but I really don't want to do that, any other suggestions?
I have tried that pet keep off spray that you can buy for your gardens etc, but it doesn't seem to deter them. We have been spraying it on the door jam and the floor at the door also, but doesn't seem to work.
I am really worried that they will go and smother the baby when we bring it home.
What should I do??
hi, just wanted to suggest a solution
i had a prob with cats using my flower pot has a public toilet so i rubbed VICKS VAPO_RUB all around the rim of the pot.
and it WORKED !!!!! they can't stand the smell of it.
hope you get to try it and it works for you.
sunshine :D
Hey Bel,
I've heard that some people put aluminium foil over the cot mattress for a while and it deters cats as they hate the feel of it under their feet. We have a spray bottle with a water & vinegar mix in it that we spray our cats with whenever they go to do something they shouldn't. It doesn't hurt them and when they lick it off their fur they quickly learn that it doesn't taste nice at all! Now we rarely even have to spray them, we just shake the bottle and they'll stop what they're doing.
I don't think you need to be too worried about them smothering the baby. Most likely they will be a bit scared and very cautious as soon as they hear bubs cry for the first time! Perhaps if it does really concern you, you could get a mosiquito net to hang over the cot and maybe that'd keep the cats out?
If Christy's around she'll be able to come up with some great advice for you I'm sure!
excellent replies ladies, thank you very much, i will try all of these suggestions, anything to keep them out of that room altogether would be great!!
thanks so much
Hi Bel! I can understand your worry, the suggestions given are really good ones to start with. Cats are pretty picky about smells, so the first thing you can try is things like the vaporub or citronella soaked towels in the bed (over some aluminium foil would be great) or citrus smelling things tend to turn them off too. There is a wives tale that cats have smothered babies, and our cat is always asleep in the pram, but will never even go near it when Matilda is in it, he jumped in once when she was in it and she screamed so loud he won't go near the pram when she's in it.
The main reason cats urinate on things is stress. So I would leave things in the cot and maybe do stress relieving things just outside the doorway. Like buy a pot plant of cat nip. There is stuff you can buy from some vets that helps reduce stress in cats, its a bit pricey but we definately used it around the baby furniture, I'll pm you the details. :D I hope this helps!
thanks for that Christy, I will try some of your suggestions. The cats haven't been too interested in going in there, but I am just being cautious I suppose. And after my youngest weeing in there, I was so upset that she would do that, that I guess my imagination ran away with me.
My cats sleep on our bed with us and the oldest sometimes tries to come up near our heads, which is what is bothering me. We have never let her do this, we always push her back down the bottom of the bed, but nevertheless, if she got into the cot with the baby, the baby wouldn't be able to push the cat off, and that is what scares me!!
We have been shooing them out of there if they do go in (which isn't very often) but still, you can't help but worry!
I will try the vicks and have already put some foil down.
I have tried the citrus stuff, and it doesn't work - well not on my cats anyway. That's the first thing we did.
I agree with Christy COMPLETELY! Chloe has always slept on our bed, and still does. We taught her from a kitten that it was NOT ok to sleep on our heads so we don't have that problem, but she will only walk on our heads if she wants us to wake up or she wants to get under the covers or something. Chloe has NEVER jumped into paris' cot she jumped a few times into her pram before she was born but we hissed and growled at her and she never did it again. Chloe was pretty freaked out by paris as a baby as the noises she made were probably irritating to her poor lil sensitive ears LOL! But now she loves Paris and is VERY protective of her.
Goodluck!
*hugs*
Cailin
Hooray, I've found where everyone talks about their pets. It's lovely finding out about all of your pets, the happy and sad, and lots of good advice.
When my eldest two were born (at home) my cat Saxophone & dog Jessie were with me. Sax was a long-haired black moggie with yellow eyes, & Jessie was a Cavalier King Charles x Border Collie, b & w, long haired with beautiful bc markings. They stayed nearby but not too close during the births, & of course were introduced to the babies very early on. It was lovely for me to have them around, I always like to have the touch of a furry critter to reasure me in times of stress.
I had no probs with them with the kids, & when the girls were rough with them they would just get out of the way, but Jess would sleep at the door of the room when they were napping, just as she would "guard" anyone in the house who was sleeping or in the bathroom, lol. We didn't have to worry about Sax getting in with bub, as I kept them in my room with bassinett beside my bed til about 5-6 months, and she never went in the cot, as by then she knew to keep out of their way as they so they wouldn't rough her up.
Both have died of old age now, Jess at 14 & Sax earlier this year at 18. We now have a chocolate Burmese kitten called Coco. We shut our door and baby Angus' door at night, as she will hop in the cot to be with him, and hasn't learned yet that he can hurt her. She's so little it's more a case of protecting her from the baby, lol. She likes to sleep in bed with either of the older kids, but sometimes they put her in the laundry overnight if she's keeping them awake playing. She's bonded with everybody now, and it's really cute watching her playing with Angus, but we have to watch & be ready to save her.
lol Yvette.. has Angus starting kissing her yet?
My godson is obsessed with trying to kiss my animals! Couple of weeks back on my bday we had the pool set up in the backyard and were playing etc.. Dyl walked over to where the dogs were in the smaller yard, and tried to kiss Belle (a red cloud kelpie) and she licked his mouth.. I was just like.. oh great.. Hope she hasnt got any major germs! Otherwise I try to discourage him from kissing them.. and tell him to blow kisses. (He especially loves kissing the cats.. lol)
Anyway..
K
Hi girls, we have two moggies, a black and white (Angel) that I saved from the RSPCA and a tabby cat (Murphy) that I saved from my old work (I worked in a recycling plant - heaps of feral cats and she was a kitten there that went through the mill about 3 times and survived - should have called her lucky!) and a blue cattle dog (Buffy). They all get on really well, and I love my animals to bits, they are my babies!! Especially my dog Buffy, she is such a beautiful loving girl, she is just the best.
She gives us kisses, and sometimes if the kids from down the street are here and we are mucking around with them, she will get in and give them big kisses. I always tell the kids to keep their mouths shut otherwise Buffy will slip the tongue in! Which she does!! its really funny.
I cannot wait for her to meet the baby, and I am doing so much to endeavour to keep her involved so she doesn't feel left out ever, I couldn't stand it if she felt like that, I just love her so much.
I have already organised for her to come to the hospital after the baby is born, I just couldn't stand to be away from her for that amount of time, it would kill me!!
There are a few photos of the "kids" on the web site, there is a funny one of Buffy at her 3rd birthday - yep, we give her a little party every year - some people think we're insane!! tee he he
Thanks to everyone here, we lost my beloved scooby yesterday & I was thinking of waiting until end of July (baby due in Sept) but starting mat leave early August to get a new puppy (I am keen on a Pugalier) to be basically an indoors dog to sleep with Maddy as Scooby was her puppy!
But am now thinking of gettinga puppy as soon as one is available from a breeder... I did puppy school with Scooby & Maddy, so will do that training again myself with the new puppy & our nursery, cot etc is all set up already so puppy will be introduced to that & also will make sure she has a basket/bed in the family room that she is trained to sit in & place a balnket on the floor as suggested above.. I am also thinking of obedience training as I'd love to be able to take Maddy, baby & puppy to parks & have some off leash play time etc...
Any suggestions.....??? Thanks!
No kisses yet Kirby, but the other day I accidentally locked Coco in Angus’ room during his arvo nap. We could hear him chatting but not crying on the baby monitor, so left him to it. When I got him up, Coco was sitting beside him in the cot, her neck all soggy where Angus had been munching on her! Both were quite happy, and when Angus stood up in the cot, Coco did too, paws on the side. It was soooo cute.
Lol Belinda @ Buffy slipping the tongue in (does Lulu have a dog called Buffy too?). My grandpop used to tell me dogs have a clean mouth, less germs than humans, but cat’s mouths are very germy. I know now about toxoplasmosis, so try to be careful, but I have to admit I’m not too fussy. Love your pics Belinda.
So sorry about Scooby Tracey. I must have missed what happened. We want a puppy too, but DH is trying to get me to be sensible and wait til the timing is better for us, as I’ll be the one doing the training, walking etc. It’d have to be right now or when the babies are settled, and we don’t even have the fence situation sorted. Coco is keeping us happy for now. Maybe if we adopted an adult dog & added a puppy later……
If you’re on m/leave from Aug you’ll only have a month to get the puppy settled, but if you’ve got baby barrier gates in the house that would keep puppy confined when you need to, especially if it’s a little one like a pugalier, not one that would easily be able to jump over. Cavvies have such a beautiful temperament, DH will only go for a med/large dog though
Hello everyone,
When I was pregnant with my first child we also had a rather large female dog. Up until the birth of our son, she was our baby and she knew it. During my pregnancy we involved her us much as possible. If we were ever in the babies room setting it up or putting away new items we had purchased we would allow her to come in to the room and just smell everything. We also talked to her alot when she was in there, telling her that baby was coming and this was the babies room. We were extremely repetative so she would learn to understand.
Knowing that we would be unable to walk her as much in the first few weeks after babies arrival, we gradually decreased her walks BEFORE the baby arrived, this way when the baby did arrive she didn't feel or notice to much of a change.
AFTER babies arrival my dh would bring home from the hospital the babies dirty clothes and let her smell them. At first she was very interested in the smell, but as the days went by she became less and less interested, so when we brought home our son we allowed her to smell and because she had already smelt him through his dirty clothes she didn't care much. She seemed more happy to see me, after 5 days apart then the fact we had a brand new addition.
For the first few months she would sleep between our bed and the cot. Now that our son is in his own room she sleeps outside the door. (never entering his room unless myself or dh is in there. If we are busy when he is asleep and don't hear him cry she comes to us to let us know he is awake. Even if dh is a work and I am in the shower she will sit outside the shower until I have seen her and won't leave my side until I go to his room and check on him.
I have heard of dogs getting jealous of new arrivals in the family. If you make the changes and prepare you dog/s before babies arrival they won't notice the change as much. After babies arrival try and make time for your dog/s even if it's 10minutes, don't excluded them completely....
Our dog suprised us in many ways, she is just great.....just take the time to prepare them!!!
I agree completely Karen, my dog is my baby, and she knows it. So we have been preparing her since I first found out I was pregnant. She has "helped" us set up the baby's room and sniffed everything, and when I brought home some dummies for the baby, she thought they were hers, so we gave her one to check out. Because they are latex, she thought they were a toy for her, she soon realised that it wasn't and left it alone, so when the baby comes along, if it needs a dummy, we won't be worried about Buffy stealing the baby's dummy! He He He!!
My girl is such a big part of my life and I just love her to bits, if she ever felt left out, or jealous, I would be heart broken, that is why I am making sure she is still looked after and still given plenty of attention. Im lucky I guess, Buffy can go to work with DH so she is entertained some days. She loves me to be at home with her, so I know that when I have the baby, she will be in her glory!
I have already arranged DH to bring her to the hospital when I am in there, because I couldn't last that long without seeing her, and I want her to know that I haven't left her, because she does get a bit fretty sometimes. I think while I am in hospital and DH will be coming up there all the time, I might arrange for her to go to Nanna's (my mum's) house to stay so she doesn't feel alone and sad at home!!
Buffy has been a bit protective of me lately too, which I think is soo beautiful. Shes a little champion!!
Well I got a new Pup on Friday after work an 8 wk old Pugalier & named her 'Poppy', she is terribly gorgeous!!!
So now the fun begins with training although so far she has been pretty good going outside & when inside only on paper (a few accidents) but any other things I can do to start training her & any tips on places to take her for training? I ahve done a puppy preschool class before & so will do the come, sit, stay etc commands but obedience training & when to start????
how exciting, a new puppy! God I love dogs, they are the best!!
The only suggestion I can make is when Buffy was a puppy, we would take her straight outside after she had eaten or drank so that she knew that was where she had to go to do her business. It worked, she hardly ever went inside, and still doesn't, she's a good girl!!
Oooooh, puppy, puppy, puppy! I wanna puppy too.
:smt022 I know this isn't on the exact topic, but ... I had a German Shepherd that I had recently bought when I got pregnant. I had him for 10 months. But I had to get rid of him because he wouldn't stop jumping on me and I was afaide he would kill or injur my baby. I was completly devistated!! That dog was my dream I had wanted one FOREVER because they say they are thee best dog you can buy for friendship protection and loyalty. An he was my mom was a dog breeder for years and we had tons of diffrent types of dogs and he was thee best dog Ihave ever had! But it because a issue when I got pregnant. I tried my hardest to teach him to stop jumping but I couldnt and obediance training cost way too much!!! So I had to give him away. But even though it was for the best I still miss him in the worst way! He was my best friend and there isn't a day that goes by that I wish I could have afforeded classes to teach him to behave. But my childs safety was my number one consern!
That must have been so sad for you Bethy. German Shepherds are lovely dogs, lots of vacuuming & brushing involved though, and you've got to be ready for about 3 years of puppy behaviour.
Hey guess what guys! We're getting an eclectus parrot! We're adopting him from a family who are finding he's not getting enough attention since their young son came along. Although we have kids & baby & more babies coming, with both of us at home full time we reckon we'll be able to put the work in. We're very excited and off to get our basic schedule 3 licence this morning. He should be moving in with us in a couple of weeks, so we're doing lots of research & getting ourselves ready
I know a couple of you girls have birds as well as other pets & kids/babies - we might need some advice soon.
Spook, the Eclectus Parrot is now in residence :D
Sorry to hear that you felt you had tyo give up your dog. But obedience training does not cost much at all. Ask your local council what obedience dog clubs are in your area and they will be happy to give you a list.
My dog started obedience training back when I was 18 and earning only $9 an hour as an undergraduate cadet and still at uni. I was living by myself, renting and had all the usual bills that come with renting your own house, as I was living away from home for my cadetship. I think back then it was something like $25 a year. Then the last time I paid annual member ship (a year ago) it was at one of the most expensive clubs and it was $60 a year, but I went there because they did agility as well and were the main club in Adealide and had a huge amount of instructors. FOr a while I was a member at two clubs so that I could do both obedience and agility, but then I found the South Australian Obedience Dog Club that did both. I have aslo been a member at the Whyalla club and Gepps Cross club, as well as trying one out at Salisbury. Really, these dog clubs are EVERYWHERE!
Asteryx, my rotty, has stopped going to obedience training now as he is 9 yrs old, has completed all the levels (was trialling when we stopped obedience) and has been diagnosed with Addison's Disease which means his vaccinations aren't 100% effective. So now he only gets to socialise with my friends dogs on our weekly walks as I KNOW they are vaccinated.
I recommend that all dog owners do some obedience training as it makes the dogs in the community alot better, and safer for everyone. The expensive training you talk about is where you get trainers in who take your dog away and train them. This training is pretty much useless anyway, it costs heaps, and you still have no idea how to handle your dog, and the dog learns to respect and obey the trainer, not you.
Community run obedience dog clubs have group classes where the instructors do not handle your dog, but teach you all the vital skills and help YOU to iron out problems with your dog. It is cheap because all the instructors are volunteers. I was an assistant instructor - it is all for the love of it and all the fees you do pay go back to the members by way of BBQ's, new equipment for the club, canteen stock that allows you to buy discounted products, and it also pays for the club's annual trial as all clubs will have at least one of these to encourage dog training. It works because you can practise all the skills at home and if something is not working the instructors will offer to help you understand what you are doing wrong.
The basic skills your dog will learn is to heal on lead and off lead, sit, drop, stand. stay and come back to you when called. This entitels you to the basic obedience certificate which allows you to get discounted dog registration. If you get addicted to dog training, then you can keep going, and do things like agility, fly ball, food refusal, tracking etc. in the trial ring.
To have a well behaved dog arund babies though - the basic obedience is all you need.
I have two dogs - Lady is a Jack Russell x Red Cattle dog, and Rudy who is a purebreed Red Cattle Dog. These girls are our babies and are spoilt rotten!
Lady likes to be carried around on your hip like a baby - sad I know, thankfully she is built like a really skinny cattle dog, lol.
We have started talking about this thing called 'baby', and if I am reading one of my books about pregnancy I always show them, although the other night lady scratched the picture when I told her that was our bubba. I am sure it was a play with me and pay me attention action.
We have discussed starting outside training, because I would like them to become mostly outside dogs, nasty I know at 9, but our house is very small and they love to lie on things left on the floor especially blankets or rugs. So my concern there is that they will try to share with the baby when it is on the floor. My other alternative I guess is to get them their own blanket / mat and start mat training and keep them in the kitchen where they can see us. If they are outside they can't see us at all.
We have already started keeping them out of our room at night, much to their horror, and out of the spare room, which doesn't have a door but we will get one of those safety gates that has a door situation going on. We dont have any cats so we dont have to worry about that.
It is harder than I imagined when it comes to these 2 because we love them sooo much and we want them to love the baby too.
The joys ....