I haven’t talked much on this site about our two dogs, Charlie and Audrey. They’re brother and sister King Charles Cavalier Spaniels, and their both big-time pitas.*
Here’s Charlie…..
Charlie’s the aloof one. He really doesn’t like his picture taken. He rarely smiles for photos.
Here’s Audrey…..
She’s the wild one. She looks a little buzzed in this one. I’m surprised she stayed still long enough for a photo.
Here they are together…..
It’s a rare photo of Charlie posing. I’ve long since stopped trying to keep them off the couch.
Before we had The Babito, Charlie and Audrey were our babies. They gave us a lot of training to prepare for The Babito. We had to clean up their messes, potty train them, feed them by hand (because they wouldn’t eat out of their dog bowls as puppies), take them to vet appointments, not stay out late at night because we didn’t want to leave them home alone (not that we do that with The Babito, just to be clear), and get up with them in the middle of the night when they started crying. Gee, it was fun! 
Just as they grew out of their puppy stage, The Babito came along. We were a little concerned how they would act with the baby, but they’ve been excellent since the day Babito came home from the hospital.
Here they are checking him out for the first time…..”WTH is that thing!”
Eventually they became protective of him. Charlie would even sit next to Babito and stand guard over him……
Once The Babito started crawling, and especially after he started walking, then running, the dogs have learned to avoid him at all costs. Now they have to avoid getting run over by a crazy boy on a tricycle and Big Wheel as Babito zooms through the house. It really cuts into their constant napping.
Now they’re finally starting to feel comfortable with him. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that: (1) he’s learned how to properly pet them without trying to pull their ears off; and (2) now that he’s starting to feed himself he drops a LOT of stuff on the ground. He’s also been known to drop things down to them on purpose, so I’m sure that’s helped in the bonding process.
I look forward to seeing how they are with him as he gets older and interacts and plays with them more. But still (and I know my wife will disagree with this) I recommend NOT getting a dog. Have a baby, it’s a lot less work. And they really are a couple of pitas*, although I guess I still love having them around….a little….maybe. I’d love them a whole lot more if they learned to poop on the GRASS instead of our patio, but that’s probably asking to much, right?
* In case you’re unfamiliar with the word pita, it stands for pain in the arse. It’s our favorite name for the dogs, annoying people, and each other (lovingly of course).
