Ok, so maybe THE WORLD didn't breathe a sigh of relief, but I sure did!
We are finally home. Time to pick up the dogs at the kennel and see what happens......
The dogs were so INSANE with happiness to see me that they were completely uncontrollable at the kennel, jumping on everyone and the kennel tech couldn't really keep them controlled with a leash. I had a momentary twinge of fear at how they would react to meeting Charlie after watching their exhuberance. They were jumping 15 feet in the air! Ok, maybe 3 feet, but it seemed like it was really too much energy.
They also STANK to high heaven of urine, so the first step was to bathe all three of them. Then, once they were clean and relatively calm, one by one we introduced them to Charlie. I held her on my lap, as per Dogs and Storks class, and allowed them to sniff her ankle to start. Mostly they could not have cared less... they were more interested in saying hello to me again. Eventually I allowed them to sniff her arms and hands and seeing that they were calm and non-threatened, her face for a second. Charlie was pretty intrigued by the three dogs though, and followed them around with her eyes and tried to reach out and pet them. I'm already started with the "gentle touch" and preventing her little fingers from curling into a grasp and pulling (like she does with my hair!).
We bought some gates today and I already have crates. Basically I think it's going to be an exercise in chaotic crowd control until Charlie grows older or one or two of the dogs passes away. I plan on having a "dog zone" and a "baby zone" so the dogs can relax and not have to worry about being poked, and the baby can wreak havoc in her own area without eating too much fur.
Here's hoping for a peaceful co-existence.
P.S. Please excuse my disgusting-ness. I had just finished bathing 3 large dogs and had some spit up on me as well.
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5 comments:
I'm glad your fur-babies and your human baby have met!
I'm so happy for all of your children. I was a little nervous and couldn't wait until you shared the experience. I have my own little fur ball around here who happens to be jealous at times.
Charlie is so cute. You guys were made for each other.
That is so great that she wasn't afraid of the dogs.
As for the speaking stuff it is hard to say. If you read the books (what to expect the first year) or get handouts from your doctor they will all say that yes she should be saying more, things like mama or dada and then ga, ba, la, etc.
That said Charlie probably hasn't heard English much so it is natural for her to be a little behind. Kiya has a 36% delay in her speech but 2 speech therapists have said that she will catch up and are not worried. They gave us handouts to encourage new sounds, and told us to read to her every day which we already did and talk to her all the time. Tell her what we are doing and where we are going, etc.
Talk to you doctor is you are worried but I bet she catches up really quickly.
She is such a cutie!
Mika, my love, its not disgustingness, its Momness!
Spot on Sarah!
So glad the first meet went well with the dogs. There was no doubt in my mind she would love the dogs and I was fairly certain they would love her. Go slow and follow your instincts!
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