Before I had my daughter, my dog was my life. He was my "fur baby". My husband got him for me when we first got married and he was going on a business trip out of town for a week. We were in a new home and my husband wanted me to have some company. When I first saw "Squirt" as he would later be named (yes, from Finding Nemo), I thought he was the cutest little ball of fluff I had ever seen. I instantly feel in love with him. My husband didn't care of him at first because he was worried Squirt was just going to be a lap dog. He was timid and shy, but once I brought him home and my husband realized the spit-fire ball of energy he was, they became best friends.
My dog was my world. He is a bichon and grew almost twice as big (not fat, just big) as the normal bichon average. I told everyone he was like Clifford the Big Red Dog - "the love made Clifford grow so big".
So you can see that I loved my fluffy baby. He was there for me when I was sad, and always had a snuggle waiting for me when I came through the door.
When I became pregnant, my buddy knew something was up. He would frantically sniff my belly and one time SweetPea kicked him when he was trying to lay on me. I made sure to play videos of babies crying for him so he could get use to the sound.
Then we brought SweetPea home. He honestly had no interest in her at first. I made sure my in-laws brought a blanket that smelled like Sweet Pea to him so he could 'sniff her out' before hand. I wanted to make sure I was the one to introduce them, since he considers me "his pet". And he wanted to be right there in my lap too. At first, he was the best big brother. He would guard her and run to her side when she would cry. He had never been around young children and definitely not any babies, but he just knew how to act....at first.
As time went on, he started having more potty accidents, chewing up SweetPea's pacifiers, and barking when she would cry making her cry even more. So I decided to get him some training. And the two things I took away from the hours of classes were: make sure to give them plenty of exercise and stock up on dog treats.
Insert Nudges Healthy Dog Treats.
My dog has a sensitive tummy so it is very important to me that I am feeding him the best - a healthy dog treat. We had fun shopping at Kroger for Nudges. Nudges are dog treats made in the USA, tear easily for my (should be) small breed dog, are high quality and safe with no fillers or no artificial flavors, plus they smell amazing! My husband thought they were beef jerky. Nudges is helping me "nudge" my dog in the right direction, while making sure he is getting a healthy treat.
Don't forget to capture your dog's "nudge" moments on the Nudges Facebook page as part of the "Share the Love" promotion for a chance to win prizes.
Thank goodness they are best friends though and with the help of Nudges, I know they will continue to be for a long time.
How do you Nudge Your Dog?
Wow that is a large Bichon. You must love him a lot! Visiting from the blog hop.
ReplyDeletehttp://agutandabutt.blogspot.com/
We have a cat...I'm a little nervous about the introduction time, but we still have a bit before the baby arrives so maybe I'll find some more articles to read... :)
ReplyDeleteHelen
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My chihuahua was my world, too, before a baby came along. When the dogs seem to really get annoyed is when the baby become mobile - until they realize that, "Hey, this kid drops food all the time! Yum!"
ReplyDeleteSo true! Haha
Deletenice pics. cute baby and cute dog. both are very healthy also. loved it.
ReplyDeleteHealthy dog treats
I love that these are made in the USA, I'd feel much better about feeding these to my dogs!
ReplyDeleteLooks like it worked well! This was our big worry too! Cats, dogs, etc. Great idea & great post.
ReplyDeleteOh, I know how the transition goes from doggies being your #1's to pretty much at the bottom of the totem pole. I don't think I even thought about my dogs for 2 weeks after my daughter was born.
ReplyDeleteAaawww this is so cute! I actually have two dogs and a baby, so I totally know how this goes! One of our pups is still a little jealous, but he is getting better.
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