Beasley & Bentley

Remember this post where I introduced our dogs?  Well I haven’t said much about them since, but I’m sure you’ve seen them peeking their big heads in and out of pictures and videos.  They’re still a huge (literally) part of our lives but have obviously moved down a spot on the “who gets our immediate attention” list.  They have no reason to complain though, they are still spoiled rotten and living the life of a Prince & Princess! When I was pregnant, one of the questions we got the most was “what are you gonna do about the dogs??”.  Our plan was….nothing!  We weren’t going to do anything about the dogs.  This was their home, and we were having a baby and this was going to be his home, and we were all going to figure out a way to live together.  And that is pretty much what we have done.  When we first brought Ryder home from the hospital, both dogs were very curious about what Mommy & Daddy carried everywhere and guarded with their life!  We would let them get a few sniffs in, but that was it.  Separation was key at that point, and it turned out to be pretty easy.  Ryder was always either in our arms, in his swing, in his bassinet…always in something, so it was easy to let the dogs get a sniff and then direct them elsewhere.  Eventually their curiosity subsided and having a baby around became the norm.  After the newness wore off, we started to be a little more lenient and not intervene immediately when the dogs went near the baby, only when we felt like they were taking advantage (too many licks!).

We tried to do as much as we could to include them, so that they didn’t feel left out, like going for walks, or bringing them to play in the water at CJ, Angela, & Carters house!

There came a point where not only did the dogs notice the baby, but the baby started noticing the dogs!  I remember the day that Alan sat down on the couch and supervised interaction between the two (Ryder was 5 months old here, so it was a slow process getting everyone used to eachother). As you can see, Bentley (Bubba) is way more into bonding with Ryder.  Beasley just wants to get a good lick in and then go about her business (following Uncle G around!), but Bubba lingers…he is ALWAYS hanging around his little brother and Ryder is always pointing, reaching, or looking for Bubba! Things are getting a little trickier now that Ryder is mobile, we’re definitely not to the point where we feel safe putting Ryder on the ground while the dogs are roaming free (only because of their size), so they just spend time out in the backyard or in their crates while Ryder has his floor time.  Of course, he spends his floor time visiting and chatting with his best buddy Bubba:

There’s not much floor space left uncovered in this house filled with 2 enormous dogs, 3 adults, and a bouncing baby boy…but there’s never a dull moment, that’s for sure!