When we first had kids, we were confronted with perplexing surprises all the time: like the day Riley swallowed a pebble. How serious was that? I certainly felt like Mommy Of The Year calling the doctor with that news. (It all came out fine in the end, so to speak.) And the time she shoved a bead up her nose, was another quandary—that required a $250 office visit to remove. And apparently, having a puppy brings many similar experiences. Something new and unexpected pops up all the time with Hershey, to vex and worry us, much like our children.
Like the other day, when she found some other doggie’s poop in our front yard—and ate it. Oh, Hershey. Your own poop is bad enough, but another dog’s? Do I need to worry about this? And Hershey has eaten a pebble, too, just like Riley. I figure if it’s okay for a kid, it’s okay for a dog.
Then today, while we were exploring the yard, we found a nest of abandoned mallard duck eggs. A few of them were broken open, which seemed to be the perfect invitation for Hershey to snatch one up before I could stop her. She held it gently in her mouth looking for a place to put it as she tried to run away from me with her prize. And when I tried to get it out of her mouth? She chomped down on it and broke it, swallowing it. Hmm. How much should I worry about that? Who knows how long those eggs were out rotting in the sun. (And I guess she didn’t scare those ducks off after all, if they stopped to lay their eggs in our yard.)
And occasionally, when I stop to look at the koi pond, she decides to lap some of the water. Hey, if it’s okay for the fish, it’s okay for the dog, right? It hasn’t seemed to bother her so far. Oh, so much to worry about. If I worried about everything she ate, I’d be in trouble and up all night fretting over the dog and the contents of her belly.
I shouldn’t be surprised that our new pet brings a new source of worry. When my husband and I got our first cat, we were petting him and we discovered a big lump on his belly. We nervously made an appointment with the vet. Something was wrong with our baby!
“What’s the matter with him?” I asked the vet, wondering if it was a tumor or something horrible.
“It’s fat,” the vet told us. “It’s just a fat pouch. Completely normal.”
So, who knows what other adventures Hershey will get into, completely worrying her humans. But I do know one thing now. The rawhide leading to bad gas that my sister in law warned me about?
It’s true. Very, very true.
At least I know where that’s coming from. One less thing to worry about.
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Have you missed any of the articles in this series?
If so, you can find them at:
The Bringing Up Puppy Series page.
Related posts:
- Bringing Up Puppy Series – A Love Hate Thing
- Bringing Up Puppy Series – Loose
- Bringing Up Puppy Series – Weird Dog Questions
- Bringing Up Puppy Series – Holding Tight
- Bringing Up Puppy Series – Who’s Training Who?
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