Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006

Oops, well, I really let this page slip didn't I? Nearly a year has elapsed since I last put Jenson's page in order. Time for some serious updates!

New for 2006!

Santa taught Jenson to WALK!

And you might just about be able to read this...

it says "pregnant"

Baby No 2 is due on July 30th 2006!

10th April 2005

A few updates for you to enjoy! (Lots of "firsts")

1st time on a swing

Which he clearly loves...

Daddy came to Baby Becalmed...

and did all the swings, including this "lotus" swing!

Then mummy and daddy went to the woods

and played in the trees

because they're stupid!

I prefer to go shopping, now I can sit in a trolley...

I like shopping a lot!

Its nearly as much fun as getting
PRESENTS!
(from Nanny and Grandpa)

The following weekend we had a photo shoot

Daddy took some pictures too!

I was told this pony is called Casper

I WASN'T told I was going to have to ride him...

But you have to admit...

you get rather a good view!

I'm sad to report the end of an era...

I put Jenson in his walker this morning and positioned him facing me on the other side of the gate while I checked my e-mails on the computer. You can imagine my complete horror when I glanced up (it had gone horribly silent) and ...
HE WASN'T THERE!
Yup, he's finally mobile. He'd pushed his walker backwards by about 3 feet, just out of my line of sight...

Well, gotta go - I'm checking out "Baby Crates" on the web... someone must make them eh?

Reading his first script with Susan (March 05)

Sitting up and playing in his inflatable ring (March 05)

Sitting up in the bath at last (Feb 05)

If ANYONE can find another "Roger" toy, please let me know! Bought at Pets At Home this Xmas and I can't find another one anywhere. Jenson is Welded to it!

Weight, Feb 05.

Pregnancy Training

© Katie Rourke 2004

Over the last 6 weeks probably the most frequent question I've been asked is, "how are your dogs reacting to the baby?" The answer is always the same, "Just Great!"

This is not just a case of luck, nor is it just a coincidence. I’ve worked extremely hard at building their relationship with Jenson and this work started many months before he was even born.

Nearly every trainer I know groans at the now all-too-familiar telephone call, usually at an antisocial time on a weekend evening, asking how you achieve this euphoric state. They’ve usually waited until the expectant mother is at least seven months pregnant and beginning to notice that she can’t do as much as she thought she’d be able to. The dog, who was never trained in the first place, is now bouncing off the walls due to lack exercise and/or mental stimulation and is driving both potential parents nuts. It comes to a head at about 7.30pm when the dog leaps onto the counter top and steals their freshly prepared Sunday Roast, or grabs an article of clothing, vital for tomorrow mornings’ meeting with the Chairman and proceeds to instigate a game of chase-me around the house. At that point, forgetting entirely that even humble Dog Trainers have a life too, they pick up the phone.

When is the perfect time to start “pregnancy training”? In a nutshell, as soon as the cute four-legged furry enters your house on DAY 1. New Puppy or Cherished Rescue, the house rules are the HOUSE RULES and these should be instigated and adhered to from that first day.

Every dog will benefit from at least basic training. Enrol at your local Dog Training School, having visited and approved it first (a recommendation via word of mouth is MUCH better than an advert in your local newspaper in this case). In this class you should learn how to teach your dog to sit, down, come when called AND walk on a loose lead at the very least. Targeting would be extremely useful and should ideally be included at this stage of training.

Don’t, under any circumstances, let the instructor graduate your dog to the next level of training until you’ve mastered these basics in all sorts of situations. You’ll need a five minute Down-Stay as a minimum requirement, longer is even better.

When you discover that you’re pregnant, BORROW all the equipment that a baby needs (if you haven’t already had it bought for you or you haven’t gone out and spent the equivalent of several months mortgage payments on it already). Start from scratch and go over the basics all over again, but in the presence of the buggy, the pushchair, the pram, the cot, etc, etc, etc.

On the subject of discovering your pregnancy – do watch your dog! David refused to do anything, point blank, period, from about seven weeks to about the fourteenth week of my pregnancy. He looked at me like I had grown a second head and kept ducking out of my way looking for all the world like he was expecting at the very least a “near-fatal-beating”! As I was unaware that I was pregnant at that point, I had no idea what had caused this change in behaviour and it was, to a large extent, extremely frustrating.

Anyway, back to training. Practise the down stay while you spend an inordinate amount of time trying to fold up the damned pushchair that looked so impossibly simple when the sales-girl did it for you in the shop. Drive to the park and practise a sit stay while you get the buggy out of the car and try and “Just Pop It Up”. Maintain the stay while you make sure that the bloody thing is actually locked in the “Up” position and doesn’t gently sag like a sinking ship as you start to push it along.

Believe me – all of this is MUCH easier without a baby present!

Now you can practice your heelwork with the buggy, then try it again with the Baby-Tote. You’ll be amazed how differently your dog reacts when he can’t see your face, when there’s an unpredictable bouncing wheelie thingy in front of you or your whole body shape has changed. For those In-The-Know (or CFA Students) this sequence of training is called “Generalisation”. If you have a multi dog household (like me) do remember to train each dog individually, then in small groups together. You’ll be more successful that way.

If your dog is clicker trained, the heeling-to-the-buggy bit is easy. Simply attach your target to the buggy, just above the rear wheel suits me best, and off you go. As you hit every fence-post and tree in the park whilst concentrating on your dog, you’ll appreciate the fact that there’s no concussed baby on board! Needless to say, by the time you’re seven months pregnant, you won’t be able to fit the Baby-Tote over your huge bump (and believe me, its going to get bigger…) so you need to do all this stuff pretty early in the pregnancy.

At about six months it’s a good idea to get one of those yukky CD’s with baby wailing, sneezing and crying on it. Put it on and play it about five minutes before you’re due to feed your dog and leave it on while your dog is eating. That way the association between “Wailing Noise” and “Food” is made pretty early on and it becomes a very pleasant sound for the dog, in much the same way as the clicker is. The fact that it may not have the same associations for you at 3.00am in the morning is another story…

Again, from about 6 months it might be a good idea to make any significant changes to your dog’s lifestyle that you’d been planning to make when the baby comes home. For instance, I thought that it was about time that David moved downstairs to sleep with the other dogs. I didn’t want him to be able to associate Jenson’s arrival with his departure from our bedroom as this would definitely cause resentment and jealousy.

You may also decide to install a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs to prevent your dog from having access to the upper floor of your house. Again, do this well in advance of the little one’s arrival home so that the dog cannot make an association between your new baby and the curtailment of his privileges.

Hopefully the dog has regular contact with both you and your Significant Other. The baby will share both your genes and will therefore smell a bit like you and a bit like him. This can be either a) confusing for your dog – the baby being neither one thing nor the other or b) reassuring for the dog – the baby is obviously the product of both of you. Remember this point and be sympathetic.

No matter how good your intentions, during the first few weeks after the birth your dog is going to get ignored quite a lot whilst visitors stream through the door day and night to see the new baby. Also, you’ll need to take lots of “cat-naps” during the day to catch up on the missed sleep during the night, you can’t entertain your dog while you’re asleep! So, as the birth approaches, gradually decrease his dependence on you by slowly giving him less attention when you are with him. Please don’t expect him to do this “cold turkey” upon the arrival of your baby and be happy about it. He won’t and it could cause further of resentment towards your baby.

You’ll spend at least one night in hospital, so make sure your partner knows what and how to feed him. Whilst in hospital your partner can bring used baby clothes home for your dog to smell, so the infant is not totally unfamiliar when he does arrive home.

When you get your baby home its pretty important that your poor dog doesn’t start to feel like a broken toy! I introduced all my dogs to our new arrival, each one in turn and in their Pack Order. Chess took one sniff and went straight back to bed, David had to examine the baby all over and then wouldn’t leave my side – Flossy of course just bounced around, so pleased to see me home that I don’t think she even noticed what was in the car seat.

When feeding and changing your baby include the dog in the routine! Use these times to drop treats on the floor around your feet so your dog doesn’t get a chance to be jealous of the baby. I’ve got quite good at flicking treats off the grooming table (where I change my baby) with my elbow whilst doing a moderately good job of cleaning and changing the baby at the same time!

You’ll really appreciate the amount of time you put into your dog’s training when you get to take your darling new babe out for the first couple of walks… Not only will you not look like a Learner Driver with the buggy, your dog will be trotting smartly alongside in perfect heel position! He’ll sit and wait for you to erect the buggy in the first place and calmly down-stay while you fold it up to put it back in the car…

Now I’m just a humble dog trainer so I can’t comment much on the training of the baby side of things. BUT, if you’re attending a baby-shower for someone else or you’ve just discovered you’re pregnant, OR you’re ACTUALLY PLANNING to have a baby soon, do get a copy of The New Contented Little Baby Book by Gina Ford. Oh, and read it – cover to cover!

It just about saved my sanity!

On a final note: Safety! Someone bought me a cute fluffy lion toy with a rattle in it on a wrist strap that fastens to the baby's wrist with Velcro.

On NO ACCOUNT should this be attached to any part of the baby if you've got dogs. No matter how well trained they are.

The consequences are too awful to contemplate... Fluffy toys that squeak or rattle that your dog could GRAB, BITE or PULL ... attached to your infant's delicate limbs...

15th September 2004

Test driving the MotherCare baby sling in Ottershaw Woods.

Get an assertive girlfriend to support your partner while he supports you during the birth itself. If she knows all about accupressure and homeopathics too, so much the better. Let her take all the photographs - you'll never remember what it was actually like!

THEN MAKE THIS GIRLFRIEND THE GODMOTHER of your child - no one will ever be as close to your baby (after you and your partner of course) than this person. Although Steve was entirely against the idea to start with, he really, really appreciated Pip's support on the day.

"Of course you'll have to re-home the dogs and cats now." ( ... CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS??? This was from someone who I thought knew me really really well!)

"Good God! YOU'RE HUGE!" Thanks, I was feeling like a beached whale anyway.

"I was back into my size 8 jeans 5 days after the birth." Bully for you, I could never get into Size 8's anyway.