Electric Wires and Dog Dishes....

I don't know why those cords are so desirable!! To my horror, I caught my 12 month old actually trying to plug the lamp back into the wall! My advice is to just cover the outlets with heavy furniture so that he can't get to them. I have moved lamps out of the main room to keep her from them. Or you could purchase one of those play dens to put him in when you leave the room or can't watch him closely enough. They seem pretty spacious and you could fill it with his favorite toys. As for the dog food, I have no solution for that. Maybe feed the dog in the laundry room or something. Good luck!!

There is a product on the market that will cover the plug heads where little ones can not pull them out of the wall. You may want to try Babies R Us. They have a great line of baby proofing products for all types of situtatons.
best of luck!
J.

Hi M.!

I'm going to address your problem with the dog dishes, as a Mom who also raises dogs (rescues and rehabs) around the kids. It sounds like you are leaving the food and water out for your dog all the time, and that might have to change. Dogs in our house are always fed just twice a day, the food goes down for 10 minutes and what is left after that is either throw away or put up to offer again later (depending on what I've fed them and if it will keep). The water is a little harder to do since dogs need to drink a lot. You can either try just putting the bowl down for a few minutes several times a day for the dog, then putting it up out of your boy's reach. Or, you can find a heavy duty tip proof bowl that your son won't be able to pick up. He'll still be able to splash in it and drop things in, so if you don't want that either, you might have to go the first route.

The kennel suggestion isn't a bad idea either, and if your dog is already crate trained, this would be a breeze. Keep the food and water in there and keep the kennel door closed. Once the dog learns the routine, he will let you know when he wants to go into his kennel for food or water, and you can close him in there for a bit while he eats and drinks. This will solve the issue of his being territorial around the food also; that is THE LAST thing you want between the dog and your boy!

Good luck!

If you have a mud room or a bathroom or a closet, some small room that is for the dog only, I would put the food in there. It will take some time to teach the skin kid that that room is off limits to him. If you can put a bed and food in there as well for the dog. That way he has an escape if the skin kid is getting to be too much.

The cords, I have no idea. The cord covers sound good. I never had this issue. I never let my kids see me plug things in so I am not even sure they know what to do! I have plug covers in all outlets and if something is only used once in a while I unplug and tie the cord to keep it kid proof or at least to slow them down at trying to plug it in.

Best of Luck

It really is tough because you just can't baby proof life! As far as the cords go, we had a few we couldn't avoid being out. We just consistently and firmly told our little man no or gave a light tap on the hand. He is now 13 months and rarely messes with them. Of course we covered everything we could, but there is always something they will find that is potentially dangerous. I think that it is good to verbally teach that some things are off limits because other homes are not going to be child proofed so they will have a habit of obeying your instruction. As far as the dog food goes, I don't have animals anymore so I think some mamas with dogs out there will have to help you out there :) The only thing I can think of is putting the food and water in the center of a large kennel that your dog can ask to go into when thirsty. I think dogs are usually fed at certain times so maybe that can just be the spot to go in and eat when it is time. Just a thought! Best wishes to you!!

Like Aimee, we only feed our dogs twice a day, the first being while the kids are eating breakfast, and the second after they're in bed. We keep our water dish outside in the shade. If it gets too hot, we put ice in it, and that way when the puppies go out for potty breaks (which is often) they can get water too.

About the cords... we moved furniture in front of as many as we could, hiding the cords behind the furniture. Then we redirected. Whenever a child was around a plug, we'd tell him/her "No" firmly and then hand them something that was acceptable to play with. It took a while, but eventually they gave up. Yay!

I hope it's that easy for you too!