Dogs vs. Kids

I make not secret about the fact that I love my dogs.  I'm slightly obsessed with them to be perfectly honest, and they more or less control my life.  Okay, that last line is a bit of an exaggeration but I'm sure you get the point.  I'm officially "one of those dog people", for better or worse.

The day we got our beagles just happened to be the day after I had my wisdom teeth removed.  I was in a lot of pain, nauseous, and while I was excited to take home two adorable puppies I was also kind of nervous (and nauseous....did I mention how god awful I felt?)  We had just moved into our house, were in the midst of planning our wedding, and had all new furniture that was of yet untouched by canine teeth.  Part of me thought we might be taking on too much, merging into unknown and expensive chaos. 

But then I saw the puppies.  There were so many of them, a whole litter of baby beagles running around, their ears flopping and their little legs carrying them across the lawn and out into the pasture.  My churning stomach forgotten, I soaked up the sight of all the little pups and instantly decided I wanted to adopt them all.  It was kind of hard to figure out where to look, considering all the dogs were running in completely opposite directions......except for one little beagle.  This particular puppy was perfectly content laying in the sunshine, totally docile and eager to be cuddled.  I knew instantly I was taking him home.  Our other beagle of choice was a bit more playful and energetic, but he wanted to play with us so we took that as a sign that the pairing was meant to be.  Initially we had planned on adopting a brother and a sister, but we weren't even thinking about gender once we saw all the pups.  It simply became a matter of who stole our hearts first.  

As it turns out, we picked out two pretty awesome dogs.  Frank and Chester are an endless source of entertainment, love, and adventure.  Even with the occasional beagle baying (which I think is beautiful), and the barking fits that sometimes ensue in the backyard, they are on the whole incredibly well behaved pups.  I often wonder.....did we just luck out and and happen to pick two of the best beagles in the litter, or did we actually play a large role in seeing that Frank and Chester became the dogs they are today?  Are we grooming ourselves for children by attempting to raise the perfect dogs?  I can't help but wonder at times if the way we raise our dogs is the way we will raise our children (this is obviously a very loose generalization as I would never expect my children to use the bathroom in the backyard).

Right now our dogs are essentially our children, and I am guilty most of the time of treating them like little humans as opposed to the four legged canines they really are.  These pups are spoiled rotten, but I like to think they have earned their spoiled status....to some degree anyway.  But in the back of my mind I can't help but wonder (worry?) if my dog owner tendencies will transfer over to when I have to attempt to raise a human child.

Think about it.  There's probably a lot of insight that comes from watching the way people are with their animals.  I've started observing myself and Dean on a more regular basis, and I feel like I have gotten a bit more insight into our future parenting styles.  For instance, I can already tell that Dean will be the disciplinarian.  He is much more inclined to be the "tough guy" if the dogs get in trouble for something.  Me on the other hand.....I might have a short outburst and make them go lay down on their pillow, then I'm over there a few minutes later apologizing and hoping that they still love me unconditionally.  It's rather pathetic.  Maybe if I don't end up having a kid with big, sad brown eyes and long floppy ears it will be easier to enforce discipline. 

We have high expectations of our pups.  Well, maybe not high, but normal ones.....which I guess could be considered high for some kinds of dogs.  You know, the usual ones like not to jump up on people, not to bark or act aggressively with other dogs, and basically to listen and obey us when we call their names.  After three and a half years of living with hound dogs, dogs with such an advanced sense of smell and tracking, dogs that are just naturally stubborn by nature, it's funny that we still expect some of these things. It's not uncommon for us to be out on a walk, strolling at a leisurely pace, then all of a sudden be off to the races with a couple of wild, barking hounds because they have picked up on a scent.  Usually when this happens I just go with it and let their noses lead us where they may, but there is usually a bit of embarrassment that comes with these episodes.  I don't usually like to draw attention to myself but when I'm trying to control a beagle trying to run at 90 mph it's hard for people not to stare.....and it's even harder for me to pretend I'm not having trouble staying on my feet.  I'm doing my best to embrace these scent expeditions, but part of me can't help but wish there was a way to control these outbursts.  Of course, I've seen some doozies of public outbursts from little kids, and I have to say that I don't envy those parents one bit.  Compared to that, a barking beagle is easy sauce.  Which again leads me to wonder exactly how composed I will manage to be when the tables are turned and I'm the one with the screaming kid instead of the barking dog. I guess that will help put things in perspective.

Maybe it's a strange comparison to make, and maybe one has absolutely nothing to do with the other.  Sometimes I laugh at myself for being too protective over the dogs, for missing them when I'm away for only a night, or for taking picture after picture of them with my cell phone (because really, can you ever have too many dogs sleeping on the couch photos?)  But sometimes I stop and wonder if these traits are going to transfer over as our family starts to expand, if there is in fact a correlation between how we raise our pets and how we will raise our children.

Just some food for thought, perhaps one of these years I'll be able to post a follow-up with more or less accurate observations.  Until then, feel free to share with me your thoughts on this topic.