Mamas can’t help but love their furry babies, too. This feature, Pet Parenting, offers advice on everything from how to introduce your newborn to the family dog to bringing home a new puppy. Our resident pet behavior counselor, Denise Holmes, talks you through your (often) perturbing pet problems in this question-and-answer feature.

Denise, who owns a local private counseling business Ain’t Misbehavin’, has been training animals for 25 years. A difficult question:

Q: “Help! I’m six months pregnant and wondering whether it’s wise to keep my dog or try to get her a new home. My concern is that I won’t be able to handle the dog once the baby comes. What’s your advice?”

A: I think it’s a little early to decide whether or not to re-home your dog.  There are a lot of factors that should go into that decision, and even though you may feel a bit overwhelmed at the moment, there are ways to prepare your first baby for your new one.  I’d begin with a visit to your vet to make sure your pet is healthy and up to date on shots.

Next, if you haven’t already done obedience training, I’d consider it. Your dog should know a few basics such as sit, stay and leave-it (think of answering the door with the baby in your arms or dropping the pacifier on the floor).

If you have the basics then you are in a pretty good place to begin to prepare your pet for the changes, changes which you should start making now.  For instance, if your dog is a lap dog, maybe he needs to learn to sit next to you on the couch instead of on you.  You may also need to socialize the dog to prepare him for all the visitors, acustom him to the noises of a baby or the sight of something in your arms.  You can pick up the CD “My New Best Friend” at retailers in NWA or click here to order it directly from my website.  It features 10 tracks of baby sounds and a training guideline to help you ready your pet.  If properly prepared, it is very likely that everything will be just fine.

Good luck!

~Denise

Denise Holmes is a pet behavior counselor with over 25 years of experience. She focuses on family pet training and animal-assisted therapy.  She has consulted with Arkansas Children’s Hospital, helped set up a variety of local programs and produced a CD to help expecting parents introduce the family pet to a newborn, www.LoveTrustTeach.com.

Note from the mamas: This post is part of the Motherlode Summer Remix series. The Summer Remix symbol appears on posts previously published on nwaMotherlode that were noted as a “reader favorite”. We heard from so many moms who LOVED this post. If you missed the original publication date, we hope you’ll enjoy this encore performance. Happy summer!

Did you just finish watching the slideshow above? Do you love it as much as I do? I’ve had three kids, and after watching that slideshow, it made me want to have another one just so I could have a slideshow of photos as beautiful as that one! If you have a pregnant friend, forward this link to her ASAP!

Moms love pictures and most of us make sure to have a camera handy for life’s biggest moments. But when you’re having a baby, it’s tough to be the one taking snapshots and capturing all those little details. When you’re in labor, you tend to be preoccupied with the HUMAN BEING COMING OUT OF YOUR BODY! It’s totally understandable. And let’s face it. Sometimes husbands can be useless with a camera, especially when they’re nervous and excited about witnessing childbirth. Not getting good photos of that incredible moment when you first meet your child is terrible, since you can’t get that moment back.

Melinda Worthington of MJW Photography has a solution to this dilemma. She now offers Birth Photography, which is when a professional photographer captures the special moments of your child’s birth. We had not heard of this type of service before, so we asked her a few questions about it. Below is our Q&A interview with Mindy about birth photography. If you want to talk to Mindy about it in more detail, just give her a call at 479-366-2702.

We’ve all seen snapshots taken in a delivery room, so how is birth photography taken by a professional photographer different?

A birth photographer is there to pay sole attention to documenting your day. Nothing will distract your photographer from capturing every detail of your baby’s birth through artistic eyes.

Are the photos graphic? Are camera flashes going off while the mom is trying to push?

I take great care to take flattering images throughout the entire process. There are various angles and framing techniques that I use so you won’t have to be embarrassed to share your images if you so choose. Birth sessions with me are done with available light. A flash of any kind is NEVER used.

What is your goal when you shoot a child’s birth?

Simple. To document the emotion and details. As a mother of 3, I can tell you that the details of my children’s births are fuzzy. I wish I had professional images of their births. To see the expression on my husband’s face, to remember the nurse in detail. These are all details that can only be kept alive through photography.

Are doctors and nurses okay with having a photographer in the delivery room?

They have always been very gracious and welcoming. In the event of a C-Section, I can document your journey into the hospital, preparation, and everything right after the birth including your family during the waiting process.

What do new moms seem to enjoy most about the birth photos?

That they have high quality memories. And that, thanks to these images, they will always remember the little things like what room number they were in, or the way her father gently brushed her hair out of her face during an early on visit. And the expression on her own face when touching her baby for the first time.

Childbirth is such a personal thing. Have you made friends with new parents through this process of shooting a child’s birth?

Yes! You’re right, it doesn’t get any more personal than this. That is why I will meet up for lunch or just a drink so that we can get to know each other before the big day. Trust me, you don’t want a stranger in your room.

Why was it important to you to begin offering this special service? Do you have to be “on call” when a due date approaches?

It’s important to me because I wish I had it for myself. I can’t get my day(s) back, but I can certainly help others capture their baby’s birth. A mother very recently told me that during our latest rash of tornado scares, one of the items that went into the bathtub with her was the CD images from her baby’s birth. That says it all.

Yes, I’m on call for the week surrounding your due date. Because of this I will only take on one birth client at a time and never have less than 6 weeks in between their due dates.

Show us one of your favorite birth photos. Why does this one touch you?

It’s nearly impossible to pick a favorite! I’ll say that this image below is the heart and soul behind birth photography for me. It’s the first time mom gets to see and touch her new son. As a mom you’ll never ‘see’ that moment without professional birth photography. You need someone who is very comfortable photographing in often times poor lighting conditions and working around a hospital staff or a midwife during an at-home birth. This is a day you can’t re-shoot.

Note from the mamas: The Summer Remix symbol appears on posts previously published on nwaMotherlode that were noted as a “reader favorite”. If you missed the original publication date, we hope you’ll enjoy this encore performance. Happy summer!

If you’ve got furry babies at home, you’ll love the advice from local pet behavior counselor Denise Holmes, who owns a local private counseling business Ain’t Misbehavin’. Denise has been training animals for 25 years and is happy to answer your most pressing pet questions. (This post is part of nwaMotherlode’s “Summer Remix” series.)

Now on to our question of the month:

Q: I can’t keep my new dog off the couch. I’ll shoo her off, but when I come back into the room, she’s up there again. What should I do?

A: There are several things you can try. However, the first step is to make sure she has a bed of her own, or two, if this is a problem in other rooms. It isn’t good enough to tell her she can’t have THAT space (the couch), you need to also redirect her to a space she can have and then offer reward for being there. For example, if your toddler was coloring on your walls, you would redirect her to a piece of paper or coloring book on the table or floor, and then hang her picture on the fridge.

The same strategy can work for your dog.  Get her a bed of her own and put it in the same room as the couch.  Take her to her new bed, and give her something to do there, like chew a tasty bone or lick a yummy kong filled with peanut butter. Then praise her. When you leave the room and return, if she is on the couch (presumably with her treat), take the treat, take her back to her own bed, make her get on it and then give her the treat back.  If you do this a few times, she should begin to get the idea. We don’t color on the walls and the only place I get this yummy treat is my own bed.

If this strategy does not work, you can try a scat mat, which will emit noise or vibration when she touches it, or try some snappy traps, which look like mouse traps except with a paddle.  When they snap close they make a loud sound that will startle some dogs. The strategy here is to make the punishment come from the couch. The couch is bad, so I don’t get on it. You will still also want to offer the alternative space and reward (can also be praise) when she goes there.

Local reader Kristy Brown sent in this cute pic of her cats (below). She doesn’t even attempt to keep these two off the couch! Feel free to submit shots of your furry babies and they might be used in an upcoming Pet Parenting feature (e-mail: mamas@nwaMotherlode.com)