Howl It Out

I'm trying to be a brave dog mom. I'm trying to teach her hard lessons that I know she needs to succeed in her little doggie life. But it's so tough.

Arsen is very clearly the disciplinarian in the relationship (I have a feeling this will always be the case), but even when he is reprimanding her for something she's done, it typically ends up breaking my heart and I have to hold myself back from grabbing her up and cuddling away the pain her mean daddy has caused. My mother has informed me this does indeed get worse with children, and that I absolutely must always stand by any discipline that comes down from dad, because if not they will know I'm weak and come straight to me...so I'm trying to learn early with Addie.

I was met with a challenge this morning, and I think I did OK. Arsen and I carpool several times a week now that we work within 10 minutes or so of each other. Arsen drives, Addie sits on my lap, we usually don't talk a lot...I'm admittedly not a morning person. However, this morning was full of activity.

I had a cup of some honey and almond granola stuff. Apparently the smell was just intoxicating, because Addie couldn't hardly contain herself. She sat facing me, staring up at my cup, watching every bite with the saddest puppy eyes I've ever seen. After just a few bites it wasn't really sitting right with me, so I set it in the cup holder and was done. Well, that was just too much for Addie. She put her face on her paws and had her tiny nose just an inch away, sniffing it in and whining quietly. When she saw this wasn't working, she sat up, starting growling, and pawed my hand several times. After I told her no, she was really upset. She started pulling back the blanket she was sitting on, digging on it like it would bring the cereal closer. I told her no, Arsen told her no....and that was it. She sat on the very edge of my lap, stared straight at Arsen, and started howling.

Now, when Addie howls, it is impossible to keep a straight face. It's a terribly high pitched sound, and she throws her tiny head back and her mouth is shaped in this cute little O. She gets herself really worked up and snorts between every howl. I tried not to give her attention. I tried not to laugh. I tried to let her howl it out. But after maybe a minute I couldn't stand it...she was breaking my heart! And she was thoroughly angering her dad. At first he was laughing, but within a few seconds of her piercing screams he was not as amused.

Naturally I wanted to give in and give her a bite of granola, because clearly this was just killing her. I said "Addie, I really wanted to give you a bite, but now I don't know what to do!", and Arsen immediately said "Do NOT give her anything!". Leave it to dad to be the mean guy....and the smart guy. Because I am fully aware that if I gave her a tiny bite, she would continue to howl away any time she wanted something that she didn't immediately get. But it's just SO hard to tell that cute little face no!

So I guess the moral of the story is that, even with a tiny dog, you really need a fur-mom and a fur-dad. Can you imagine what a ridiculously bratty and spoiled pup I would have on my hands if papa Arsen wasn't around to run the show? Thank goodness I'm not raising her as a single parent, I would be doomed.

Isn't it crazy the lessons you can learn from a 12 pound ball of fur?