National Dog Day

As it's national dog day I thought it was only right that I write something about the other man in my life, Finley! Finley is our almost 2 year old Patterdale terrier who we got at a very dark point in our fertility journey. Like with most of our pets (we have a few) I think part of the reason why we wanted a dog was to try and fill this big void that we both felt we had as we couldn't get pregnant! Finley's name was even on our baby name list, along with the names Dexter (our cat) and Milo (our bunny). Of course nothing completed us like we hoped it would but out of all of our struggles and crazy times we got a real friend for life with Fin! He is a typical terrier and absolutely bonkers, he pulled the laminate up two weeks into buying our first home, he snores, chases and can be a general menace but there's nobody I'd rather pass some food off my plate to when we're having dinner and hubby's not looking!

When we finally did fall pregnant I must admit that I did worry. You hear about some real nightmare stories regarding dogs and babies and although there isn't a bad bone in his body, I really didn't know how he would take to the change! We brought Leo home from hospital on a Tuesday evening at 8pm. Finley hadn't seen us for 7 whole days while we'd been away and went mental as our car touched the driveway. All he wanted to do was greet us but all we wanted was peace-the baby had just fallen asleep in his car seat, I was exhausted and doubled over with the pain of my labour and surgery and Arron was carrying said child along with the seventeen bags I'd packed and all of our gifts too! We barely had five minutes to spend with him that night and I remember feeling so guilty the next morning that I went downstairs with Leo to feed him at around 2am and sat one hand stroking our newborn's soft, cotton hair and the other stroking Fin's scruffy head. It was a beautiful moment, I could have stayed in that moment a while longer. All of my worries were for nothing and we realised this almost immediately. Finley loved Leo, he would just watch him (sometimes looking a little concerned when he was screaming away) but he never got too close or too excited. He seemed to understand that Leo was fragile somehow and needed space. We have been so lucky and I am so excited about the years to come with Fin and Leo growing up together and getting up to mischief but I thought I would note a few pointers that helped us introduce our two (soon to be) best friends...

PATIENCE-nothing is as good as the ability to be patient. Like life with a newborn, life with a puppy can be taxing! They have suddenly chewed your new carpet, wee'd in the hallway and are staring at you looking all guilty but it doesn't last for long. Finley isn't a puppy anymore and is completely trained but when you bring your new baby home for the first time, pretend like you are back in the puppy stage, trust me it helps. Give him attention, give him fuss, ignore bad behavior and always praise the good.

TREATS-find your dog's favourite treat and keep it on hand for when he really impresses you, for us it was the first time Leo really screamed the house down and Finley just watched in bewilderment. Treats are also great to keep on hand as you will have visitors and a lot of them when you first bring your newborn home and it's always good as a distraction.

TOYS-again a great distraction technique, finding your dog's favourite toy can provide you with a quiet moment, give him some playtime and get rid of all of that built up energy that he's been storing.

HARNESS-the first time that we went for a walk with Finley and Leo in his pram we knew we needed something more than just a lead! He isn't a big dog, you can pick him up with one arm but he can be quite strong when on his collar and lead (I am a bit of a weakling) and he generally just yanked me around. We bought him a harness from Julius K9 and it's the best thing we ever did as it totally calmed him down and cut out the pulling all together.