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?

12 comments

  1. haha. this is so me+dan+sherman in a nutshell. Dan and I always talk (argue) about what sherm can and cannot eat. I give him tiny little bites off my plate, but Dan is absolutely against that. sooo, I am usually the one to get yelled at (not Sherm). I totally agree ... being a single dog mom would be hard. :)

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  2. Aw Celeste, I love this post! You are such a proud Mama to Addie and I know she loves you for it! I have the hardest time saying no to our dogs and they end up spoiled (they're family dogs so I don't bear the responsibility solely ;) ). Rob is kinda a softy so I have a feeling I'm going to have to end up being bad cop more often but we'll see how that plays out! At least you have Arsen to balance you out!

    Evani
    simplyevani@gmail.com

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  3. This happens with my little fur baby too. He knows I am a stofty and will typically give in, Dad is the disciplinary! He will tap my hand or arm just the same way and make growling sounds or whine until i give in! Thanks for the great post!

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  4. HI! This was a funny post. I definitely practicing on my furbabies as well ( I have 2 cats). Those cute little eyes are hard to resist. New follower sent from Rustic Living :)

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  5. Haha so funny!! We were having probs with our furbaby #2... he somehow got it in his head that he HAD to be let out every morning PROMPTLY at 530am. Well that was bad enough until he started moving it up 30mins at a time until he made it to 330am. This was not happening. Dad had to be the mean one and lay down the law, but I'm happy to say we stuck with it and now he goes out when WE let him out. Stick with it, and its so true... it only gets worse with kids.

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  6. Oh man, it's so hard when the little fur baby gives you the pitiful eyes! I've had to tell myself...discipline is a good thing for dogs...they expect someone (such as their real dog-mom) to put them in place.

    How do parents of real babies do it!??!

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  7. This was too funny to read because it happens to us daily in our house! Our two fur babies always seem to get what they want and we must get better at telling them no. Good job to you for sticking with it!

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  8. Hahaha this is hilarious! My shepherd mix totally runs our house too. But I don't know, my husband tries to be all disciplinary and stuff but then turns around and does the things he says we shouldn't do (like let them sleep in bed). So I think they respect me more if you can believe it. But we still have a tiny nightmare of a shepherd mix running around (at least the pit bull is good)!

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  9. I know what you mean, I'm taking my little pup to school so hopefully he will learn. I'm still hoping he gets better! If you get a sec, I'd love to hear your thoughts on my latest posts and enter my giveaway I have going. It ends tomorrow!

    peacelovedecor.com

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  10. Aw I can just imagine how cute she looks when she howls! :)

    Loved this post, I'm pretty sure we all know who'll be the one to spoil the kids and the one who'll discipline them, when you guys have some one day! (^_^)

    "Thank goodness I'm not raising her as a single parent, I would be doomed" LOL girl you are hilarious!

    xoxo ♥ Shar
    http://sharmartinez.blogspot.com

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  11. Oh my gosh... this story is just way too cute! How funny that she tried SO many different ways of getting a bite of granola! You are definitely awesome for not giving into that sweet face :)
    p.s. I'm your 100th follower!! Woo hoo :)

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  12. haha! I Love this. I have such a hard time getting on to my little guy too. He has so many expressions and quite the little attitude! So glad I found your blog, looking forward to following!

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