Getting it over with

I don’t know how to write this and I’ve been struggling about this post.  I am not ready to do this, but I just cannot continue to think and rephrase this in my head any longer, so…

This past Saturday, Cailey, our white dog, was hit by a truck while we were all on a mini-vacation at Jon’s sister’s house.  She died.



I cannot begin to sort through my feelings.

On that note, we’d like to grieve about this in private and would appreciate if you held your condolences and we could just move on without talking about this.

If we’re friends outside of this blog-space, please refrain from talking about it.  I’m not ready for it, but I feel wrong “hiding” it.

I’m turning off the comments on this post.  I hope you all understand.

Back to regular programming tomorrow.

Brothers & Sisters

As requested, here’s an update on Peanut and her puppies.

Because that is exactly what’s going on at our house - Peanut thinks that the dogs are her puppies.



Among the very first things that Peanut noticed when she started to notice objects were the dogs.  She is absolutely in love with them.



They’re the jelly to her Peanut butter.  She loves to watch them, laughs at their every move (especially when Cailey sneezes), and even lets them lick her (although I don’t let them lick her face).



They’ve become the reason for many of her milestones - she couldn’t wait to sit up so she could get her grabby little hands on them; her first real belly laugh came when Cailey tried to chew Travis’ ear; she’s learning how to walk (yup, I’m not kidding) because she wants to chase them around.



We still have quiet a few rules around here.  The puppies know that they cannot be in Peanut’s room unattended (Travis has a tendency to rip everything he can reach apart).  They’re not allowed to rough house while Peanut is around (Cailey can get mouthy by accident when she gets over excited).  They’re not allowed to lick her face (Travis has the hardest time with this one).



And we never, ever leave the kid unattended with the dogs.  Although we’re sure that nothing would ever happen and that the pups love her as much as they love us, it’s just not worth it to find out otherwise.



We’ve also started teaching Peanut a little more about the dogs.



She’s started to grab their fur very roughly, so we grab her hand before it reaches them and pet the dogs together “nicely.”



This doesn’t always work because Peanut is very quick to find something she’s not supposed to do and then go for it as fast as possible.



Thankfully, we’ve been prepping the dogs to such treatment by grabbing their fur hard and often.  At this point they either take it, or simply stand up and walk away.



Since that won’t work with other dogs, we want to get Peanut started on the right track for success with the pups.  Otherwise, how else would she be the next Dog Whisperer?

Does anyone remember this pic?  Aww Peanut, why do you keep growing so quickly?



Check out the original post about babies and puppies here.

How do you work with your dogs to make sure they’re playing safely with the dogs?

Do all your pack members get along?

This happened to me last night

It was 2 am and I was sleeping soundly.  Suddenly, Cailey (the white dog), started pacing the room (imagine little dog nails all over the hardwood floor: tap tap tap tap tap).  I woke up, turned over and shushed Cailey and told her to go to bed.



I went to pee (because that’s what happens when you wake me up – I have to go pee almost immediately. Overshare? Maybe.)

Then I climbed back into bed and tried to fall back asleep.

That’s when Travis (the black dog) started growling.  I shushed him too.



Then both dogs started making all sorts of annoying noises that made me a little nervous.  So I shushed them and tried to listen.  That’s when I heard noises of someone digging around on my porch (it ends at the bedroom window, so it’s pretty easy to tell).

Now I have to take you back to that evening.  It was pouring out and I was cleaning up from dinner.  The trash stunk, so I decided to remove it from the kitchen but I didn’t feel like walking down the stairs and underneath my porch to put it in the bin.  So I did what I often do – I threw the bag on the porch and closed the slider door.

Okay, we’re back to 2 am.  Travis and Cailey are being annoying (read: trying to warn us that there is someone on my porch) and I’m starting to really freak out.  So I shake Jon awake (who is Mr.s Grump-grump if you wake him up at night) and tell him that there is someone on the porch.  Mr. Grump-grump gets up and walks out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him.  Now I’m super freaked out because my man just left me in the bedroom with two dogs on high alert and was walking directly into danger-zone (read: my porch).

There was the sound of the slider being opened, followed by some scrambling on the porch, followed by some other weird sounds, followed by Jon’s (I was hoping) footsteps approaching the bedroom.  He mumbled, “raccoons” under his breath, slid back into bed, and promptly fell asleep.

The dogs, too, settled right down in their dog beds and fell asleep.

I stayed up the rest of the night, wondering if the raccoons were coming back to get me.  Or if the bat that attacked us on our first year anniversary was back for more.

Best Mother’s Day EVER

This year was my first Mother’s Day.  Wanna see what we did?
We woke up (early as usual) and spent some time playing and smiling with Peanut.  Then we showered, dressed, packed a diaper bag and headed to our favorite breakfast place.

This place has flamingos everywhere. I love it.  The best part about our brunch (aside from my company) was that it was the first time this year that we got to sit outside. 

(Side note – I really need new hi-lights. Don’t worry I have an appointment next weekend so you won’t have to look at my icky roots any more.)
Peanut, as usual, woke up just minutes before our food arrived so Jon and I took turns holding her and eating.

After breakfast (and a quick stop at home to feed Peanut and grab the pups), our little family headed over to the beach.

Did you notice anything different?

Peanut-butter face is in the big girl stroller!

Sunday morning Jon and I decided that it was time to let Peanut try the stroller without the car-seat attachment.

She loved it! 

We reclined the seat for her nap and then pulled it up when she woke up.

The puppies had a really good time too, since it’s been a couple of weeks since they’ve had a decent walk.

After about 5 million pictures by the beach,

we headed home to take a snack break (for Peanut) and to drop off the pups before our next destination.
We picked up some lunch (Cohen’s in Madison – YUM!) and headed over to the Clinton Winery.

Jon and I did the tasting

while Peanut took a nap (she’s not 21 yet).

Then I got a glass of my favorite Chardonnay (2005 Estate Reserve Chardonnay) and we set up for a little picnic.

All in all, this was pretty much an amazing day.  I couldn’t have asked for anything more from my first Mother’s Day. 
What about you?  What did you do on Mother’s Day?  Was this your first Mother’s Day?

Spring haircuts - the squirrels

Witness our dogs go from fur monsters to squirrels firsthand.

He does not look happy.

Actually, it takes a few minutes to catch the dogs before we even start with the haircuts.

I think it has something to do with some unfortunate results when I first decided to give the dogs haircuts on my own.

When really this is all Petco's fault.

When Travis was a puppy I paid $45 for him to get the ugliest haircut ever.

Then I went out and bought clippers.  Now I give him horrible haircuts, but at least it's free.

Yes, this is a shopping bag that is full of Travis' hair.  Literally, a full bag.

By the time we got Cailey I was a little better at the whole haircut thing.

So she doesn't hate it as much.

In fact, she'd rather enjoy it.

Except that I do this.

 

 

And this.

Sorry Cailey.  You're a trooper.

And the results!

Ah, it's officially spring!

Spring haircuts - the before shots

A new member of the pack

When Jon and I decided to have kids, we knew that we would have to spend some time and effort working with our dogs to make sure that they would accept a new member of the pack.

The training started early.  In fact, knowing that I wanted to have kids, I've always trained the dogs to be "kid" friendly.  When they were puppies, our pack members were poked and prodded daily (gently) to make sure they would tolerate a kid pulling their tails or grabbing their fur.  During meal times, I stuck my fingers in their bowls to assure that if any child fingers made their way into the dog food, they would make it out alive and with all limbs intact.

Once we were pregnant, we upper the ante.  We knew that we had 9 or so months to concentrate on the pups before a new member of the pack arrived.  We practiced being calm, not jumping up on people, and the basic commands.  Although I love teaching my little monsters cool tricks, we zoned in on the basic "sit", "down", and "stay" instead to make sure that we wouldn't have to repeat ourselves over and over again in order for them to obey.  We also took daily walks, allowing the dogs to "greet" kids or other dogs only when they were calm.  Working on these very basic behavior issues was incredibly important to us since we knew that a baby wouldn't ask our dogs to roll over or give them paw, but would benefit from the dogs staying in their place or being calm.

We also prepared them for the baby's arrival.  Once the back room became the nursery, the puppies weren't allowed to come in.  We practiced spending a few minutes in the room while the dogs waited patiently in the hallway.  This would teach them that the room was no longer their space.  Once Peanut arrived, we would spend a few days following the same rules so that she can "claim her space" and then allow the pups in.  We also "reclaimed" the couch, only allowing the dogs to jump up if they were invited.

Then the big day arrived.  While we spent a couple of days recovering at the hospital with our little Peanut, our family and friends took care of our dogs.  When we came home, we had about 30 minutes before our friend Kari dropped off the 2 excited monsters.  We got ready for their arrival.  This was the game plan:

First, one of us took Peanut into her room and fenced off that area so the dogs were limited to the kitchen and dining room.  The other person waited to greet the dogs.  When the dogs arrived, Jon spent some time greeting and petting them to wear off some of their excitement since they haven't seen us in a couple of days.  Then we switched.  While Jon stayed with Peanut in the back room, I gave our dogs some attention and let them act excited for a couple of minutes.

Once they seemed calmer, I pulled out a receiving blanket with Peanut's scent and allowed the dogs to get used to the new smell.  Once they lost interest in the new smell, Jon brought Peanut out into the dining room to introduce the new pack member to our existing family.  He lowered down with Peanut, letting the dogs smell her without touching or jumping up on her.  They only received pets and treats when they were calm around her.

After a few minutes, the introductions were over and Cailey and Travis went on their merry way.  But our work wasn't done.

For the next couple of weeks we continued to spend a few minutes each day practicing being "calm" while the baby was within reach.

The same rules applied- Travis and Cailey were only rewarded if they were calm in her presence.  We kept treats nearby to reward any "accidental" good behavior.  That means that if we were practicing "tummy time" with Peanut and Cai and Trav layed down without sticking their nose into her diaper, they got treats.

We kept the dogs out of the nursery for the first week or so to let them know that it was Peanut's space and then started letting them in by inviting them.

So that's the basics of how we introduced our new member to the existing pack.

For now, Cailey and Travis have limited access to the baby as they are still learning to keep their tongues and paws to themselves and we continue to practice their good behavior daily.  Peanut is with us when we feed the dogs.  She's "given" them treats (I held her close while I gave the dogs their rewards for good behavior), she's given them "pets" (Jon held Peanut's hand out to pet the puppies).  Travis and Cailey seem to be adjusting really well, although Travis is still waiting for us to bring her back to wherever she came from.

But in reality, they've become second class citizens in what used to be their territory.