Tips on How to Train Your Furbaby.
"Use youtube.com or a baby sounds CD to play in the house to get your Furbaby used to the noises that your LO will make.
Invest in a baby doll that you can move around the house. Put it in the crib, baby swing, bouncer and other places in the house. Treat is like you would treat your Little One so your furbaby can get used to seeing you with your hands full. Make sure your furbaby doesn't jump on you while you are carrying the baby doll. (Added plus if your Baby Doll actually makes Baby Sounds)
Don't let your Furbaby bring their toys into your Little One's room. It will give them the idea that the space is appropriate to play in. For Dogs- Try to get them to remain seated or laying down while you are in the room. Let them know this is a calm and relaxing room even if there is a baby crying." --- LovesMM ---
"My #1 best advice I can possibly think of is to remember what your responsibility is to your pet and your baby- and always try to set them both up for success. What I mean by that is.... you have made a commitment to your pets to essentially be their parents for life and you've made this same commitment to your child. A lot of people hate comparing animals and children- but essentially, your role is the same in both of their lives.
1) Animals- You train them.... Kids- Teach them 'right' from 'wrong'.
2) Both- You provide the basics for survival (food, shelter, water)
3) Both- You have committed to caring for their emotional needs as well as physical (domesticated dogs and cats are very social creatures, they NEED your attention to thrive.... just like your children).
If you see an issue arise- BE PROACTIVE. You have just as great a responsibility to teach your child how to properly interact with your animal as you have to train your animal how to interact with your child (and everyone for that matter).
The last part of the advice would be to remember why you have the animal in the first place and if there's behavior going on that you aren't happy with and you don't know how to handle ask for help. Dogs cannot train themselves. Cats cannot train themselves. Just like kids cannot train themselves :-P A lot of times a simple phone consult with a behaviorist can give you great insight and tips to try and it costs you nothing! Your child is going to make mistakes that you're going to have to correct them for- and sometimes it may take more than 1 time to correct the behavior... you do owe the same respect to your pets. I think one of the poorest examples a parent can set for a child is to give up on a family pet because they do something they don't like or even worse, because that pet becomes an 'inconvenience'." ---JulietL129---
"Something that is often overlooked is stair and door safety.
I live in a town house where my front door leads out onto a busy sidewalk and is close to a busy road. I noticed that my dogs would not normally run outside if the door is cracked but if it's left more open for a longer period of time, they think it's an invitation. I can only imagine that bringing in the stroller or car seat, the baby and myself will require more open door time. Also, my dogs have a habit of sticking close to me, even on the stairs. If I'm carrying the baby or have my hands full of baby gear, having moving objects on the stairs becomes a more serious safety concern.
I've taught them two new commands to address these issues: "Move!" for when they are on the stairs with me. They now know that when they hear that command they are supposed to go to the next landing, essentially vacating the stairway so it's safe for me to walk.
Also, I taught them "You're going to stay" (emphasis on "stay") for when I leave or enter and the door needs to remain open. This joint command helps to incorporate a cue they already know- "stay"- with a new specific action- staying at the top of the landing that leads to the doors.
It's worked out really well for us and I feel much better knowing that I've addressed one of the hazardous areas of my house." ---MrsTechie---
"For us we've not allowed our dog on any furniture unless he's invite up. He isn't allowed to just jump up on his own and we've been putting him in his kennel at night since we don't have any separate rooms with doors- if we did we would not allow him in the baby's room at all and would close that door at night. We also play with him a lot and he knows which toys are his and which are baby's toys...oh and we've been squeaking any baby toys which make noise to get him used to them and let him know he's not allowed to run after them or play with them.- we've never given our dog squeaky toys because it fires up their prey drive. We're also going to start walking him with the stroller so he gets used to that :)" - abovewedding
"Feliway plug ins and spray; They did not like all the new furniture and paint and construction that went on with the creation of the nursery, but after only an hour of using the plug in and using the spray in their favorite hang out spots they completely calmed down. It's been two weeks at least and I can now leave the door to the nursery open without worrying that they will pee on anything. They aren't interested in the room at all. It's great and doesn't have any smell that I can detect. Best place to get it is Amazon.com, they have the best prices." -laurelannie