Go ahead and read my post below. I posted it almost 2 years ago as we were preparing to parent our daughter. Let me just tell you, I don't regret writing it and I still remember how I felt...but having a human baby child on top of 2 fur-babies has been quite an adventure. Oh yeah and then we got a puppy, LOL!
I have 10 times the empathy for the people who parent these duo & multiple specicies families. It's not a simple concept! You've got to keep everyone as happy, safe and generally as content as possible. SUPERVISION is KEY!!! But guess what? It's not always possible. You think you're supervising by having 2 parents on each side of the baby at about a 5 foot radius, then a dog plays with a ball a bit too close to the baby and when he goes to pounce on the ball (as he has for all of his life), he scratches said baby across the lip scarring her for life. (Yep, it's been almost a year, that scratch is still there) whoopsie. Dogs need to go potty, but baby wants to follow and there are stairs she doesn't need to be waddling by. Dogs want to get into a simple quarrel but baby is nearby. Baby wants to stick her hand in the dog food bowl, baby wants to dump the water dish, lay on the dog, pull their fur, smack them, etc. and it never stops! Now let me give Lynx some credit at almost 21 months old. She's learning. It's always been important to us that even though she wants to be "rude" to the dogs that we give her guidance to treat them better. She probably knows better boundaries with dogs in general than most kids twice her age. But the first 15 months were generally rough and we had to keep adjusting life to suit the needs of all of our kids. Then we got a puppy named Ziti in May. She's great, but she's a puppy. Let's just say she's amazing, and she's a stinker, and it has been way easier to raise her than this little human girl. So the easiest route for us all now? MANAGEMENT! Don't be afraid of this technique. It means using multiple tools like baby gates, kennels and closed doors to make sure everyone is happy in the space they are provided. I will stop babbling now, but if you ever meet me in person you'll understand that I probably could have kept going on for an entire book...Maybe someday? All kiddos whether furry and four-legged or walking, crawling or scooting on 2-4 limbs at a time are not simple and putting them together is what can make things a bit complicated. BUT they are ALL WORTH IT!
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AuthorMy name is Kim, I've grown up in this beautiful place we call Marquette, MI. I have always been a lover of animals and my love for them has only grown stronger with age. I love all animals from mice to cows, to pigs and frogs. Of course as dogs are the ones living most closely among us they have become my passion. I worked for a kennel for 2+ years, and I loved caring for the dogs all day. Being a kennel worker significantly benefited me while I was studying dogs however the time came to follow my calling. In April 2010 I graduated with my diploma in Dog Obedience Trainer/Instructor from Penn Foster Career School, and have since begun building my experience in the field. I am currently owned (along side my husband Rick -who is also in the dog business as a groomer, and plays an active part in TacoMo as well) by 2 dogs named Rico Suave a 50lb adorable mix (His DNA came back as one parent being 1/2 Cocker Spaniel, 1/4 Pomeranian, & 1/4 Dachshund, the other parent while not confirmed is potentially an English Shepherd which honestly makes the most sense) and Smorzy a 50% Australian Shepherd/50%Shetland Sheepdog. They are a crazy duo and are not perfect by any means but I love having the tools to control their behavior whenever I need to. I love my dogs so much that TacoMo was named after them (Rico's nickname is Taco & Smorzy's is MoMo)! You'll learn by meeting me or reading my posts that while I can be a quiet person, I can also babble on forever! Archives
November 2018
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