I will admit to feeling so guilty for traumatizing them that we had a little bit of snuggle time on mom & dad's bed. My sweet girl is a bit of a grudge holder and only leaned into my hand. My boy came rushing over, and snuggled up cheek to cheek with his little paw in my hand. I guess all was forgiven. He was definitely not ready to come downstairs, even for a treat.
It's been an eventful puppy morning as sweet chunky Beau finally climbed up and down the stairs repeatedly, he was not happy that sister had run up to momma and was getting all the snuggles while he was stuck at the bottom scared to try. Moments later, my little guy was at my feet wagging his whole body with pride. While I am excited for the milestone, I am apprehensive as to what new level of watchfulness this will entail.
I have really knuckled down on the potty training business and yesterday the little buggers and I logged over 5 miles of active walking. It was a fairly moderate day, just a bit of chill in the air. If we can manage 5 miles in one day and they are only 11 weeks old, I feel I am really glad that Hubs insisted that I have such a large stash of walking shoes, because something tells me this is only the beginning of a lot of super long walks.
Last night they finally encountered a lot of other pups on the final walk of the day. Even though Miss Belle's sass game is super strong, she is my timid one. I was a bit surprised. Beau managed to get brave enough to be within 6 inches of one sweet pup, Belle was no where close, in fact she was hiding behind mom's legs shaking every time a furry new potential friend came within 5 feet.
After a few moments while we were chatting, they both thought the Golden Retriever that laid down and gently watched them was intriguing and edged a bit closer to him. Beau was definitely wanting to be friends, Belle was actually considering it, well until he rolled over and sent them running. Such a sweet baby with the pups, they will meet again.
Holly the little Yorkie at the end of the road scares them to death, she is all of six pounds, smaller than they were at six weeks, but she insists on showing them that she is bigger and badder than the meanest rottweiler they will ever meet. She barks and growls and isn't the least bit friendly. They simply don't know what to do with her and unfortunately it scared them away from another neighbors Yorkie that was willing to be friends.
They are learning to communicate with us and definitely understand when spoken to. Are they a lot of work absolutely, are they an even greater return on investment in the love and joy department? ABSOLUTELY!
I read a statement yesterday that said raising puppies was a thousand times harder than raising children. I am fairly certain that statement was written by someone that has never had children. Because the truth is, it's not even in the same ballpark. In many ways it is similar, my children made just as many if not more messes, although I have never had a child eat my shoes or tear up a sofa (yep, I've had dogs do both) I have had them create far greater messes in other ways. Pups eventually grow up to be little loves that simply want to spend their entire lives with you.
Your children grow up, have their own families, lives and challenges, they move on and leave you standing there full of love and worry. You are so proud of them, you celebrate their victories and you mourn their losses with them. Often from a distance. You will do anything in this world for your child, even after they are long grown and don't want to be babied. There is still a burning need to right the wrongs, to chase away the demons and monsters of life. And it is horrible to sit on the sidelines praying and watching.
There are times your children will pull away, needing to grow into their own person. On an emotional level you feel like you have lost them forever, reality is that you haven't, they are just becoming the person you raised them to be. A puppy just sits by your side and gives you loves and kisses and wants treats and belly rubs.
The hardest part with a pup is when they cross the rainbow bridge, they are simply too much love to be here for very long. You will mourn, your heart will feel like it will never heal and you will have a huge hole inside of you. Until the day your pup sends a new one into your heart, and they always do.
Your children on the other hand... there are conflicts, miscommunications, growing pains, hurts, pushing away and pulling back close. There are times they will need you with every fiber of their being, and there are times in that needing that they resent the fact that they do. There will be selfish moments, there will be giving moments. There are times that you have boundless joy and others where you have deep dark sorrow. Sometimes all you can do is step back, let them fly. Sometimes they simply chose to never return. It isn't your fault, but you can't unwind things and change them either. In any case as the parent you are always there with open arms and an even stronger loving heart waiting for whatever is needed. Sometimes you have to deal with deep hurt in the process, sometimes you have to put up an emotional wall, but you always love unconditionally.
Nope, I definitely believe the author of that statement has no idea what she is talking about. I cherish my puppies, they bring me love, joy, frustration, laughter and chores. They require a lot of attention and monitoring, but they are on no level as complex, intense or emotionally charged as raising a child.
Of course that is just my humble opinion... those are my life learned experiences.
In either case, I wouldn't trade a minute with my children, grand children or my sweet precious puppies.
love and peace...
Good one! 381+
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