Pets and Pregnancy

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

25 Jan 2008 03:00 PM

One of my best friends in the world is pregnant, and I'm just delighted. You might remember her dog Casey, who's appeared in a few stories here and there.

Now that my friend has entered her second trimester, Casey has started to act differently. She's been having accidents in the house -- specifically in the kitchen and the bathroom -- both while her owners are home and while they're out at work. I turned to one of my favorite online dog communities to see if anyone else had experienced something similar during their pregnancies.

They had! Several ladies wrote in to say that their dog had acted differently and thought it was due to all the hormonal changes. Here in the Pets Blog, we've looked at pet behavior AFTER the baby is born, but never before.

If you've seen your pet's behavior change while you were pregnant, I'd love to hear your story. (Casey's mom would like to hear it, too!)

In the meantime, here are some things I suggested to help Casey deal with the pregnancy:

• Make sure that the problem isn't a physical one. Often, a dog who is housebroken who starts to have accidents in the house has a bladder or urinary tract infection. When Lally was piddling on my bed a lot, that's the first thing we checked before deciding it was a behavior issue.
• Make sure to spend plenty of quality time with your pet. Walks, playtime, cuddling, grooming -- make sure they know they're loved.
• Try a calming pheromone spray. If human hormones are agitating your pet, an animal pheromone might help calm things down. I've seen how well they work on some cats at the boarding facility.

I've seen too many pets being surrendered to a shelter or given away because a baby was on the way. I believe that in many cases, there is a way to have everybody -- human and animal -- find a way to live together harmoniously. I'll be doing some research on how human hormones affect animals, and I'll let you know what I find.

Learn more about Aimee Amodio

Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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nrm125 (10) 19 Oct 2009 03:13 PM

I too am entering my second trimester with my first child. I have two wonderful german shepard dogs - ages 5 and 6.

Just in the last 2 weeks though, my male dog has reverted back to puppy behavior. He is destroying pillows and rugs again on a daily basis! No bathroom accidents in the house, just plain old destruction. We haven't had any destruction problems in the last 4 years!

Our dogs are typically well trained, very obedient, and use a doggy door. I have tried removing all the pillows and then he started eating the rugs. I have sprayed everything down with bitter apple spray and it doesn't phase him! Outside of crating him again, I don't know what else to do! Our schedules with the dogs have not changed - still go for walks, car rides, etc. Only the pregnancy is new.

Any suggestions? I'm at wits end!

nrm125 (10) 19 Oct 2009 03:14 PM

Oh, and the vet says outside of medicating the dog there is nothing else to do for him! Please - send suggestions!

Aimee Amodio (11995) 19 Oct 2009 07:00 PM

You might want to start with the three suggestions above:

1) Make sure it isn't a physical problem, like a bladder infection. 2) Make sure your dogs are getting plenty of quality time with the humans. 3) Try a pheromone spray -- they can be comforting and calming. DAP (Dog Appeasing Pheromones) is one I've heard good things about.

If you've tried all those things, you may need to return to crating your dog or try a training program like NILIF (Nothing in Life is Free).

Good luck!