Nobody wants to deal with their dog chasing the cat, especially if the cat is clearly not enjoying it! This can be frustrating for you as well as for your cat.

Consequently, it’s a good idea to follow these tips to help stop the behavior. In most cases, all it takes is some solid training and exercise to get your dog to behave.

Why should you stop your dog from chasing the cat?

In most cases, the dog is having fun and is trying to get the cat to play along. However, being chased around on a near constant basis can be stressful for your cat and annoying for you.

This kind of behavior can also be the result of a dog that is under-stimulated and seeking some fun.

Finding a resolution to keep your dog from chasing the cat can take work. But, in the end, it can result in having a dog that is better trained, better exercised and a cat that is happier and more relaxed.

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1- Control the environment

The first step is to take control of the environment. This can include removing the offending dog from the scene.  Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean getting rid of your dog. It just means placing the dog in another area where it can calm down.

You can consider it a timeout that gives your dog a chance to relax and forget about chasing the cat.

2- Make good introductions

One of the best ways to prevent this type of behavior is to make sure your cat and dog were introduced in a calm, slow way.

With the right kind of introduction, there will be less excitement that can lead to your dog taking interest in chasing the cat.

3- Be prepared

Situations can be typically playful in nature, but in some cases, they can escalate into a fight. As a result, it’s important to be prepared to resolve the issue quickly.

Ideally, you should be able to stop the situation before it escalates that far, for the safety of your pets. Make sure you are armed with distractions, and the ability to separate them at any moment.

4- Work on dog training

Since the dog is the offending member in this situation, it’s important to work on training your dog. This is going to take a lot of patience, and a decent amount of time. However, it’s sure to pay off in the end. As you’ll have a happier, more peaceful household for yourself and your pets.

While it might seem complicated, this mostly will include rewarding the dog for the kinds of behaviors you want to see.

5- Acclimate your cat

There are some things you can do to help your cat with being more comfortable around your dog. One of the best ways to do this is by allowing them to have a space the dog can’t get to. Things like cat trees and cat shelves can be an excellent solution.

In addition, some treats for your cat during calm times together can’t hurt the situation either.

6- Use rewards

Another important tip to keep in mind is that positive reinforcement is far more appropriate than punishing your dog. There is a reason that the dog has fixated on chasing the cat, and resolving that can help to stop the problem behavior.

Using rewards, fun activities and other methods can show your dog that it’s fun to behave in the way you want them to. In turn, that makes the dog want to engage in positive behaviors rather than spending time chasing the cat.

With patience and care, this can be highly effective.

7- Exercise your dog

As earlier mentioned, it’s likely that your dog is just trying to get some exercise and fun where it might otherwise be lacking. Because of that, helping them to get more productive exercise can allow them to relax more easily when they’re at home.

Going on more walks, playing outdoor games like fetch or frisbee, or even training them to do new tricks can be great ways to allow the dog more stimulation in positive ways.

As a result, the dog will be less interested in chasing the cat, and you’ll have a home that is far more calm, happy and filled with harmony.

Conclusion

Overall, the most important aspect is to stay calm when you start working with your pets. If you follow these tips and remain patient, you’ll find that your dog picks up other interests and forgets about cat-chasing completely.

If you find that trying out these tips doesn‘t work for you, you can get the help of a professional dog trainer. Or even take your dog to a class. These kinds of activities can provide some training methods and tips that you may not have known about before.

This guest post is submitted by Chloe, who is a lover of all things cute and furry, with three cats and two dogs taking up most of her free time. When she does have time to blog, she likes to write about anything and everything to do with pets and pet care. You will find some very interesting information about how to care for your fur babies on her blog, kittywise.com. 

Do you have pets? I would like to know about them. Tell me in the comments below.

Featured Image Source – Google

I am taking my Alexa rank to the next level with Blogchatter’

The post 7 tips to stop your dog from chasing the cat appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

Hi everyone! Summer vacations are near, have you planned for any trip during the coming holidays? If not yet, then that’s ok as some plans are made at the last minute only. But you can start collecting information and tips to make your duration of trip smooth and comfortable. So, today I am going to talk about ‘The Great Wall of China’ which is a magnificent marvel of engineering. And if you happen to plan a trip to China this Spring, a tour to The Great Wall is a must.

He who has not climbed The Great Wall is not a true man 

-Mao Zedong

So, if you are visiting The Great Wall of China, you certainly won’t be alone. This, 5000 Km long structure has several places of particular interest. And the best way to experience the wall is to contact a trusted tour company. They would know of the best locations for foreign tourists to visit. Not only that, they would be able to tell you about the very long history of the wonderful feat of engineering.

There are certain rules and regulations that wall visitors must follow. I did some research and to help my lovely readers I am sharing a few of the most important ones below.

– Do Take Photos and Videos

Of course, one wants to have memories of the trip. And there is no problem with taking pictures at any of the wall locations. Everyone who visits will not be able to stop capturing the breathtaking scenery. And for that reason, make sure you have enough memory cards for your digital camera. If you search online for top China private tours, there are many reputable tour operators who would be happy to accompany you and your family to The Great Wall of China. And there they can fill you in on the very long and illustrious history of the largest man-made structure ever created.

– Don’t Remove Anything

You might be surprised to know that some visitors try to take a piece of the wall home, as a souvenir. And if everyone was allowed to do this, The Great Wall of China would soon be no more. The penalties are severe, and there are warning signs (in English). No matter how tempting it may be to pick up a small piece of stone, it just isn’t worth the risk. The Chinese authorities take a dim view of anyone coming to their natural heritage site and removing anything, so be warned!

– Do Explore

The Great Wall of China is extremely long. And your guide will be happy to walk a few kilometers with you, answering your questions along the way. There isn’t a better way to see China than with an experienced guide. He will ensure that you see and experience the best local attractions, and you will leave with an appreciation of such an amazing land.

You may also want to read Top 5 Travel Essentials when Traveling with Kids

– Don’t Litter

Even though the wall sites are out in the open, there are adequate rubbish bins. Whatever you do, just avoid throwing anything on the ground. We should all respect any foreign culture. With so many people visiting this famous attraction, one must abide by the local rules and regulations. Your guide would brief you prior to setting off, and you can keep the sweet wrappers and tissues in your pocket until you see a rubbish bin.

I know visiting The Great Wall of China is on the bucket list of most of the people. So, if you are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to visit, make sure that you follow the above advice, in order to respect the local culture and customs.

I hope you liked this post and find these pointers helpful if you happen to visit The Great Wall. Do tell me in the comments below what are your plans for the summer vacations? And don’t forget to share your tips if you have already visited this amazing place. Lastly, share the post and let it reach the maximum people.

Disclaimer –  “This article is published in partnership with Mediabuzzer”

The post A Trip to The Great Wall of China – Do’s & Don’ts appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

The prompt for today’s post is ‘The First Year of My Baby’ and this is my favorite among all the prompts till now as it was the time that changed me completely for good of course. The eventful year made me understand what exactly motherhood is all about. They say you need to be in the shoes of the mother to actually experience what she goes through and that’s what happened with me.

It brings me immense pleasure to share that I, along with 24 other bloggers are celebrating #9daysofwomanhood throughout Navratri. I thank Gagandeep Kochar for introducing me. Her blog is named as My Diaries and I loved reading her blog on the prompt for today ‘First year of my baby‘.

So, I am done with 9 months of pregnancy and 16 hours of delivery and now is the time to do some Bhangra, yay, my baby is out and in my arms and everything will go smoothly as I had wished for, poor mommy brain thinking like all the work is over and now the time is to be back to your old self.

How wrong I was, those long feeding hours started taking a toll on my health, I was sleep deprived to the extent that I fell off the bed twice because I refused to lie down and wanted to keep sitting for the next feeding session, those endless peeing, pooping, cleaning and washing made me felt as if these were going to be my best skills to be stated to others in future.

I describe my baby’s first year as 4 trimesters outside the tummy, into the real world – 1 to 3 months, 4 to 6 months, 7 to 9 months and 10 to 12 months! And today I will share some snippets from each, maybe you (expecting ladies and new mothers) can take some hints and prepare yourself accordingly. Rest others can enjoy reading it!

Trimester – 1

(0-3 months old)

I describe these 3 months as Depressive, I suffered Post Partum Depression from Day 1 we stepped inside the house. It was already the baby’s third day and I was longing for my 8 hrs of sleep but realized that no one could help me in that now. I was given many instructions to be followed for my baby’s health and that included remaining inside the room for 40 days. Then after a week, I felt like a useless machine which was done with its job of producing the baby and now no one needed it. All the attention was showered on the new member. At one moment, I hated my baby for coming into our lives and I blamed him for everything that was happening to me.

Thankfully, Sumit, my husband, noticed the change in my behavior and decided to find out the reason. He asked me, ‘Are you ok, want to talk to me?’ I cried hysterically, the baby started competing with my howls and he cried even louder. And, I told my hubby, how I was feeling neglected, no one was interested to talk to me, to ask me if I needed anything, they were just giving me instructions to get me complete my motherly duties. I expressed my hatred towards that little being and how I was planning to run away leaving the newborn behind.

Are you a new mother? Do you feel the same as I felt? Please talk to someone. Don’t keep things in your mind and don’t assume anything. There are people around you who are your family and they love you. It’s just the faulty hormones that are playing weird And once you discuss your feelings and express your emotions, you will start loving yourself back!

Sometimes, these emotions are nothing but ‘baby blues‘ which typically go away after a week or two. But if that still persist, then you may want to know more about PPD. The depression is very common among new mothers, and its effects can be felt during the first 3 weeks after childbirth. There are treatments available to bring you back to your normal self, but I would suggest talking to someone close and whom you trust the most before considering treatment.

Speaking with my husband worked for me, can work for you too. But, if there is no one who is able to understand you, please take the help of a specialist. Again counseling is what I would suggest before directly starting with medications, so you can consider meeting a Therapist too. By the 2nd month, you will start loving yourself and your baby. And by that time baby will also start babbling, cooing and responding to sounds, which make the experience a lot more fun.

We followed a trend of celebrating our marriage anniversary every month by cutting a cake or having something sweet to eat. Hence, we decided to follow the same for our baby’s monthly birthdays.

I spent the 2nd month in online shopping, buying everything which I thought our baby might need, I bought a cot, a rocker, a pram, a baby carrier, lots of toys, a baby gym, diaper bags, different types of diapers and cloth nappies, every new style of clothes and shoes, bathing tub, fancy quilts and blankets, nursery items and what not. It was my wrong decision and I accept that. My baby made his first ever road trip from Delhi to Amritsar during his 2nd month which was a total fun outing.

You may want to read this article, Must have items for your baby, where I have prepared a list of things which we found really helpful and useful for our baby.

Now came the 3rd month, the baby started looking bigger and acting smart, all the clothes bought in the previous month were not fitting him well and the toys were not as exciting for him the way we expected. He was responding to our facial expressions, would smile and babble as if responding back to us. He started liking his massage time, bath time and tummy time. But, what followed in between all these were the Growth Spurts.

During a growth spurt, your baby will put on weight, reach developmental milestones, feed more, and sleep more or less than usual. Please note, this period can range from few days to few weeks. While we were struggling to understand the pee poo session and colic bombardments, we were hit by these growth spurts.

I have written this article, Do you know what Growth Spurts are? where I have mentioned how you can tell that baby is going through one of these episodes.

Trimester – 2

(3-6 months old)

This is my favorite trimester, the baby finally got a nickname, Noyi, as suggested by his Papa, earlier he had as many names as there were members of the family, everyone had their own favorite name. From this month, Noyi developed a sleep pattern during the day, he would take 3 naps which meant a lot of time for myself.

He started holding his neck for few seconds which was a milestone, he started using his whatever power he had to try to roll over which was again a milestone, his teething phase started as he would drool a lot and most of the times spent hours chewing on his frozen teethers. He loved to shake his rattles and smiling to their sound. There was so much to capture during this month and I loved every minute spent with my baby.

But, the month also brought unwanted advice from elders in the family’ to start the bottle feed as per them the baby was growing and not getting his daily requirements from my milk. That made me furious and mad and I would fight and reason with them but to no use. I had to go invisible for a couple of months just for the sake of my own sanity.

Noyi started crawling during his 5th month.

Although he was still not able to sit on his own, he liked crawling backward and tried to stand just like we elders do. This was the time when we prepared a separate room for him, completely baby proofed, we placed the mattress on the ground and ditched the bed just to avoid any falls, also this was necessary to avoid getting him near to Caesar as Caesar had still not accepted Noyi as part of his pack.

Next month was special. We arranged a family get-together to celebrate our baby’s first 6 months. That day Noyi surprised us by sitting on his own, unassisted. New milestone reached.

Trimester – 3

(6-9 months old)

Next 3 months were beautiful, Noyi had started recognizing me and he was expressing different emotions. It was fun to watch him grow and learn. He developed a liking for songs. His favorite one was ‘If you are happy and you know it‘ and we would play peek-a-boo a lot. The first day after his 6th month birthday, we introduced solid food. And to our surprise, he loved having something that tasted different from breastmilk. It was pure bliss watching him slurp his 1st meal, which was just 3 spoonful of mashed dal!

This was my Birthday month and we planned a trip to Goa, which happened to be Noyi’s first flight, first beach visit, first drenching in rain, first pool dip, first tasting outside food and sprouting first set of teeth. We soon realized Noyi is just like his parents and grandparents who love to travel to new places and meeting new people.

Next 2 months involved lots of new activities which I used to search over the net to make the growing process fun and exciting. These months were also the bonding months for Caesar and Noyi, gradually Caesar developed a liking for Noyi.

You may find this post interesting as I have shared a few tips on Let your baby explore!

Trimester – 4

(9-12 months old)

The past 9 months passed really fast. The next 3 months were for me like I was on a watcher’s duty. The baby was quite mobile and there was no way to stop him from moving around the house. And explore any and every new thing that came in his reach.

Noyi wanted to stand and walk unassisted but he was clearly not ready. And we had to witness a lot of falls. He liked climbing up the sofa, chasing Caesar, pulling his ears. And sometimes would try to chew his tail too.

I want to mention here, we never followed any rituals or practices in the name of tradition. Neither had any other so-called beliefs, we did not know what is Nazar utarna, never did that. We did not believe in the power of black tika and black threads, never used them.

We never used anything to assist easy teething. Luckily, we had a smooth teething phase without using any Tilsmi moti or giving any calcium tablets. And Noyi turned out just fine. He did not fell sick even once during his first 11 months.

It was just before his first birthday, he caught a cold for the first time. As per our pediatrician, getting common cold is actually good for improving baby’s immunity. We followed her advice and didn’t give any medicine to treat it. And to our surprise, he was back to normal within a week. That day we decided to keep the use of medicines as limited as possible. We only used the saline nasal drops and gave steam to provide relief from blockage.

Next month, Noyi was going to complete his 1st year outside the tummy, and that called for A Celebration. And for that, we planned a trip to Malaysia to make his birthday a memorable one. On his D-day, we spent the whole day at an Amusement cum Water Park. And, yet again Noyi surprised us by walking for the first time. Yes, Noyi walked for the first time unassisted on his 1st birthday on some other country’s land. And since then, there is no stopping him!!!

To read the story of 9 months, My Pregnancy, Click here!

To read further about the Pain that brought a Smile, My Delivery, Click here!

And if you liked reading this post, do drop a few words in the comments section below. And feel free to Share this post with your friends and family!

Now, I would like you to meet Sumira Bhatia, my friend, and co-blogger who blogs at The Cuckoo’s Nest. Read her blog on today’s prompt, The Beginning of a Journey! to know about Uday’s first 5 months and read some awesome tips from mommy.

The post Four Trimesters Outside the Tummy – My Baby’s First Year appeared first on Growing With Nemit.