Toddlers

Hello friends, it's me, reporting back after the toddler-week-end. I have to say that it wasn't as bad as I'd feared. One really nice thing was that the toddler seemed to understand that sometimes you have to go into your crate. My people had gotten one for her to sleep in next to her mommy, but up in the living room, all that was there was the crate that Rafe and Hamish use. But, the toddler understood things and frequently climbed in the crate all on her own. Unlike Rafe and Hamish, she didn't need a cookie-bribe. After reading's Turbo's suggestion that a toddler might be a lot like a cobbler, I was very hopeful. And then when Max and the Army of four mentioned the possibility of dropped food, I was positively anxious to get her here.

But, listen to this. We dogs almost never got to interact with the toddler. From what I could tell, though, she wasn't like a cobbler at all (where'd you get your info, Turbo?). Instead, when she was upstairs, we were either outside or in our crates (with Kongs or bones, so I can't really complain too much--plus, all in all, I like my crate quite a bit--it's just that I like to be the one to choose to go in it). When the toddler was in her sleeping crate, we got to run around. That suited me just fine because it meant that I got to give lots and lots of kisses to the toddler's mommy--who looks like a tall, thin version of one of my people, so I think they might be sisters.

The toddler's mommy doesn't really like face kisses for some reason and she spent a lot of time trying to convince me to sit nicely. But, the more someone doesn't like kisses from me, the more anxious I am to give them. See, I figure that they just haven't realized what a treat, a gift really, a good kiss from me is. Now, I understand that you might not want a kiss from my goofy brother Hamish because if truth be told, he's pretty sloppy about his kisses.

Mine however are like little raindrops or a delicate dusting of snow. Always expertly placed--for instance on the lens of a pair of glasses or just between a pair of human lips. I once actually removed a human's contact lens while delivering a well-aimed kiss. Sometimes, when a face is not available, I give ankle or wrist kisses. Anything to show what a well-mannered pup I am (don't even ask about Rafe's kisses--I haven't tried to tackle that one yet and don't know when I will). But the toddler's mommy didn't like it no matter what I did. I also heard the toddler's mommy talking to the toddler's daddy on the phone and saying things like "no, the dogs aren't licking her" and "you don't have to worry, everything's pretty clean". I understand that the toddler's daddy is more the kind of person who likes to enjoy animals from afar. I'm sure a kiss from me would change his mind.

In any case, I got to go on a couple walks with the toddler in her stroller. My person helped her give me cookies and that was pretty good, if a little weird (I mean, one cookie from two hands??). When I tried to kiss her face in thanks, as a pup of my breeding and upbringing would naturally try to do, she SCREAMED and kind of grunted--she did this to all the pups who got cookies from her when we tried to say thanks. The good news was that she screamed less and less as the week-end went on. A couple times on our walk, she got out of her stroller to walk around. Boy, was that scary. I definitely kept my distance then. I understand now why they call them "toddlers". I really thought she might just toddle right over me and lay me flat.

In the end, there was some dropped food that we got to take care of--a couple pieces of dried fruit, some egg on the floor, a bit of bread, so at least we didn't starve. Overall, she was a pretty sweet little human girl, and she and her mommy made my humans very happy, so that's always good. My humans were kind of sad after the toddler and her mommy had gone back home (they had to fly far on a plane), but all us pups worked hard to make them feel better by giving lots of kisses and wagging tails. Things seem kind of back to normal now. My person even has apple muffins cooling on the counter, so I better go see what kind of challenge they pose.....