If you’re expecting a baby, you might think you’ve prepared your family adequately for the big event, but wait – have you prepared your pet? Don’t laugh; it’s important if you want your dog or cat and the baby to become good friends, Here’s what a nationally recognized animal trainer suggests:
• Be sure your pet is well trained and will sit and stay on command. It’s easy to say, but you may even want to consider obedience training.
• Teach your pet not to jump if that’s been a problem. As silly as it sounds, you might practice walking around the house, carrying a doll just to get your pet used to the idea.
• If you can arrange it, let your pet spend a little time with a friend’s baby to get used to the difference between adults and kids.
• And, before you bring the baby home from the hospital, let your pet sniff a blanket that the baby has slept with to get used to the unfamiliar scent.
• Finally, and this will remind you of tips for helping a first child adjust to a new baby, when you come home from the hospital with the baby, spend a few minutes alone with the pet to assure it of your continuing affection.
Vicki Lansky’s practical, common sense approach to parenting is familiar to millions throughout the world. Vicki’s first book, Feed Me, I’m Yours, published in 1974, and still one of the most popular baby/toddler food cookbooks in the country, was followed by The Taming of the C.A.N.D.Y. Monster, a #1 New York Times bestseller. Her other titles include: Toilet Training, Birthday Parties Best Party Tips & Ideas For Ages 1-8, Dear Babysitter Handbook, Welcoming Your Second Baby, Getting Your Child to Sleep … and Back to Sleep, Trouble-free Travel with Children, Baby Proofing Basics and Games Babies Play From Birth to Twelve Months, Koko Bear’s New Potty, A New Baby at Koko Bear’s House, Koko Bear and the New Babysitter, and Koko Bear’s Big Earache. Vicki Lansky’s Divorce Book for Parents: Helping Children Cope with Divorce and Its Aftermath
