Our daughter!

No no. We are not expecting our second one so soon although I would love to have a daughter and my wife certainly desires another baby. For now, I am contented with having and devoting my time to Ryan and our other `daughter', Zoewe our toy poodle.

....Before grooming....

....After grooming...

I was attracted to Zoewe when I first saw her in Sept 2007. After some deliberation and reaching an agreement that she would be MY responsibility while my wife's responsibility is to play with her (yes, you heard me right), we finally brought her home in Oct 2007. Ryan was not even in the picture then. One month later, we found out that Ryan was on his way.

Like many parents, we were a little concerned now that we have a lively puppy jumping about in the house with a baby on the way. There were so many questions to answer. How would she adapt to having a baby in the house? What are the risks? How would the baby adapt to her? Are there health and hygiene risks? Many concerned friends and relatives were advising us to give up Zoewe before Ryan arrives but she has by then became so attached to us and we to her. She is family. So close that she snuggled up and sleep with us on my bed.

Luckily, we did do some research before selecting the breed knowing exactly the type of dog that we want. We knew that we would have a baby eventually and we wanted a child friendly breed. We also wanted a breed that does not shed heavily or at all. Part of our deliberation prior to acquiring Zoewe was is she suitable for our family?

Zoewe is a toy poodle and now at 4.8kg, she is certainly large for being a toy poodle. One major reason that we selected her breed is because, toy poodles being child friendly, playful and loyal is also one of the fewer breeds that actually does not shed or very little if well taken care of.

Having an active dog that demands your equal attention with a baby is not easy. It's good that we have went through the basic dog training program. At least, we can get her to understand simple commands and we, on how to handle her and understand her emotions and needs. Is she jealous now that we are also paying so much attention to Ryan. Of course. She has this tendency to wanting to play and dragging all her toys to us when we are attending to Ryan. But she will obediently wait when we tell her that we will play with her later. And we make sure that we do not disappoint her.

Of course there are adjustments to be made with a pet around the house. No matter how obedient and lovely Zoewe is, she is still an dog with basic animal instinct. We are forever attentive and diligent whenever Zoewe is anywhere near Ryan. And we definitely cannot put Ryan on the floor or sofa unattended.

If you are thinking of a dog sometime soon especially with little children, do some prior research on the suitable breed. It will help tremendously.

Meanwhile, we are continuing to make adjustments and dividing our attention to both Ryan and Zoewe, but the efforts are well worth it, because Zoewe is also part of our family.