Husband is single handedly taking on puppy duty while I am in Minnesota this week. He told me he napped a lot Monday after I left, and then went to a local pet store, where he said he spent a small fortune on things for the dog.
Kyrill is the sweetest little fellow, but is only 4 months old and having teething issues. I have found puppy baby teeth on the floor. He wants to chew everything. He also wants to be close to us and play constantly. It is hard to get things done, especially if you are his only caretaker. Husband told me he bought all sorts of interesting chewy things and toys for Kyrill to keep hm busy. Husband said his plan was working well. I can only imagine the clutter of dog toys on the living room floor. Our home is certainly dog centric, and I suppose you could say we have a very spoiled puppy. Husband was the same with our children. I remember getting after him to stop constantly playing with our son and daughter when they were little, and to let them figure out how to entertain themselves so they didn’t expect an adult to play with them all the time. Of course, they rarely chewed up the furniture or the electrical cords.
As an only child, I always resented comments from people that I “must” be spoiled since I had no siblings. I didn’t get everything I wanted, and I had to entertain myself quite a bit, and I guess that is why I expected our children to do the same. I know I can’t expect that of the puppy. I am grateful that Husband is cheerfully being a single dog parent this week, even if it means that when I return, I will have a dog with definite expectations for me.
How do you like to “spoil” people and other creatures? What expectations have your animals had of you?
Trail Baboon 
Rise and Shine Baboons
I am trying a test post before writing anything. Yesterday kept refusing to post anything I said.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And you are successful.
LikeLike
Apparently, I exist today.
In the evenings our dog, who loves a routine, has expectations. First she gets her evening meal, then there is the treat ritual. She gets her tire play toy with treats in it, then her greenie tooth cleaner which loves. Following that little ritual she seats herself in front of Lou and stares at him, awaiting The Walk. (She would do this to me too, but for 5 weeks now I have been unable to take her for a walk. The hip is now to the point where I will soon be able to have a short walk with her without fear of falling.). This dog knows how to get her way.
Regarding indulging or spoiling other people: Lou likes certain foods that are a treat to him, especially pie. I have one bag of frozen 2021 cherries left that will soon become a cherry pie for Father’s Day.
LikeLiked by 5 people
Glad you’ll be able to walk soon, Jacque.
LikeLike
There is a hip and knee replacement program at the senior center where I work out. 6 women, all over 65. All very overweight. Reluctant to do the work. Spoiled might apply to them.
My sons young cat, a rescue kitten, is very spoiled. She forms crystals in her urine so has to go on a special diet. When the new food got to 50% of the dried food, she quit eating. They told him to make it 100% and wait her out. He will win
LikeLiked by 3 people
I enjoyed “spoiling” my mom with a tea party when visiting her at the nursing home. We’d go “off floor” and travel a bit to one of their electric fireplaces, and have a cookie or some kind of chocolate with our tea – I knew where all the coffee areas were, so I could get our tea after we’d arrived.
I used to spoil the birds in Robbinsdale, but I have no good spot here, so I sometimes throw out pizza crusts under the driveway tree, or stale nuts for the squirrels.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Sandy and I used to have to have two person tea parties. I brought n the two small tea pots and everything. She did not touch the tea when she used to live on it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We do have a couple of spoiled cats. When his elder sisters are all sleeping and he’s bored, Keanu will yowl for my attention, throw himself on the floor like he’s begging for a tummy rub, then once I’m out of the office chair gleefully run for it and jump in for a spin ride. Kameli refuses to eat anything but Fancy Feast canned food (tuna, turkey, and occasionally salmon; she’s allergic to chicken and doesn’t care for other seafood). OTOH, they are the ones that need to have their teeth brushed, so I imagine they’d think being indulged was just recompense for that indignity.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I have a friend whose cat loves to be spun in the desk chair – it’s a requirement for anyone caring for Socrates to do this daily.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I am not a spoiler of anything, except these days Sandra.
In class of 1973 I had a very clever young man with a dry sense of humor. An only child who got tired of all the questions about that. He had a series of stories he would tell “So you’re an only child?” “Well, I used to have a little brother and we were playing hide-and-seek. He hid in the oven. Mother did not know he was in there and she decided to bake a cake. . .”
All his stories hung like that, forcing the questioner to go the next step. He said the trick was to make them not quite plausible but possible enough no one dared challenge. He said the details were everything, like the cake in that story. Usually he would eventually tell the truth but if someone would say he was an only child so he must be spoiled he would not.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have students who are about to turn 70. Yikes
LikeLiked by 2 people
As a teacher I could not identify only children but I could identify children of older parents, not because of bad traits. And I could often identify boys whose parents were going through divorce?
LikeLiked by 3 people
Snort!
LikeLike
Pippin seems to grow more neurotic and needy as he gets older. I’m not a perfect dog parent and he seems to have targeted my weaknesses. This morning is a great example of how he has started to run my life.
I’ve been busy with a combination of work and other activities lately and today is the first day I’ve had completely to myself for about ten days. I worked last night, then stopped at the Co-op for some stuff before coming home to release poor Pippin from his prison. He’s always stressed and panting and happy to see me. I give him his supper and some ice cubes and frozen doggie treats that I made for him. He settles down and I play tug with him for awhile. Then he seems happy and is tired and goes to sleep while I read.
However, mornings are out of my control. He has been waking me up at 4 a.m. lately. I don’t want to get up at 4 a.m. but he won’t leave me alone. If I say, “No,” he starts panting, or smacking his lips, or loudly licking himself. He also jumps in and out of my bed repeatedly. This goes on until I get up. I’ve always had my morning routine that starts with coffee, meditation and gratitude, and a gradual acceptance that the world is not how I want it to be but I am grateful to be in it. Pippin has other plans for me. Aggressive games of tug are a high priority – immediately – no matter how sleepy I am. He needs to go for a short walk and do his business too. My coffee and meditation routine is being pushed aside by a 19-pound, 12 year old dog. If I don’t do it his way, the result is an anxious dog whose needs have not been met. He will become extremely anxious and clingy.
It is most helpful to play rough with the squeaky toy whenever he wants. This seems to make him feel comfortable and that everything is all right. If I fail to play tug and toss the toy down the stairs whenever he wants, I have an anxious dog. My agenda does not matter. I’m finding myself hurrying home so that he won’t be anxious and tyrannical. I used to be able to leave him gated in the kitchen without medication or damage to the walls but not anymore. He has to be crated now due to extremely frantic and destructive behavior when I am gone. I don’t like it but it’s safer for him and for my house.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I worked for a short time at the Uptown Veterinarian in S. Mpls (circa 1989). Besides holistic pet foods, this vet did behavior work with animals and their people. I wish I know what he would have recommended, Krista!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Older pets can be challenging, but it’s hard to be a strict disciplinarian when you know a day is coming when you’ll have to part with the pet. So you err on the side of spoiling.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I feel spoiled by VS whenever I get a card from her.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You nailed that one. I love her cards.
LikeLiked by 1 person
An older rescue dog is a better bet.
C. R. Ayers
>
LikeLiked by 2 people
I must have a different concept of what it means to spoil someone or being spoiled. My mother thought that picking up a crying baby to comfort it, or changing a dirty diaper too soon, would spoil a child. Children were expected to eat what was put in front of them, or they would become picky eaters; children were supposed to be seen and not heard. She thought that punishing every little infraction, real or perceived, would result in better behavior. I think she was wrong on all counts. What’s more, I think it’s a mistake to think that what works for one child, one cat, one dog, or any other creature, will work for all.
I’d go so far as to say that what “spoils” most people, i.e. causes them to develop problem behaviors, is not getting the loving care and attention they needed at various stages of their life.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Spoil yourself
I don’t understand why people say the world doesn’t revolve around you
when in reality
or maybe just in the concept of reality,
your world does revolve around you.
You are the center of your world
As humans, we are self centered
and that’s okay
So spoil yourself.
– Elizabeth Lovato
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m spoiling the house wrens in my back yard. Live mealworms. Just a few each day right now, but when the eggs hatch, there will be an abundance.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I also spoil the squirrels, particularly the one I call Captain, who will take peanuts from my hand. Sometimes quite politely, sometimes with ill-concealed impatience. The shyer squirrel that I call Skipper hides behind a tree while I toss peanuts near the trunk. When he shows himself and has a peanut in his paws, he’s less skittish, and will even sit placidly when I accidentally bonk him on the head with a tossed peanut. He doesn’t want to come close to me, though.
LikeLiked by 4 people