Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks

So... I've begun my taper and started carbo loading. Translation: I slept in and missed Fridays swim and then gorged myself at Taco Bell. Ya know... it's all in your perspective.

What is very real and true is that for the last year (or so) I've not slept well. I am pulled out of bed at least once per night, often times three or four. But, as we all know too well, we often do things for love, that we might not do otherwise. And when you've been in a relationship as long as the two of us, you put your own personal needs aside.

Let me introduce you to the bane of my slumber.... Precious!

Precious is my 2 1/2 pound 20 year old baby. They say that 95% of small dog owners allow their pets to sleep with them in their beds. Ok, so it's nice to know I'm part of the norm. Poor little Precious is blind, deaf, toothless, has a bad ticker and failing kidneys... but she still gets around pretty darn good! She knows her way around the house and uses her ears as feelers to navigate.

Her teeny little bladder causes her to get up several times a night, and since she is blind, she can't get on or off the bed by herself. So mama has to help. This is usually at midnight and three in the morning.

I knew that I would have a very whiny baby should I try to break her of the mama bed habit, but after a year of this, I had to try.

The whole process has actually taken about two months, starting with making her sleep in her dog bed for a few hours, then back in the big bed. Then hanging out in the dog bed all day, before getting back into the mama bed after dinner. She was not always thrilled about this process, but she finally (FINALLY!) gave in. I was victorious! I trained The Dog! She is now all set up in her little Chihuahua kingdom in the laundry room, and living a dogs life. Translation: Sleeping 23 hours a day.

And her mother? Four days in a row! Count 'em! Four... Days... In... A... Row... I have slept the night through!

I don't know who this process was harder on... me or Precious... but it's getting easier every night!

Had to throw in a pic of "the other kid" Pandora. Pandy was suppose to be 3 pounds. She has surpassed that by about 15! For that matter, so have I! So I guess that's not so bad! :-)