The Sick Dog Blog

Bringing a new baby home can be a traumatic experience for a dog or cat. Not only is there a new family member in the household, but this new family member is loud and she occupies nearly all of mom’s and dad’s time!

Helping a dog adjust to a new baby can be difficult, but I’ve found a new tool that’s worked wonders for cats and dogs living with a new baby!

Baby Sounds for Pets CD – Help Dogs and Cats Adjust to a New Baby

Baby Sounds for Pets is a CD for dogs and cats (though birds, potbellied pigs, rabbits and other household pets could benefit from this as well!) This pet CD features baby sounds – crying, cooing, even a temper tantrum! Soon-to-be parents can play this CD during the weeks and months leading up to the baby’s birth to help their dogs, cats and other pets adjust to the sounds of a child.

To understand why cats and dogs get upset when a new baby arrives, it’s important for the pet owner to put him/herself in the animal’s shoes, so to speak. Dogs and cats have an extremely acute sense of hearing that’s many times more sensitive than a human’s. Imagine how frightening and uncomfortable a baby’s cries can be for the dog! Not only is it a new sound, but it’s very loud. And these new, loud, frightening sounds are inescapable, invading the dog’s comfort zone – his home!

This pet CD will help acclimate the dog to the sounds of a baby, eliminating some of the fear associated with the new experience of having a baby in the home.

How to Use a Baby Sounds CD for Dogs and Other Pets

I’ve developed some great techniques for using this baby sounds CD with my dog training clients. I recommend the following desensitization dog training measures to help prepare a dog for baby’s arrival.

• Start out with a very low volume and then raise the volume gradually (though this baby sounds recording features some automatic volume adjustment in the actual recording  – the cooing sounds are much softer than the tantrums!)
• Play the baby sounds CD in the baby’s bedroom first.
• Play the pet CD in your own bedroom and in other locations where the baby will spend time (i.e. the living room).
• Take a car ride with the baby sounds CD playing if you plan on riding in the car with the dog and baby.
• Offer praise and treats to the dog when you first turn on the baby sounds CD and then periodically as the CD is playing (especially during potentially upsetting sounds, like crying or a tantrum.)  Offer positive feedback that the dog will come to associate with the sounds of the baby. This will, in essence, train the dog to associate baby sounds with good things (i.e. treats and praise.)

You should use the Baby Sounds for Pets CD as background noise or in conjunction with other sounds. Don’t shut off the TV, your music and halt all discussion – the point is to create a realistic sound atmosphere for the dogs and cats. Another benefit? Parents and siblings can adjust to the sounds of a baby as well!

Baby Sounds for Pets Preview and Music Downloads

Baby Sounds for Pets is currently available on iTunes, so you can preview and purchase individual baby sounds. The following baby sounds can be downloaded for $.99 each on iTunes or previewed:

* Baby Cooing and Gurgling

* Sounds of Baby Crying

* Baby Laughter

* Baby Talk

* Sounds of Baby Temper Tantrum

• Sounds of Baby’s Nursery

You can download the entire album Baby Sounds for Pets for $6.93 on iTunes.

Today’s post will focus on the Stamford, Connecticut Chimpanzee attack and the lessons dog owners can take away from the chimp mauling that left the victim, 55-year-old Charla Nash fighting for her life and severely disfigured when the chimp bit off her nose, eyes and jaw, and severely injured her hands.

Recognizing the Role of Instinct in Pets

Just 72 hours after the vicious chimp attack, we’re learning details of the chimp owner’s relationship with 14-year-old Travis the chimp. Sandra Herold dressed her pet chimp in clothing, he rode in the car daily, he ate dinner at the dinner table. Herold would even share a glass of wine with Travis the chimp every night before they retired to bed – together, with owner and chimp sleeping in the same bed.

I suspect Herold was beginning to forget the truly wild animal instinct that lurked just beneath the surface in her primate pet; the fact that she allowed a friend – the victim, Charla Nash – to attempt to assist with the agitated chimpanzee confirms this.  Had Herold fully acknowledged the potentially dangerous animal instinct that would emerge, then she would have isolated Travis the chimp from even herself.

I believe this was Herold’s primary mistake: she forgot that her chimp was a chimp, with needs different from a human’s needs. She dropped her guard and forgot about her chimpanzee’s wild instincts and unfortunately, her reality check ended with a chimpanzee attack on a human that ultimately led to Travis’ death.

Remembering Animal Instinct and its Role in Dog Behavior and Training

This sad and unfortunate situation involving the chimp attack in Connecticut highlights a very important lesson that many dog owners learn the hard way.

The lesson is this: You must always remember that your dog is a dog; he is not a human in furry clothing. Treating your dog like a human in a furry sweater may largely ignore the dog’s needs, leading to behavioral problems and the dog equivalent of mental illness.

It’s also important to remember that your dog has his own unique set of animal instincts that may very well override the dog’s training at some point in time. Many owners make the mistake of letting their guard down; dog owners look at their friendly, well-trained dog and they forget what the dog is physically capable of inflicting serious injury – or worse.

Each and every dog, if put in the right situation, can and will hurt or even kill a human, another dog, a cat or another pet.

A dog’s instinct cannot be trained away or loved away; your dog will always remain a dog to the core – something that’s very important to remember if we are to keep our dogs well-trained and mentally healthy.