In the Saddle

Bribery with treats?

What’s your plan for introducing the baby to Jessa?

Just kidding…our friends gave us some information they had read about it when they had their little boy, so we’ll go through that and heed the advice. As well, I’m going to check out what Cesar Milan says about it (no, seriously) because he knows his shit.

The things I’ve learned thus far are bringing something that the baby was wearing home from the hospital before we bring the baby home so Jess can smell it and become familiar; practice pushing the stroller around while walking Jessa (we have to do this for sure as Jess is a little scared of big roll-y things); train her to not come into the baby’s room unless invited (this will be hard as it used to be Jessa’s room…oops); and just make sure to give her lots of love and attention so she knows she’s still important (this is not something we learned from anywhere, this is just something we will do because…well, because).

We’ll see, though. I already feel awful because she’s definitely responding to the changes around the house already, like my ever expanding belly (there’s getting to be very little room on my lap for her), the fact that we’re constantly keeping the place spotless for showings (I think she gets sad when we vacuum up her hair off the rug), and just the energy in general. Our girl is a bit anxious and is definitely responding. So hopefully she’ll react well to the baby. I just want her to be happy…it breaks my heart to think that she might freak out about it and be sad.

Sigh. Here’s hoping.

Our high-maintenance four or five year old.

So this was an all-around bad vet visit.

• Despite us cutting back on food and treats, she has gained weight. I don’t think this is really a problem, but we are wary of letting her get too big…Beagles have a tendency to get big around the middle. 
• We’ve been doing a bad job brushing her teeth. She HATES it though. Like, runs away from me and it’s a struggle to get her to do it. I know that’s not an excuse, but…well, I’m using it as one.
• Her leg is still bleeding from the blood test.
• She flipped the fuck out when the vet was checking her ears. She’s very sensitive about those things.
• Her allergies are really bad, which means we need to bathe her once a week with prescription allergy shampoo and give her fish oil supplements. Suddenly I feel like she should get a job at Whole Foods or something.

All worth it, of course, for our girl. Just…well, poor Jonny is a bit traumatized.

Losing a year or two…

When we got Jessa, the vets and dentist said that, based on her teeth, she was probably around a year. Based on her behavior and puppy-like nature, we estimated her to be even younger than that. So when we celebrate her “birthday” (the day we brought her home) in May, we were planning on counting it as her third.

Jonny just took her to the vet for her annual check up and the doctor said that, based on the way her red-orange fur around her eyes was turning white, she is probably more like four or five years old.

I know it’s not the biggest deal, but I mean….a year or two in dog life is precious time. Just a little sad to hear, that’s all. She’s still a pup at heart.

Little pisser.

I love how Jessa picks the precise moment we sit down to eat to scratch on the door. Nice.

Oh what grandmas do for their grandkids/dogs

My mom was in a pet store the other day and decided to buy Jessa a little gift. So yesterday, we received a little package in the mail that contained a New York subway system doggie tee-shirt. Of course, she requested pictures. And she got ‘em.

At first Jess was all…

Then she was like, meh…

Then she was like, heeeeeeeey…

Then she decided to chew it

After all that, she was tired…

Thanks, grandma!

Fin