Friday, April 25, 2008

I Believe in Co-Sleeping At least With Dottie!!

First of all I have a very small bit of adoption news. No referral but I did get back my FBI fingerprint clearance and just as I suspected No arrests! I also had the NJ State police clearance fingerprinting down yesterday. So mark them off my list. Well I do not think I should do that because like I said I think I have jumped the gun on getting them done and I honestly think they will expire before I need them but who cares whats a little more money spent.

Okay not to freak to many of you all out but I believe in co-sleeping, with my dog at least!! Well every morning when I get home from work Dottie and I have a little routine. She gets fed outside to for a quick run around the yard and a few pets then to bed. Pretty easy routine.

See because Dottie is my first dog I really had no idea what to do with her and it made me a little crazy to think she was just roaming around the house while I was sleeping. So we co-sleep. Gerard is never home at night either and we sleep at opposite times so it has never been a problem. Scratch that up until this week!

Monday I woke up at 3:pm and she was still asleep. I thought to myself that is weird she did not get up to go to the bathroom this afternoon. Until I realized she peed the bed. Oh what fun! So I cleaned it up and felt a little sorry for her because she did not even know she did it.

Which brings me to today. No I did not learn my lesson we are still co-sleeping. Guess what happened today?? You guessed it she peed the bed again. So now I need some advice from those of you who have dogs she is about 8 years old and this is all new. I am not being a freak if I call the Veterinarian to have her be seen right? I just worry about her so much because like I said I never had a dog and even though I have had her for many years I still second guess myself.

**Disclaimer** I DO NOT believe that it is safe to sleep with an infant in the same bed without a safety device. I have had to attend more that one incidence in the ER where I had to code an infant that a parent rolled over on while sleeping. This past Christmas Eve was the last one and she was 2 weeks old. None of these children survived!!

8 comments:

Mike and Heidi Lee said...

You've been Tagged!
Rules
Link to the person who tagged you:
Post the rules (see below)
Share 6 unimportant habits/quirks about yourself: see below
Tag three other people
Make sure the people you tagged know you've tagged them

Troy and Rachel said...

I would have Dottie seen because she could have an irritated bladder or a bladder infection. I work with animals on the weekends (at the SPCA) but we have a full clinic and vet on site and we always check out the dogs if they pee frequently or begin having accidents once they are trained. It could also be a reaction if you have changed any habits in the house etc. Keep us posted. I co-sleep with my doggies too!!

junglemama said...

How sad for these babies. When my kids were babies I co-slept while I nursed them all the time. I miss those times. I happen to be a light sleeper though.

Kevin T. said...

Hi Joy,
I would definitely have Dottie checked out. She may have some type of urinary tract infection or something. I always think it is better to see what the vet says, just so you don't worry too much which is what I am always guilty of - Worrying too much!
Good luck!!

Jane and Jim said...

All THREE of my doggies sleep in the bed with Jim and me! I know most people would freak out at that - oh well, we love having our babies in bed with us!

I agree with Rachel - bring her to the vet - there may be something up with her bladder (especially if this is not normal for her).

Adrienne, Another Ordinary Miracle said...

I agree with Rachel... get Dottie to a doctor!!

We used to "co-sleep" with our dogs but broke the habit about 5 years ago when they started jumping out of the bed and using the bathroom on the floor...gross huh? We then had to start putting them in kennels at night and when we left the house. They are nearly 10 years old now and love their kennels, and we are able to get a good night's sleep! It's also been nice having them out of our room in case we need to bring Owen in there in the morning (he sometimes wakes up at 5 a.m. instead of 6 or 7 and comes to bed with us to try to snuggle). :)

I hope Dottie feels better soon!

Kim Abraham - Mom to the Fabulous Five! said...

You've probably had Dottie checked out by now, but I was looking at my son's favorite book yesterday ("The Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds") and it said that Dalmations have a tendacy to get urinary stones.

Our dog (golden lab) sleeps in her crate at night and seems to love it. She also naps in it during the day when she needs a break from the boys. But since she is mostly an outside dog, she's never slept in our bed.

However, in college I had a little dog that slept in my bed for a couple of years, until I moved home for a few months and my dad didn't allow it. Teddy adjusted to his crate just fine too. All I had to say was "It's time to go nite-nite", and he would run right in and sleep 'til morning. Good luck with Dottie!

Melissa said...

We used to co-sleep with Gracie (our chocolate lab)...but once Heathcliff (our 100-lb german shepherd) came along, there was no more co-sleeping. We tried letting Gracie sleep with us and Heathcliff sleep on the floor, but HC didn't see the fairness in that & would end up on the bed with us. Might not have been so bad, but he has the tendency to pace - meaning he is up/down/up/down all night. So about 3 years ago, we put a halt to sleeping in the bed with us...and now, they just sleep in our floor beside the bed.

As an endnote, I'm sure you've probably already taken Dottie to the vet, but if not, I do recommend taking her. Anytime a perfectly housetrained dog has more than one accident in a small period of time...that is a clue that she probably has a UTI or something related. When our Gracie has accidents in the house, that's how we know to get her to the vet! Hope to hear an update soon!!