Adjusting

Do you remember this little stinker?

She used to be the star of the show, the focus of your little bitty family. She used to be my number one photo subject, like you can see here, here, and here. Then along came her new little brothers, Liam and Dash, and suddenly she had to fight for attention. And she didn't often win.

So how is sweet Pogo adjusting?

It was a little rough for her the first couple months. What were these funny looking, funny smelly, bleating little creatures invading her comfortable home, her comfortable life? She took to hiding or running away from wherever the babies were located. She used to cuddle up next to us, lean into our sides, but now we always had these babies around, so I'm sure she felt lonely. Plus she was still getting used to the new house and yard- before the babies, we'd accompany her outside, but after, we just couldn't do that all the time. More loneliness.

Then there were a few habits of Pogo that we had to, erm, work out together:

Problem A: Dash was crying one day and out of the blue, Pogo started howling. Funny, right? Yeah, that first time, it was funny. But when I have two screaming babies, the last thing I want is a little more volume. She still howls but is better about cutting herself off quickly.

Problem B: She has the habit of rubbing her snout on the carpet while grunting, flopping her ears loudly, and scratching at her collar. This wasn't such a big deal the first few weeks when the babies could sleep through anything, but as they became more sensitive to sound, she'd wake them up all the time. Not what I needed when I was desperate for sleep myself. That problem certainly didn't engender Pogo any sweet feelings from me. It's not such a big deal now that the babies are in their own room sleeping. At least she doesn't yap incessantly like the next-door Chihuahuas who've woken up the babes on many an occassion. Grr.

Problem C: dog hair, oh the dog hair. I am so over checking their pacifiers for hair and chasing Pogo away from their blanketed play areas. At least she's getting better at staying out of their room.

Problem D: This is certainly the worst of the all- right around the time that the babies were born, Pogo... got... fleas. Yes, I'm ridiculously embarrassed about it, but it's humid Houston and that happens with dogs. So for a while we had to keep her far away from everything associated with babies and bathe her every other day while we tried to get rid of the nasty bugs. Believe me, bathing is a rather torturous event for dear Pogo. And she was so itchy, the poor thing (contributing to Problem B). Then there's the fact that the fleas made us not want to be close to her, not want to pet her. So the discomfort she felt from the new babies combined with the annoyance of the bugs and our keeping our distance, I'm sure she felt utterly distraught. But she is flea-free and has been for many months- I am SO glad that's behind us.

I think Pogo's started to warm up to the babies. She doesn't always run from their presence. She'll come and cuddle with us while the babies are near. In fact, as the boys have started reaching for things, she's tolerated an occasional swat at her ear and pat on her fur.

I think the biggest help is the return of her daily walk. As the temperatures began to drop a bit, we started taking stroller rides accompanied by our favorite dog.

She lives for walks. Thank goodness it's finally a little cool in the mornings so I can stand a little outside exercise.

Each day as I put on my swishy pants and start putting the boys in their car seats (that fit into the stroller), Pogo suddenly makes her presence known, just to make sure she's not forgotten. I'm sure I'm quite the sight, pushing a double-long stroller with a dog hanging off my wrist, but we manage. We used to take long meandering walks but the boys kept falling asleep, so now we keep to a nice little half hour stroll. I can tell that these walks have reinvigorated the little hound dog.

But the whole experience has certainly aged her. Pre-babies she seemed pretty spry for her age. But now she's a little slower, not so quick to respond, sometimes has trouble jumping up. I don't know if her age just finally caught up to her or if the "trauma" took a physical toll. Probably both. Still, she just had her birthday on friday and I think she's doing great for an 11-year old!

I think that Pogo will continue to become more comfortable with the boys. They've certainly started to take interest in her. And I'm sure once the boys start eating more grown up food which'll end up on the floor (Pogo's territory), they'll become fast friends.