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Blogging Baby Book: the effect on our dog

by Larissa Brown (Subscribe to Larissa Brown's posts)
Apr 24th 2006 3:33PM

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A mere two years ago Ellie, our Australian Shepherd, was a pro. She hit the agility course running and never looked back, executing jumps through hoops, long curving runs through tunnels, and leaps landed perfectly on top of 6-foot-high ramps or even tree branches. She passed her sheep herding instinct test with flying colors, corralling an escaped sheep twice her size. She would jump five feet in the air and make a half-turn to catch her Frisbee, just because she could.

Now she spends most of her time laying under Binx’s high chair, waiting for cheese to fall.

This morning I found her perfecting her new role as a lump, laying sprawled in the sun in the backyard barely breathing. My husband commented that she’d begun to resemble Burt Reynolds in the beginning of the ‘70s classic film Smokey and the Bandit. She desperately needs someone to come tell her that a dogsled full of Coors is needed and she’s the only one who can deliver it.

Or course, this is an exaggeration (lest you think you need to contact the ASPCA). We do take Ellie on long walks in the park nearly every day, including running time in the 

off-leash area. But it’s nothing like the activity level and mental training level we used to offer her. And she does eat so many graham crackers and avocados, she’s actually beginning to ignore her bowl of dog food.

Having a baby around has deeply affected her in several ways. Physically is just one. Her role in our pack has also changed in some subtler-than-expected ways. She’s clearly not as high up in the pack as Binx, who eats above and before her. But she’s also more responsible for the pack’s safety, and seems to understand that he is the smallest and most vulnerable, even though he's "higher" than her.

In the past six months we've seriously improved our activity level with the dog. The first months of his life were crisis mode, and now we are back to a more livable exercise level for Ellie. But I know our new configuration – and new energy level – has changed her life forever. Sometimes she looks at us glumly like What have you done? We had such a good thing going.

I just smile and tell her again that when Binx gets big enough, they are going to have awesome times together. There’s a lot more running ragged in her future, including more trips to the park and beach than she could ever imagine. We just need to make it to the day when Binx can walk and throw things at for her. That’ll be great. Right?

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