Remember this other member of our family?
She had a really tough time adjusting to the newest addition to our family. I was a bit concerned that would happen, but not prepared for the extent. I had read that a day before you bring the wee one home from the hospital you should put a blanket that the baby had been wrapped up with in the dog's bed to sleep with so they get accustomed to their scent. Beyond that I had no idea how to help.
We were gone a total of 3 nights (1 in L&D and 2 nights in recovery). It may have had something to do with the fact that I labored at home for 3 days and then didn't come home for 3 days - and she's slightly attached/protective of me - combined with the fact that she's terrified of babies. Once when we babysat, Mocha hid underneath the table almost the whole time.
So when we arrived home after the hospital, Mocha was not herself. She was actually completely limp and wouldn't move. Not only did I have this new tiny baby, was a tad bit tired and sore, probably a little hormonal...but now I had my precious pup falling apart. I was a mess.
Naturally I called our friends who knew a vet - of whom I called about 9pm at his home. Thank you kind sir. He said she was probably just overly stressed and needed time to adjust. I just laid on the ground with her that night...and tried not to cry.
Thankfully she slowly snapped out of it and has since returned to her peppy self again. I would say it took a good few weeks though. We make sure she had a safe place away from Maddie so she can escape when she needs. And I do my best to give her some lovin' when I have a spare hand.
And now I think she's starting to take a liking to this cute new addition. At least her courage is up to get a bit curious...
Matt looks forward to the day that Maddie will be able to ride Mocha like a horse. Just so you know, I don't promote that. But I do look forward to them chasing each other around.
No comments:
Post a Comment