Wednesday - Pups
Feb. 22nd, 2006 01:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ninanevermoreToday on my drive into work, I was thinking about my dog and how she is slowly adjust to having my son around the house. She is 12 years old and set in her ways, and was an only dog for so very long.
For years, Evie has ruled the house. She is 20 pounds of spaniel with 120 pounds of personality. Jeff, who never believed in dogs on the furniture and certainly not on the bed, soon learned to accept that this one dog in his life must sit on his couch and is not able to sleep at night unless she is curled up against a human body.
We had children in our home from time to time and she tolerated them well enough. She was also relieved when their parents took them away and she could have us both to herself again. Then, 16 months ago we brought my son home and the foundation of her world was shaken.
We let her sniff him, and she found him to be of little interest. He was too small to play with and he seemed harmless enough, so she quickly decided to ignore him. I could tell that she hoped that whoever he belonged to would come get him, and soon.
She speaks very eloquently with her eyes, and she pleaded her case with me frequently.
"This man-pup that you have here," she would say with a big wet stare, "is a bit much. Every few hours, it makes this tremendous wailing noise that drives me nuts. It is taking up a lot of yours and Jeff's time, not to mention space on your laps where I used to sit. I don't like it. Kindly have it's people take it home so we can get things back to normal, please."
Slowly, it occurred to her that we were planning to keep the baby and make him part of our pack. She found this outrageous, and told us so by leaving a political statement in front of the crib every time I forgot to shut the door to my son's room.
"This is not an accident," I told Jeff, after finding the ump-teenth pile of protest, "it's an act of civil disobedience."
Jeff agreed.
As my son gained mobility, he got on Evie's nerves even more. He would crawl up to her and grab fist fulls of fur if we were not fast enough to stop him. When she would growl and even nip (she never bit him), he would howl with laughter. This small person, so afraid of helium balloons and Tumble Time Tigger toys, would laugh like a maniac when the very real danger of sharp pointed teeth came within millimeters of his skin. Jeff and I did the best to keep the two of them separate, and to give Evie extra attention.
Then, in recent months, their relationship turned a corner. My son started eating solid foods. Not only does he like a lot of the same foods that Evie likes, such as cheese and pasta, he is willing to throw things to her, to hold tasty bites of grilled cheese sandwiches over the edge of his highchair for her to have. He is a lot more generous with his food than Jeff and I have ever been. Suddenly, in the dog's eyes, he had became a useful and productive member of the pack, and was welcomed to stay. The protest statements stopped.
They are now friends.
Like any friendship, there are moments of stress, such as when my son grabs Evie's favorite ball and tries to toddle away with it. She gently but firmly uses her mouth to take it back from him and then hides it. She understands now that he is a pup and that pups do not always respect boundaries. Pups will try to take your toys and grab your tail when you are trying to wag it. Pups tie up resources of the pack leaders and you have to cut them some slack when they don't follow long-established pack rules.
She also knows that as long as he is willing to share his meals with her, she can forgive these transgressions.
The new pals share Christmas Teddy Grahams stolen from Santa Claus
For years, Evie has ruled the house. She is 20 pounds of spaniel with 120 pounds of personality. Jeff, who never believed in dogs on the furniture and certainly not on the bed, soon learned to accept that this one dog in his life must sit on his couch and is not able to sleep at night unless she is curled up against a human body.
We had children in our home from time to time and she tolerated them well enough. She was also relieved when their parents took them away and she could have us both to herself again. Then, 16 months ago we brought my son home and the foundation of her world was shaken.
We let her sniff him, and she found him to be of little interest. He was too small to play with and he seemed harmless enough, so she quickly decided to ignore him. I could tell that she hoped that whoever he belonged to would come get him, and soon.
She speaks very eloquently with her eyes, and she pleaded her case with me frequently.
"This man-pup that you have here," she would say with a big wet stare, "is a bit much. Every few hours, it makes this tremendous wailing noise that drives me nuts. It is taking up a lot of yours and Jeff's time, not to mention space on your laps where I used to sit. I don't like it. Kindly have it's people take it home so we can get things back to normal, please."
Slowly, it occurred to her that we were planning to keep the baby and make him part of our pack. She found this outrageous, and told us so by leaving a political statement in front of the crib every time I forgot to shut the door to my son's room.
"This is not an accident," I told Jeff, after finding the ump-teenth pile of protest, "it's an act of civil disobedience."
Jeff agreed.
As my son gained mobility, he got on Evie's nerves even more. He would crawl up to her and grab fist fulls of fur if we were not fast enough to stop him. When she would growl and even nip (she never bit him), he would howl with laughter. This small person, so afraid of helium balloons and Tumble Time Tigger toys, would laugh like a maniac when the very real danger of sharp pointed teeth came within millimeters of his skin. Jeff and I did the best to keep the two of them separate, and to give Evie extra attention.
Then, in recent months, their relationship turned a corner. My son started eating solid foods. Not only does he like a lot of the same foods that Evie likes, such as cheese and pasta, he is willing to throw things to her, to hold tasty bites of grilled cheese sandwiches over the edge of his highchair for her to have. He is a lot more generous with his food than Jeff and I have ever been. Suddenly, in the dog's eyes, he had became a useful and productive member of the pack, and was welcomed to stay. The protest statements stopped.
They are now friends.
Like any friendship, there are moments of stress, such as when my son grabs Evie's favorite ball and tries to toddle away with it. She gently but firmly uses her mouth to take it back from him and then hides it. She understands now that he is a pup and that pups do not always respect boundaries. Pups will try to take your toys and grab your tail when you are trying to wag it. Pups tie up resources of the pack leaders and you have to cut them some slack when they don't follow long-established pack rules.
She also knows that as long as he is willing to share his meals with her, she can forgive these transgressions.
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Cubs for keepers?
Date: 2006-02-22 08:57 pm (UTC)Re: Cubs for keepers?
Date: 2006-02-22 09:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-23 07:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-23 04:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-23 05:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-27 09:21 pm (UTC)That pic is SO cute! I can see a vague familial resemblance between Eilif and Rorie. :D