Crying It Out

Cocker Spaniel Style

We have a red Cocker Spaniel that is 2 years old. She was a consolation prize for me (after the first miscarriage) and for the golden child who desperately didn't want to move into this house. She is overly loved and very spoiled. Incredibly well behaved. She rings a bell to go outside, doesn't bark, and is cuddly and playful. She has Monk wrapped. Tightly. When we first brought her home and put her in crate at night for bedtime, she howled for hours and never really stopped. At some point, I came downstairs to find Monk sleeping on the floor in the kitchen with a few fingers through her crate. Crazy. At some point, he gave up and put her in our bed - which I strenuously objected to. Bedtime is easily her favorite time of the day. She has a whole routine which involves flopping herself on her back between us and wagging her tail while alternating her gaze between the two of us and waiting for the affection she knows is coming. It's rather endearing - but I still don't want her in our bed. Monk feels like he can't sleep without her there.

Fast forward to me being pregnant and refusing to have sleep interrupted by a dog in the last precious months before I won't sleep for months compounded by the fact that I will likely have the baby in bed at least to nurse and won't let a dog be there ....and well ....we have an impasse. So anyway. The cocker got shifted to sleep with the golden child ...and by her behavior, you would think she was shipped off to the fiery pits of hell. She did okay the first few nights but you could sense her anxiety building every night as it got to be bedtime. Last night (because we're so exciting) we were all headed to bed at the same time. The golden child started to herd the cocker upstairs and the cocker started going psycho - running 100 mph around the house so she couldn't be caught. We all found it very amusing. Finally got her upstairs ...we're all in our respective places, and the golden child got up to pee or something and we heard the dog run downstairs at mach speed and then run back up and down again frantically looking for us. Monk opened the door to our bedroom a crack and her 15 pound self came bounding into the room as though she had just been tortured by pirates for hours on end. Jumped in the bed ..ran around it 40 mph and then promptly buried herself under the covers and started shaking. Ha! No way we could see her there. Under the covers and all. Monk fished her out - carried her back to the golden child, set her on the bed and she came running back into our room faster than he could even turn around. This time she curled into me and started whimpering. It would have been pathetic if I wasn't laughing so hard. Four tries later and he finally managed to close her in with her torturer.

This morning? She was crying outside our door so Monk let her in ...she came and curled into my neck and was whimpering like a toddler that has hyperventilated from crying for so long. I looked at Monk ...he had tears in his eyes.

I sense bad things coming for when the one that is crying is ...you know....actually human.