Dogs & Babies

I love my dogs. I did everything I could to prepare them for the arrival of my baby - brought the blanket home with his smell on it, took them on a long walk before they met him, gave them extra attention, kept the baby at a distance so they could adjust to his sounds and smells. Being the animal lover that I am and having been the "mom" of my two dogs for seven years, I told myself that things wouldn't change that much, that I would love and care for my dogs the same way I always had.

                             I was wrong.

 Here's the thing. A baby changes everything about your life, even things that you vowed wouldn't change. Now I'm not an advocate of a parent's life revolving around their child to the point where the parent loses sight of his or her own identity and the child is smothered, but babies have a universal quality called dependency. That quality forces you to adjust your thinking, modify your schedule, put down personal pleasures, tune in to another life. If you could step outside your body and watch the process, you would see adaptation at work. Here's the thing:

Dogs adapt too.

My dogs have been great with the baby. For the most part, they keep their distance and watch him out of the corners of their eyes. They don't cuddle with him, knowing he is great at pulling all things dog: ears, hair, tail, paw (all pictures appearing to the contrary were staged). So what has changed? I don't walk them as often as I did or spend significant amounts of time petting or playing with them. They know that when I have the baby in my arms, they must steer clear of my feet. They've learned to avoid new temptations (deliciously stinky diaper pail) and wait patiently for new treats (eyes tracking baby's waiving arm with a cracker soon to fall on the floor). Every now and then, they know they will be forced to interact with the newest member of the family, especially because he loves to hold leashes.

So dog lovers and new parents, know that things won't ever be the same. In fact, they will be constantly changing from now on. You will love your child more than your dogs, but your dogs won't love you any less for it. Plus, it won't be long before that baby turns into a little person who loves dogs and all that adapting your dog had to do when baby arrived prepared your pup to be loved by one more person.