January 12, 2015 - Prepare Merlin for Nugget

The Merms

When I met Elizabeth, I got quite the package deal.  Not only did I find the love of my life, I also found one of the most amazing dogs ever.  His name is Merlin, and he is truly a magical dog.

Merlin is a golden lab mixed with a basset hound (I affectionately call this mix a "bassador"), which means that he is 70 pound lap dog on stubby little legs. He is rambunctious, playful, and extremely intelligent. I get a kick out of watching him run and jump (he's got quite the ups for a short guy).  He's excellent at playing fetch...until I throw the ball just a little too far and suddenly he is over the whole idea of getting it.  He can distinguish between his toys (in fact, the other night he put all of his bones in one pile, and all of his balls in another...he's either as smart as I think he is or we have a poltergeist situation happening at 711 Percy Street).

There have been nights where Elizabeth is working late where I have tried in vain to get him to talk.  I know that he can, and hopefully one of these days he'll acknowledge this fact.  I don't need a Brian from Family Guy conversation.  I just need him to say "I understand," and that would validate all of those times where I stared him in the eyes and tried to coax words out of him.

Merlin is an important part of our lives, and he is an important part of our home.  Which means that Nugget is going to be very familiar with him once he get's here.  I wanted to make sure that Merlin would accept Nugget.  To do so, I went back to babycenter.com and found that other expectant parents were wondering the same thing about their own pets.

Nikole Gipps is an animal behaviorist that wrote an article on the site discussing some ways that you can prepare your pet for your newborn.  She suggests that you designate a space for the pet, like a laundry room or a crate, where the pet can go and be undisturbed.  Providing this safe space helps the pet when things around the house become overstimulating (which apparently can happen when a baby is thrown in the mix). This is going to be a challenge, as really it's Merlin's house.  Elizabeth and I are just allowed to live there.

Another thing that Gipps says is to get your pet accustomed to the rough handling that can come from playing with a child.  Touching the tail, the underside of paws, and other sensitive areas a few times a day can help prepare your pet for the times when a child might pull it's tail or yank it's ear too roughly.  This is going to be a work in progress, but last night, I started to get Merlin ready.

I pulled on his tail...

And I yanked on his ears...

He seemed to be ok in the end...

I fed Merlin treats while I was doing this to make sure that he knew that while it might be uncomfortable, he was going to be okay.  He took it like a champ, and afterwards resumed his normal routine (which included doing figure 8s around the house and leaping on to my lap).  I don't think that it will take much to get Merlin excited for the new addition to our family, and I don't see him being too ruffled if Nugget pets him a little too hard or pokes him a little too much.

We're going to teach Nugget to respect and care for Merlin, and I know that he is going to love our four legged friend.  From what I've seen of his interactions with other kids, Merlin is going to love Nugget too.

Where's my treat?