Virgil
The Dog and Her Boy
by , 11-22-2011 at 11:32 PM (1919 Views)
This blog, despite ostensibly being another on Matthew, is dedicated to Brandi, our eight year old Yellow Labrador who has had to make an adjustment now that she is no longer the house darling. Brandi turned eight earlier this month, and that now puts her into older dog age. Matthew has altered the family dynamics, and poor Brandi is no longer our star.
To be sure, Brandi has ruled the digs as a princess. When were anticipating bringing Matthew home, we were a little worried. At the time Brandi was seven years old, a mature dog set in her ways, and used to being idolized. Was she going to be jealous? Would she try to exert dominance over the baby? She had established herself in the pack and now a new member was joining, and dogs do orient themselves to hierarchy. When we came home from Kazakhstan the first time, we brought something with Matthew’s smell on it for her to get accustomed. When we got home with Matthew, we brought him straight to her and had her sniff him and gave her treats as she acclimated to him.
In addition, Brandi is not a small dog. She’s ninety pounds and a typical Lab, which means rambunctious and energetic. She’s never been a gentle dog. I would say she’s downright clumsy. I don’t know how many times she’s accidently smacked me in the face with her snout from her exuberance. And when she’s in a rush of frenzy, she can knock me down. So I feared what she might inadvertently do to a child one third her weight.
I’m not sure if any of those precautions made a difference, but Brandi has been tolerant of the new house member. For the most part she ignores Matthew. A few times she’s barked at him when he’s mindlessly walked unto to her as she lies on the floor. After a few barks and growls, Matthew learned pretty quickly to tippy-toe around her. The other time she’s growled at him is when he’s tried to touch her feet. Brandi is sensitive about her feet. Again it’s worked because I have not seen Matthew try that in a long time. They say you could learn a lot on parenting by the way a ***** handles her pups. I guess I need to learn how to bark and growl.
Now Matthew has taken to Brandi pretty well. He certainly was fascinated by a live animal. He loves his stuffed animals. A live one actually reacts back. I initially thought he might be afraid of a live animal. Not in the least. He’s tried to touch her from the very beginning. We taught him to pet her, and he’s pretty much touched her everywhere, even her mouth, though I had to make sure he didn’t poke her in the eye. Brandi, sitting like a queen usually on our sofa, takes it as more adulation. Matthew took to Brandi so well that his first kiss that came from his own volition was not to mommy or daddy, but to Brandi.
Now the one time when Brandi doesn’t ignore Matthew is when our son is getting fed. When Matthew is in his chair at the table, Brandi is right on the floor beside him. We’ve always given Brandi a morsel or two off our plates, but suddenly she was getting Matthew’s unfinished scraps. In a short time, a couple of months I think, Brandi had put on over five pounds. Now Matthew even sneaks her food, either by dropping it to the floor or holding it over the side so she can gulp it. She’s good. She’s never touched his hands.
Finally, I think their relationship has really progressed. My wife told me the other day Brandi was up in Matthew’s room and grabbed one of his stuffed animals. Matthew started howling and waving his hands over his head, “No, no, no,” and began chasing Brandi across the upstairs. “Giop-it (drop it), giop-it, giop-it” he kept screaming. And Brandi kept playing along. Too bad she didn’t have a camera handy.
Below are a few pictures of Matthew and Brandi in chronological order. You can also see how much Matthew has grown in fourteen months.
Brandi eyeing Matthew’s breakfast.
Well, well, another four legged creature has joined our pack.
Unafraid to touch her tail; unconcerned to being touched.
A dog and her boy.
Matthew trying to give Brandi a kiss.
A recent picture.
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