So I have been feeling really guilty about how I am treating our animals (especially the dog) lately. I just cannot stand them! I consider myself a very patient person in general, and know that others do too. The second half of this pregnancy I have had no/zero patience for our 3.5 year old golden retriever and our two cats. Our dog seems to always be under my feet, jumping on me or begging for food, and then whenever I let her in the yard to run/play she starts barking NON-stop! Arggg! I am so short with her and really despise her right now. It takes a lot of effort not to smack her on the nose or push her out of the way. The worst part is that my one year old sees how I am acting towards her and I feel so terrible, that he might pick up on these habits and treat her poorly. Usually I am so loving and kind towards her and have all the patience in the world. At least I am feeling this way toward my dog and not my husband, I guess! Anyone else feeling annoyed and short tempered?
NO patience with our dog
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oh dear. as an animal lover, it pains me to read this. can you get any help with animal caretaking from friends or family nearby? a break might help. your animals have no clue why you are angry/dismissive with them (it might be better to treat your husband poorly, since you can at least explain why! 
...and as you probably know, dogs and cats do have emotional lives and can suffer just as humans do with anxiety, stress, etc. it's certainly easy to be annoyed and short-tempered in this heat and with the third trimester discomforts, no doubt...i have the same problem and i try to stay away from all of my beloved animals when i'm feeling grouchy
...and as you probably know, dogs and cats do have emotional lives and can suffer just as humans do with anxiety, stress, etc. it's certainly easy to be annoyed and short-tempered in this heat and with the third trimester discomforts, no doubt...i have the same problem and i try to stay away from all of my beloved animals when i'm feeling grouchy i feel the same way towards my dogs. Its impossible to stay away from them, they are always around and certainly underfoot. I have a 14 year old dog that potty's in the house and even though I know he can't help it, it still makes me mad. He is constantly anxious and whining due to old age and barks all night when crated (he will potty all over the house at night too if he is out!). Being pregnant and haveing a 4 year old with these dogs is proving almost too much! Its not a question of a bad day here or there, its always, every day. Of coourse its not their fault, but I dont' know what its going to be like with a newborn on top!! All I can say is hang in there
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I hear you. I have 4 cats and 2 bunnies and they haven't been getting the love they deserve lately. I mean, I have been taking care of their basic needs, but it's hard for me to concentrate long enough to give them really good, sustained attention. But I'm 100% committed to them (we aren't the "having a baby; pets need a new home" type) and I'm hoping we can ride this third trimester/new baby thing out as a family, and that they will forgive me soon!
Just do the best you can with your dog and try to go easy on yourself for not being the perfect dog mom right now. Maybe a friend can help out by walking her a few extra times a week, or taking her to the dog park? You have a lot on your plate and it's okay to ask for help.
I found this book really helpful in terms of having more patience in a multi-animal household: http://www.amazon.com/Creating-Peaceable-Kingdom-Live-More/dp/product-description/0964941368
Good luck; it'll all work out!
Heather
Just do the best you can with your dog and try to go easy on yourself for not being the perfect dog mom right now. Maybe a friend can help out by walking her a few extra times a week, or taking her to the dog park? You have a lot on your plate and it's okay to ask for help.
I found this book really helpful in terms of having more patience in a multi-animal household: http://www.amazon.com/Creating-Peaceable-Kingdom-Live-More/dp/product-description/0964941368
Good luck; it'll all work out!
Heather
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Wow this is the first time I've seen anyone else address this! I have 3 labs, and one of them is my stalker. Whatever room I'm in, she lays in the doorway or in front of the closed door. So I can't just walk into a room. OMG I feel like kicking her!! I just keep in mind these feelings will end after the baby is here. Also the two girls have been bitchy at each other the past few weeks and I keep having to fuss and seperate them so they won't fight(once or twice a year they get in a fight, not very often but it happens) and I can't split up a dog fight right now! And the boy...well he's 1.5 and is like a goofy teenage boy dog. He still hasn't learned not to paw at you when he wants you to pet him. At least they don't jump on us. I don't have patience with the kids, either, so everyone gets my wrath
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Do you think dogs can tell when we're pregnant? Maybe they can smell it? This is our first new baby with dogs- we didn't have any pets til #3 was over a year old and we lived where we could have pets. I've been leaving the co-sleeper in the living room with a stuffed monkey in it and my young lab has finally stopped getting the monkey out. I don't know how else to teach him to leave it alone LOL I don't do outside-dogs and I'm worried how the dogs will handle the baby. Especially my young lab-he's 1.5 yrs.
It's so nice to hear I'm not the only one! I really do think our animals can tell when we're pregnant. My 6 year old cat sleeps on my feet at night and constantly tries to be next to me, on me, or around me during the day----but only when I'm pregnant. I swear, it's really sweet in a way but also so annoying. Like I said our golden has also now picked up this habit. I don't remember it affecting me so much during my last pregnancy, but that was during the winter and I had a boy. This one's a girl and it's summer; although it's not nearly as hot here in Oregon as it is out east! My solution so far has been taking lots of walks...I think it's good for all of us. Only 7 more weeks (+/-)....
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One of our cats - she's always been a great snuggler - has started sort of "incubating" my stomach in the last few months. She crawls on top of it and puts her paws on whatever part of the baby is sticking out the most.
It's adorable. I think she knows.
It's adorable. I think she knows.
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This is my fourth pregnancy and the ONLY reason I don't throw all our pets into the van and leave them at the SPCA is knowing that I've felt this way every.single.time I've been pregnant and usually by 4-6 month pp I'm back to loving (or at least being amused by) our animals.
Seriously... I'm a good person, a loving person, a long time member of animal rescue organizations, a solid AP parent with gentle discipline and all that good stuff. But by the third trimester it takes an extreme effort to not push/shout at or in any other way mistreat the family pets. And honestly, I don't rank our pets on the same level as people... I would /much/ rather yell at the cat than at my 2yo, though obviously I don't "want" to yell at either and under normal circumstances (ie- not super pregnant or newly postpartum) I wouldn't.
Anyway, I think a lot (for me) has to do with the touchy-feely aspect... when I'm hot, and really pregnant, I am just plain old touched out. With three small children and a DH, my store of "touch" gets used up fast and there simply isn't anything left over for the pets. So when they want to be all in my lap or under my feet it drives me extra bonkers. I just want to be left alone! And with the various aches and pains of this pregnancy, anyone (human or animal) that contributes to my having to do "more" is not going to be on my "wanna cuddle" list. LOL So a hairball at 3am? I'd much rather throw a slipper at the cat when she starts hacking than get out of bed to clean it up with a song in my heart and a plan to add an extra grooming session to her daily routine.
But hang in there! At least for me, things get a lot better once I'm past the hormonal roller coaster of early postpartum and none of our pets seem worse the wear, and our littles are all very loving and gentle towards them too despite having a less than perfect mama example for a few months here and there.
Seriously... I'm a good person, a loving person, a long time member of animal rescue organizations, a solid AP parent with gentle discipline and all that good stuff. But by the third trimester it takes an extreme effort to not push/shout at or in any other way mistreat the family pets. And honestly, I don't rank our pets on the same level as people... I would /much/ rather yell at the cat than at my 2yo, though obviously I don't "want" to yell at either and under normal circumstances (ie- not super pregnant or newly postpartum) I wouldn't.
Anyway, I think a lot (for me) has to do with the touchy-feely aspect... when I'm hot, and really pregnant, I am just plain old touched out. With three small children and a DH, my store of "touch" gets used up fast and there simply isn't anything left over for the pets. So when they want to be all in my lap or under my feet it drives me extra bonkers. I just want to be left alone! And with the various aches and pains of this pregnancy, anyone (human or animal) that contributes to my having to do "more" is not going to be on my "wanna cuddle" list. LOL So a hairball at 3am? I'd much rather throw a slipper at the cat when she starts hacking than get out of bed to clean it up with a song in my heart and a plan to add an extra grooming session to her daily routine.
But hang in there! At least for me, things get a lot better once I'm past the hormonal roller coaster of early postpartum and none of our pets seem worse the wear, and our littles are all very loving and gentle towards them too despite having a less than perfect mama example for a few months here and there.
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I am totally in the same boat and feel better reading that I am not the only one. We have two yellow labs in the house, ages 8 and 10. I haven't really had issues with them so much as the amount of work they generate for me on a daily basis. I have to vacuum every other day to keep up with the dog hair and that is something I would rather not have to do at this point of my pregnancy and in the heat. Plus mop the floors much more often as they track moisture in and lick the floors all around the kitchen and dining area constantly. Then one of them has recently started going up and laying on the landing of the stairs and makes a big dirty spot there, along with dirtying the walls he lays against. So there I am scrubbing the wall and asking DH to steam clean the landing again. We are going to get a baby gate for the stairs as we just got them professionally cleaned but now we all will have to maneuver a gate every time we want to go up and down. So just stuff like that - I think about all those tasks I wouldn't have to do if we didn't have dogs or didn't have dogs in the house. The only other thing that gets on my nerves is that they always have to lay right where we are and we are all tripping over them. So yeah, I am definitely looking forward to getting my old patience levels back too!! Indoor 80 lb dogs plus nesting equals me not being the most pleased pet owner out there. And lest you think I am totally anal retentive about the cleanliness of my home, I'm not - I really do the minimum but dog hair bunnies floating all around the hardwood I just can't live with.
Quote:
This is EXACTLY how I feel!Originally Posted by wombatclay
Anyway, I think a lot (for me) has to do with the touchy-feely aspect... when I'm hot, and really pregnant, I am just plain old touched out. With three small children and a DH, my store of "touch" gets used up fast and there simply isn't anything left over for the pets. So when they want to be all in my lap or under my feet it drives me extra bonkers. I just want to be left alone! And with the various aches and pains of this pregnancy, anyone (human or animal) that contributes to my having to do "more" is not going to be on my "wanna cuddle" list. LOL So a hairball at 3am? I'd much rather throw a slipper at the cat when she starts hacking than get out of bed to clean it up with a song in my heart and a plan to add an extra grooming session to her daily routine.
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Here is a funny blog post on this exact topic - one of my friends posted it on Facebook.
http://crappypictures.typepad.com/crappy-pictures/2011/07/my-cat-before-after-kidsillustrated-with-crappy-pictures.html
http://crappypictures.typepad.com/crappy-pictures/2011/07/my-cat-before-after-kidsillustrated-with-crappy-pictures.html
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Haha! That is GREAT.Originally Posted by Gracecody
Here is a funny blog post on this exact topic - one of my friends posted it on Facebook.
http://crappypictures.typepad.com/crappy-pictures/2011/07/my-cat-before-after-kidsillustrated-with-crappy-pictures.html
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