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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

The Pups Post

After my 25 week post, a lot of you had questions about what we were doing with the puppies. So let me explain our thoughts, reasonings and plan.

First off, we have two LARGE dogs. The Black Buffalo, a 100 pound black lab and the Princess Pup, a 60 pound whatever you want her to be (seriously, everyone who sees her has an opinion what she is!). These two are like my children. The Princess Pup has been around longer than DH. Notice, I say MY, not our. I'm the major dog lover in the family. I always grew up with large inside dogs; DH grew up with large outside dogs. Being that the Princess Pup was around before DH, there wasn't much discussion as to whether the dogs would be inside or out.

I love having them in the house especially when DH is gone hunting or working late, they make me feel safe and ALWAYS make me feel loved. Sometimes I think they can read my emotions and feelings better than DH! However, there is some drawbacks...they shed...a lot...year round. They also bark at every person, animal or strange sound that goes by the house. Plus our house is not huge, it's a one-story ranch and with large dogs, at times, we can all be walking on each other.

The Black Buffalo actually came from a home that had 2 small children. The little girl learned how to walk with him because she'd stand up and hold on to him until she was ready to take those first few steps. He's so funny because it's like he knows how to act around different people. If an adult comes to our house, he's a jumper but if my niece or a small child comes over then he's gentle...still in their face but just out of curiosity. My niece always spends a week with us each summer and the Black Buffalo always sleeps in bed with her.

With the Princess Pup, children or adults, if you're a stranger then you're going to stay a stranger. Someone comes in the house, she barks and runs to the other room. If you stick around for awhile, she'll eventually come out and visit. She let's my niece pet her and lay with her but she's a momma's girl and would much rather be with me than anyone else (DH is a close second).

As stated above, I'm also a HUGE dog lover! I refuse to be one of those moms that has a child and then the dogs get no attention. That's why I REALLY want new carpet in the basement so we can spend time with them in the evening (the carpet now is thin and gross and been there FOREVER). We kennel them during the day while at work and I do NOT want to keep them "locked up" (meaning not in their cage but still just in the basement with no contact) all night too.

So our decision to move the dogs downstairs to our basement was a reluctant one on my part but a no brainer to DH. I know it'll make DH happier and I know it's best for the baby with the dog hair and noise plus it'll hopefully keep our upstairs (where people actually see!) cleaner which is good since I know having a baby limits your time to do daily tasks like vacuuming, dusting, etc...

I also want our baby to grow up with dogs and have that love for dogs, the friendship (I know that sounds silly but those of you with pups know what I mean), and not fearing dogs. I also wanted to transition the dogs before the babies get here so they don't resent the baby if we did it when s/he arrives. I have a feeling that Baby A and I will be spending most of my maternity leave downstairs with the pups (it's SOOO much cooler there in the basement) or taking walks with them (one at a time!) if the weather permits (MO summers get pretty toasty!).

I really didn't do any research on this topic. I wasn't told to seperate the dogs or anything. DH and I just made the best decision for our family. It was more or less based off how we know our puppies and their behavior. I think every family has to make the right decision for their family and you're the one that knows your pets best.

Now before you go feeling sorry for the dogs, as I type this post, the Black Buffalo is sprawled out over the couch in the basement while the Princess Pup is curled up next to him!

3 comments:

SLES75 said...

Thanks for posting this. I was really curious. My dogs were my first born children via surrogate furry and four legged. I still refer to them as my kids, I just have to be specific be it furry or human when I talk to people. I never bothered to separate mine. The dogs have taken to the baby beautifully. I also read somewhere that having your dog(s) bark while your pregnant teaches the baby this is an OK sound. It worked. I encouraged my dogs to bark like crazy at my belly. Now my little girl sleeps right through it.

As for the cleanliness? I don't have the luxury of a basement. So I do my best to sweep/vacuum a couple times a week. My dogs are English Springer Spaniels with long hair. They shed quite a bit. The small puppies I find under the couch and the coffee table when I go more than a couple of days can vouch for that.

I'm glad you made the decision that was right for you. I wish we had more space, like a basement or something like that, but unfortunately I'm on a slab and the only place for them to be is in the common areas. And I totally agree with the friendship of the pups and the baby. I can't imagine not having the furries here for my baby to grow up with.

Again thanks for posting. I was very interested in what you were doing. Definitely something to think about if I ever get out of my current living situation...

Angie said...

You know I understand the pup thing! You've probably heard this by now, and God knows I have no idea if this works or not (childless)but I've been told by many a mommy-to-be that it's a good idea to bring a blanket or an outfit home from the hospital that the baby has been in and leave it with the pups before you come home. That way the pups already have the scent of the baby when you bring him/her home.

Kelly said...

I totally understand the doggie thing. I love my dogs but it is hard with a new baby. They got on my NERVES for the first couple of months. Now it is much better!

My dogs bark all of the time too but it has never bothered Blakely.

Also, I read somewhere to bring a blanket home from the hospital that smells like the baby and let the dogs get used to her scent that way before introducing them to the baby. We did this and they didn't seem too freaked out once we brought her home.

I bought a Dyson vacuum cleaner before she was born because I knew the dog hair would stress me out. best.thing.ever!

One more thing, I tagged you in a survey on my blog :)