You and your
family are eagerly awaiting the arrival of your new baby! Well,
all except your dog - he's still just an innocent, unsuspecting
little guy. Although you can't sit down for a heart-to-heart to
tell him that someday he'll be good friends with the baby, and
you don't love the baby any more than you love him, and that scary
wailing he hears is just a normal thing that babies do, you can
help him prepare. The following steps will help the transition
go much more smoothly for you and your four-legged children.
Begin by
purchasing a life-like baby doll to "practice" with.
Spend time in the nursery attending to the doll (changing diapers,
feeding, dressing, etc.) while rewarding your dog with treats
and praise for waiting patiently outside the nursery (use a
baby gate to keep him out so that you'll have one dog-free zone).
Do not reward whimpering or barking - only quiet patience. This
way, your dog will learn that he cannot always have your attention
while you attend to the baby. You can also use the doll to safely
teach Rover to gently sniff the baby and not paw at it.
About two
weeks before the baby arrives, sprinkle baby powder around the
house or on the doll so that the smell becomes familiar to your
dog. You can also teach the Leave-It command with baby blankets
so that your dog learns that baby blankets are not toys. If
you want to get really advanced, you can teach your dog to discriminate
scents and reward him for playing with toys marked with one
scent (vanilla extract works) for him and for obeying a Leave-It
command for another scent (baby powder) for the baby's toys
and blankets. This way, you can always tell your dog which toys
are "legal" for him and which are "off limits."
About three
weeks before the baby arrives, purchase a recording
of a baby crying and play it very quietly for a little while
each day. Gradually turn the volume up as your dog becomes accustomed
to the sound so that the noise will not be stressful or shocking
to him when the baby arrives.
Lastly, don't
forget your cats! Cats are sensitive to changes in smell and sounds
too. Adding baby powder to your home and desensitizing your cat
to the sound of the baby crying ahead of time are also great ways
to help prepare your cat for the baby's arrival!
Cara Vacchiano
is the owner of Buddy's
Chance, a professional petsitting and dog training business
in Austin, Texas.
These
two happy guys, Chance and Buddy, get their running
in at a local Austin dog park along with their other
greyhound friends.. They live with Cara Vacchiano, one
of our regular columnists. These guys are the namesake
for her pet sitting business, Buddy's
Chance LLC.
Does our next pet of the month live in your home? Let
us know! Email a picture of your pet, and be sure
to tell us a little bit about him or her.
Flea Season
and your Pets
As a loving
pet owner, you would do anything to prevent your dog or cat from
suffering…after all, they are part of the family. Yet every
yea r when flea season begins, the suffering sets in…fleas
bite, and the scratching and chewing starts. It’s a painful
and irritating routine for you and your pet…but that’s
just the beginning. Adult fleas jump on your pet and bite them
to feed on the blood. Then the fleas produce eggs, eggs drop from
your pet to the ground or carpet. The eggs develop over time into
adult fleas, and the cycle starts.
The adult
fleas on your pet can actually cause serious medical problems
-- like flea allergy dermatitis or tapeworms, and in some extreme
cases, anemia. Ideally, flea control should begin as flea prevention
-- before flea season starts. Your vet is a flea expert and can
advise you on the products that kill adult fleas, eggs, and larvae,
and that kill fleas in your environment. Please don’t let
your pets suffer from fleas.
JoAnn Carlson
is the owner of #1
Pet Mom, a pet sitting service in Rancho Santa Margarita,
California.
Dear
Site Hound,
My
best friend Tiffany wants to get a rabbit but I'm
trying to talk her out of it because I know she won't
make the time to take care of it properly. She says
I'm stupid for saying there's a lot of work involved
and just won't listen. What can I do to convince her
that a rabbit is probably not the right pet for her?
She's 14 and more into shopping for clothes than pets!
Shelley
- St. Louis, MO
Dear
Shelley,
Whether
she knows it or not, Tiffany has a pretty darned good
friend! You're right that rabbits need a lot of care
in order to be happy, healthy animals. Many people
don't think about this and don't take time to find
out before getting one. So unfortunately, way too
many cute, cuddly rabbits end up in shelters and rescue
groups, especially right after Easter. If you can
have Tiffany take a look at The House Rabbit Society
website she'll be able to find out just what goes
into caring for a bunny. Once she knows what she's
in for, she can decide whether or not she can find
time between shopping trips to spend with a rabbit.
The House Rabbit Society website has information on
behavior, health, litter training, how to hold a rabbit,
housing, the types of toys they like to play with,
and a lot more information that anybody thinking of
getting a rabbit should read. Good luck with Tiffany,
and hopefully you can get her to sit still long enough
between boutiques to read up about rabbits!
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Cara Vacchiano
is the owner of 
Does our next pet of the month live in your home? 
JoAnn Carlson
is the owner of 