Going to the Dogs

Life around here has definitely been turned upside down in the past few months.  Schedules have been pushed to the wayside, meals are eaten whenever they can be shoveled into your mouth in between naps and diaper changes.  And don't even get me started on the lack of cleaning that has been going on.  But when babies make their way into our lives we are somewhat prepared and ready for the day when life completely changes.  This is true for all of us humans but there is a species that for decades has been caught completely off guard to the changes that a baby brings.  The dogs.  Oh, the poor dogs.  They don't even see it coming. Oh, yea mom starts getting a little chubbier ever day, week and month.  Rooms get rearranged,  walks come more frequently in attempts to spur on labor but then, Bam! life gets turned upside down.  Mom and dad are gone for a few days and then they come home with this crying, screaming, pooping doll sized thing and the dogs get pushed aside and yelled at for barking and yelled at for getting to close to the pooping, crying bundle and yelled at for being too excited. But eventually life starts to settle down and friends start being made.

But that doesn't mean all is well.  The old adage has been proven true...children do make you go gray.  But I'm not talking about me, I've had grays sprouting up for a few years now (thank you to my wonderful hair stylists, Jamie and Leslie for keeping it a secret) no, I'm talking about Miss Lola.


Lola pre-baby and Lola post-baby (a little grayer and looking a bit defeated)

For those of you that don't know her, Lola was our first baby. Fur baby that is. And boy has she gotten the shaft the past 4 months. She has been going noticeably gray since we brought Oliver home.  I hope that it's due more to the fact that she is getting a little older and not so much from the stress that a new baby in the house brings. Pre-Oliver Lola definitely ruled the roost. You've heard the song that says "whatever Lola wants, Lola gets"? It very well could have been written specifically for our Lola.  In the world of spoiled dogs Lola reigns supreme. I do need to point out that it's not always me that she gets everything from.  She has Mr. Rekers wrapped very tightly around her paw. She knows just how to manipulate him to get an extra bowl of food, a few extra dog biscuits or a nice long walk just when she wants it. 

Lola has definitely made our lives interesting the past 3 years.  We got Lola when we lived in Minnesota and picked her out on a rainy day in April.  It was a very spur of the moment purchase although I had been wanting a dog for quite some time prior. When we picked her out we had absolutely no dog supplies so our trip home was detoured by a trip to the local farm and fleet store to pick up the necessities. Dog kennel, dog bed, a few toys, food bowls and food.  All lugged in the house with this little ball of fur.

Before long I was seriously reconsidering my decision, and after all it was my decision.  When Lola was crying in the middle of the night Corey was very quick to point out that she was my dog, I'm the one that wanted her so when she needed let out every stinking hour in the middle of the night it was my responsibility.  We tried to do all the right things to make her the best, most well behaved dog.  Most of those things went right out the window.  Sleeping in her kennel? A little difficult when she could get break out of her kennel.  I still have no idea how she managed it but every time I would hear her whining in the middle of the night I would go out to the living room and there she would sit, right next to the couch with the kennel door open.  Houdini I tell you! I also didn't want to feed her people food because I didn't want her to be that obnoxious dog begging at the table (which she most certainly has become).  This was also hard to enforce because I had a husband who can't say no to her big ol' puppy dog eyes.  I should point out that the "my dog" thing was history after about day 4.  So Lola gets people food on occasion, usually I approve but every now and again she will sneak some herself.  The most famous of instances would be when she ate an entire stick of butter off the counter.  Hopefully her cholesterol count has improved.

So here we are, 3 years later and her life has drastically changed in the past 4 months.  If she could air her list of grievances I'm sure it would probably include the following atrocities:

1.) She no longer gets the stuffed animals. To which I must point out she hasn't been allowed stuffed animals for quite some time now because she rips them to shreds in a matter of minutes.  Even the strongest toys that claim they are dog proof, oh no, our Lola could chew through a tire.  As a matter of fact that she has chewed through an actual tire...at Yappy Campers where we boarded her when we were gone for a week. Nice work my friend.


2.) When we come home Oliver is who we rush to greet now instead of her.  I try to pay her as much attention as I can when I get home but it's sometimes hard with a baby on one arm and diaper bag and groceries on the other.


3.) The floor no longer belongs to her, it is now covered in blankets and tummy time for Oliver.  When I'm down on the floor with him jealousy sometimes overcomes her and she takes her moment to get in between the two of us to try and occupy my time.  Usually all she needs is a couple of minutes of ear rubbing and cuddling and then she's on her merry way.

4.) Walks aren't all about her anymore.  But at least she gets walks again, when Ollie first came home it was all we could do to get dressed during the day let alone venture outside. 


5.) She not only has to share her bed with two full size humans she now has to share a bed with a miniature human...although she doesn't seem to mind all the time.

I do need to point out that Lola has been fantastic with Oliver.  She recognizes his small size and is gentle and for the most part calm around him.  She mostly sniffs but does manage to get in the full face lick every now and again. She sits patiently while I let him pet her and I hope that she will always be this calm and patient around him.  Before we know it Oliver will be on the move and once again Lola's life will be rocked.  She is going to have to tolerate being used as a support, get used to tugs on the tail, and get used to having a tiny little face right next to hers while she's eating.

So this week I wanted to throw Miss Lola a bone.  She has tolerated a lot recently and I wanted to reward her somehow.  I ran across a pin on how to make your own dog biscuits and thought this would be a good opportunity to bake something that I won't eat an entire pan of and also make Lola happy. I couldn't find dog bone cookie cutters in any of our stores so I had to settle for fire hydrants. This is the recipe I used:

Homemade Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 TBL baking powder
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup skim milk

Mix dry ingredients together. Combine milk and peanut butter. Then combine the two mixtures. Roll out to 1/4" thickness and cut into shapes.  Spray cookie sheets with Pam. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes.  Cool and store airtight in the refrigerator.

Lola approved!!

Lola is a little calmer these days. She knows that we will eventually fill her food bowl even if it's not always right on schedule. Her naps are more frequent. But she is still the same old Lola. When she sleeps really heavy she still dreams and moves her paws like she's running. I like to think she is dreaming of the day Oliver can run around in the backyard with her. But what I mostly hope is that she isn't dreaming of starting an uprising with all of the other dogs that have been neglected when new baby comes home.