b'and then there arethe humansSharing the family home with the family animals isabalancingact.Peopleareresponsiblefor looking after their pets needs, but they need to look after their own as well. Here are a few tips on making your pets home safe and comfortable for people.ChildrenSometimes, offspring and pets dont mixaswellaswemightlike.Petsmaylose patience with a child; in the worst case, scratching or biting. To help keep conict to a minimum, make sure pets have a quiet place to retreat to in the home. Teaching children a few basic rules aboutrespectingyourpetwillalsohelpkeep them both safe. In general, its great for children to learn to live with pets, but very young children and infants must always be supervised with any animal. Cats have been known to climb into a babys cota nice, warm spotand may suffocate an infant Birds require the same consideration. Pam Howlett recommends putting apowerless to move the weight. To keep your baby birds cage against a wall on one side.safe, close the nursery door.Its best not to have people able to walk on all sides of the cage, she says.Barking dogsThis can sometimes be a problem That leaves the bird feeling it has nowhere to go if it gets a sudden fright. when moving a dog from a rural environment to Your pet also needs exercise and activities, especially if youre at work all day.the city. What you do with your dog when youre not there is hugely important to itsA dog that may have spent most of its life being well-being, Tracy says.allowed to bark or run on a large property wont understand why its now being reprimanded for Fail to deliver and theres a good chance your pup will nd something tobarking, says Tracy Dunn of the Auckland SPCA. do on his own, shredding your slippers or something equally un-amusing, especially if it is less than six months old. A good walk in the morning and atTo help a dog work through issues with excessive night will help burn off excess energy and lessen the likelihood of separationbarking, seek help from a canine behaviourist. anxiety in puppies. Tracy also advises that dog toys designed to hold foodYou can also nd some tips from experts online at: inside, which the dog must work to get at, can keep dogs of any age busy andwww.rspcanz.org.nz.out of trouble.AllergiesIf at all possible, and depending on If your dog spends the day outside, provide a tyre hung from a tree, a pet- the allergy, its best to avoid the situation of a safe bone, or other toys in the yard. Favourite toys for cats include anythingpet and an allergic person sharing a home. The hanging on a string, especially on elastic. Birds also appreciate plenty of toyspetcantdoanythingtoreducetheallergic and perches on different levels inside their cages.reaction, and the person with the allergy may suffer discomfort or even debilitating effects. It Lastly, make sure your home is a place where you spend quality time withis almost impossible to keep an area of the house your pet.sterile when a cat, for example, is in residence, Theres nothing that replaces human interaction, Tracy says. Its importantbutvacuuminganddusting,andkeeping that when you do come home, you interact with your animal and make it partpetsoffthebed,mayhelpeaseaggravation of the entire family. of allergies.46 | Resene Felix'