I have now realized that I will be 24 in a short few days. Am I really that old? It seems like just a few days ago I graduated from high school and started working for UPS. I have now been graduated from high school for 6 years and have been working for ups for about 4 1/2 years now.
Thinking about my birthday, I have realized how young I am....... and just how much I love my husband and my family. It may be a little family, but it's full of love, and I love it. Our little family consists of my husband Scott and I, and our children Manny and Presley. They may be dogs, but they're not just dogs to us, they are family......... our babies. Going through some of the pictures on my phone and camera, I couldn't believe how little they used to be. So I have decided to post a few pics and a little about our adventure of being parents.
Manny, the Golden Retriever, our oldest was our first little boy. I remember when we picked him up, he was so cute and little and just loved to lay in his daddy's arms. He was a little skittish at first and just cuddled up next to him and didn't want to leave. He just seemed so tiny and a little fragile. Then came the kennel training.
We knew that when we would have dogs, we wanted them to be the most obedient as possible. We got advice from our friend who had had experienced kennel training before and was also a soon to be Vet. We knew that it was what we had to do. We did searches online, got the kennel and had it all set up and ready to go. The first couple of days and nights were terrible. He cried and cried all night long, and it was all I could do to not just take him out and hold him in my arms to cuddle and sleep with throughout the night. I refrained, and with the help of Scott, I didn't scoop him up and cradle him. After a few nights of not much sleep and getting up every 2-3 hrs we were exhausted and need to fix the crying. After Scott scoured the local Petsmart, he talked to one of the trainers there and he recommended we try a squirt bottle with water and a little bit of vinegar. So we decided that we were gonna try it that night and try to get some sleep. It worked! It took maybe 2 squirts when he started to cry and he settled right down and went to sleep. We were finally able to get some sleep, and from that day Manny fell in love with his kennel.
We knew that when we would have dogs, we wanted them to be the most obedient as possible. We got advice from our friend who had had experienced kennel training before and was also a soon to be Vet. We knew that it was what we had to do. We did searches online, got the kennel and had it all set up and ready to go. The first couple of days and nights were terrible. He cried and cried all night long, and it was all I could do to not just take him out and hold him in my arms to cuddle and sleep with throughout the night. I refrained, and with the help of Scott, I didn't scoop him up and cradle him. After a few nights of not much sleep and getting up every 2-3 hrs we were exhausted and need to fix the crying. After Scott scoured the local Petsmart, he talked to one of the trainers there and he recommended we try a squirt bottle with water and a little bit of vinegar. So we decided that we were gonna try it that night and try to get some sleep. It worked! It took maybe 2 squirts when he started to cry and he settled right down and went to sleep. We were finally able to get some sleep, and from that day Manny fell in love with his kennel.
Our 2nd oldest is Presley, oh Presley....... She was our biggest challenge of the two. From reading about her particular type of breed we knew that she may be a little stubborn, but would have the funniest personality and just be a little dopey. We drove to Genola to pick her up, and she was the fluffiest thing I had ever seen. She, however did not like to ride in the car, and was all I could do to keep her calm. She was so scared and nervous and just climbed all over me. We got her home and absolutely just adored her. She was so cuddly and because of all of her fir, loved to be inside with the central air. She does like to spend time outside when its not to hot but while its getting a little warmer, she enjoys the cool breeze outside. We decided that we had such a good result with the kennel training with Manny, that it was best that we do the same with Presley. Needless to say she did not like her kennel one little bit. We tried letting her cry for a few days, tried to settle her down every few minutes and after a few days getting up every 1-2 hrs every night, we decided it was time for the squirt bottle with vinegar. She didn't really mind the squirt bottle spray enough to really care, so she was just a big ball of fir that smelled like vinegar. The kennel training with her took a good month and half to 2 months to get her to sleep through the night. She is stubborn alright, but has the cutest personality and loves to be loved. We still have to ask her a couple of times to go to her kennel when it is bedtime, but we just recently started finding her in her kennel with the door wide open sleeping. Even though that has only happened maybe twice, we still have hope she will soon love her kennel like Manny does.
Even though they aren't human children, I still think it's a small preview of what parenting children might be like...... but don't expect kids any time soon. Both Manny and Presley have there own cute personalities and we both love them with every fiber of our being. Our parents may not have grandchildren from us, but they do have granddoggies!
This was the day we brought Manny home.
We used to be able to cradle him in our arms and rock him to sleep.
This was the day we brought Presley home.
This one is my personal favorite.
