Because that is the sound surrounding me right now.
I have been out of town, at my inlaws, since Friday morning. I took the kids with me, sans husband, to visit their grandparents. Hubby came up late saturday afternoon and left early evening sunday. Except while he was there, I didn't even really see him. He took off with his dad on Saturday to go shooting (such a man thing to do) and then he left before I woke up on Sunday to go skiing, leaving back to go home pretty much within an hour after returning home from the mountain. So I was pretty much a single mommy to the 2 girls and the baby for all 5 days. Yeah, the inlaws do "help" with the kids, but more in the entertainment area, leaving all the "work" to me.
It wasn't too bad. I was pretty exhausted taking care of Karl because wasn't able to take any breaks during his fussy times. If he was crying, he was all mine. If he was happy, then the grandparents loved soaking up the smiles. Nighttime sucked because I had to share my room with Karl and babies make all sorts of noises while they sleep. I can not understand how in the world some parents share rooms with their newborns. Oh, and naps were continuously interrupted due to loud, booming voices (seriously, they are the loudest people on the planet) and a barking dog (which is treated as a child without any form of discipline). Thank god I bought a travel swing before taking the trip - for the times he did sleep, that was my life saver.
The dog. Oh the dog. Okay, confession. I ~hate~ their dog. Sure, when he's calm at night I don't mind giving him attention. But him being calm takes up maybe 2% of his personality. This dog is horrible, but they treat him like an only child. They love him so much, I really think they can see no wrong with this dog. He is ~so~ bad. He barks when my MIL has food (but doesn't bark when I was alone and had food). He does ~not~ listen to anyone's direction. He had ~no~ discipline due to the empty threats he's given. No matter what the dog does, they yell "Go lay down on your bed!" but then never make the dog actual go do it. The dog doesn't even flinch at the word "No!". The dog will steal your food if you leave it unguarded for even a moment. All food has to be put up high or the dog will eat it from the counters. Really. I've seen this dog eat sticks of butter. This weekend he got a bag of sunflower seeds and ate it all. He also stole and ate an entire loaf of bread. And what happens when he does this? They yell "No!" at him without any consequence. He knocked over my little girl once and stole her food, seriously freaking her out and I lost it. I smacked his hiney and said "No!". What happened? ~I~ was yelled at for smacking the dog. WhatEVER. The dog has to be leashed during meals so he doesn't come up from under the table and steal the kids' food directly from the table. And they don't see this as anything wrong.
I know this dog's behavior is all due to lack of training and not the dog himself, but what can I do? The dog rules the house and they see nothing wrong with it. They have completely changed the way they live to work with the dog's behavior. Instead of training the dog, they change their own behavior. And my inlaws are very intelligent people. It completely mystifies me. Really. I don't understand it. This dog is the only reason I do not like to visit them. And I really like my inlaws too. They have a nice house and going there is like a mini vacation. Well, a mini vacation with cujo having the run of the house. Crazy. The dog doesn't screw with me though, as I am obviously superior to him and he knows that. I don't take shit from him and I refuse to let him get away with anything involving my children. Of course the children don't know how to act superior to him, so the dog still goes for them, but when I'm there, he watches his step. Grrr. This is all pissing me off all over again. And I've already said it, but I really do not understand how my inlaws let this dog act like he does. They are such intelligent people! Mystifying.
And now we are finally home and the girls are acting like assholes. Yes, these 2 cute little girls can actually be major assholes. And I'm about to pull out the last of my hair.
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19 comments:
There are few things that annoy me more than a dog that no one is trying to restrain. Unleashed dogs running around outside, crazy dogs inside with no discipline, ugh. Makes me want to smack people.
Wow I think my grandparents share a dog with your inlaws!
As far as I'm concerned, dog or no dog, you're a saint for going to stay with your in-laws without your husband. I don't know that I will ever get there...
My mom is terrible with her dog and it drives me nuts. In the two weeks she had our dog before we could pick him up (he was my brothers before us), she completely ruined all the training he had had. It's ridiculous.
My darling turns into an ass after any time with my mother and I hate it.
I cannot stand it when people don't train their dogs! My in-laws dogs are horrible (not nearly as horrible as your inlaw's dog) and it's actually cause for the boys not being allowed in the FIL's house. They don't understand how we managed to train our dogs to go outside to use the bathroom. Yup...read that one right. The FIL's dogs think it's OK to use the bathroom inside at will.
I hope the girls settle down soon. I'm sure you could use a little calmness before your surgery on Thursday. Good luck!
And seriously? Congrats for not killing that dog when it knocked down your little girl for her food. I think I might have lost my shit.
Oh yeah. The sound that used to drive me nuts was the ice cream truck that came through our neighborhood. It had the most annoying music. Ugh. But he quit coming around when someone burned his house down. I am sooo not joking about someone burning his house down. Maybe that speaks to the level of annoyance his music caused.
ugh. Sorry about your crappy 'vaca'. I totally could not do the in-laws without the hub- especially with an out of control dog! Now- I have a jack russell who is extremely intelligent & therefor actually harder to train. She had the hub trained very well at one point since she is ~his~ dog. I put a stop to that shit real quick. She steals food (from the other dog- she begs for ours) and takes his toys away. She slept on our bed for years & would refuse to move off. She barks at everything! I was about to get a zap collar when nothing seemed to work & then found that a spray bottle full of water really does the trick. It can't huirt her- which is good because it's really the owner's fault for having a bad dog- but it makes her listen very well to whatever command we give because she absolutly hates it. Now we just reach for the bottle when she won't listen, but 9 times out of 10 she actually listens to the commands now.
Of course- anything that tells the dog you are boss is good- they actually do like it better knowing that someone is in charge of them- good for you for standing up tp that dog. It does suck that they can't see how wrong it is to let the dog train them though!
Holy cow- this is a long comment- sorry! Hope things calm down today and you get a rest before tomorrow!
wow - I would be so frustrated. ESPECIALLY after the dog knocked over your daughter (which you would think would register with them that a GRANDCHILD is more important than a DOG). Man - crazy.
You should get a dog!
OMG, totally kidding. I hate annoying dogs too. My mom's dog is VERY well behaved, but my brother-in-law's isn't. Luckily, they put him outside or lock him in the bedroom when we visit--I think they're scared of a lawsuit if the dog bites Andrew. He has growled at him in the past becaue he's a jealous dog. He's like 100 lbs. too--a chocolate lab (I normally like labs, but this one is part horse).
I HATE little dogs.
Your in-laws are typical "dog" people--they really will never see it from your perspective because they're blinded by the beauty of their precious dog.
Yea...it's like people with a bratty kid except kids (usually) grow up to be civilized humans.
I'm SO not a pet person so I have no sympathy for them.
people can be incredibly stupid about their pets. while we adore our critters, we also WORK with them. Animals are animals, not people, & to treat them like people is a disservice both to the critter & to the family. my brother's dog isn't allowed anywhere near us, since (while she is very sweet) she also has NO training & is a huge pitbull, who could easily inflict all kinds of incidental damage. sigh...
anyways, you really are a saint for staying at the in-laws that long. i know i'd lose it if i were trapped at my inlaws all weekend! welcome back girl!
That is the way it is at my parent's house too. The dogs run the show, it's beyond ridiculous. I refuse to let the dogs near my kids because I will not take responsibility for the actions I take if they were to actually hurt one of my kids. I finally had to tell my mom that if the dogs weren't locked away when my kids were there we were no longer going to visit. My sister's dog snaps at the kids and her excuse was that the kids are close to his toy and he's trying to protect it. I think that's total crap, I don't care what the reason I will freak out if a dog hurts my babies.
Damn...Wish your inlaws could be in your shoes for a while and see just how bad their dog really is towards you and your children. Sorry to hear your Vaca was that bad :( It should have been something that you could have relaxed with.
Did Tom ever think of taking Ella with him on that ski trip?? She's about at that age to start learning to ski?!!?
btw: Is this why you were really annoyed? (I'm guessing yes but just wondered)
Oh you would never survive at my house then, you'll be pulling your hair out here too. My dog is the same way- spoiled to the extent it gets on people's nerves.
Unfortunately, my dog is just like you IL's! I'm guilty of the "empty threats", like "I'll whoop your ass if you do that again.." but yeah right, I dont whoop his ass. He barks and barks and stares at you when you eat. Cujo and Peanut need to hook up.
So, you ranted about hating the dog and here I am rambling about another disobedient one..just what you want to hear about huh?! :)
Mason is still sleeping in the room with me, at almost 3 months old. Oh boy. What do I do. He does make all kinds of noises at night but I feel guilty just shipping him off to his room.
I do not like my DD around dogs unless I know the dog well and know it's well behaved. I figure I'm just paranoid because my stepbrother's ear was bit off by a dog when he was little.
I think it's funny that Molly compared it to children because I was thinking the same thing...teachers think alike I guess. :)
Sorry about the stupid dog. I'd have hit it too if it knocked over my baby!
OMG. Your inlaws let a dog take precedent over your children? You really ~are~ a saint, because I'd just never speak to them again, had it been me. LOL
I'm with mol. I think animals are cute, but people are waaaaaay more important, therefore I have no sympathy for the "poor doggie".
It's irresponsible of pet owners to let a dog run their household. Seriously. What happens when the dog is the "alpha male" in the house, is that the dog makes the 6 0'clock news for having mauled a child to death.
Grrrr. I'm mad ~for~ you.
Steph
stephs_3_kidz
Just curious - what type of dog is it?
That whole situation would have majorly pissed me off. Like someone else commented, kudos to you because I don't know that I would ever go to my inlaws without my husband. Ohh how they annoy me, but that is another ~very long~ story.
I am completely hyper-sensitive about the way my dog behaves when guests are in the house. I'm annoyed that people let their pets behave as your inlaws do. Seriously, if my dog ever knocked over a child to get her food I would be ALL OVER my dog so fast the parent probably wouldnt have had time yet to react. I regularly tell my guests, if my dog does something they are uncomfortable with, feel free to enforce. Dogs need to learn, with each new person, what is acceptable to that person in terms of behavior. IMO most dogs with decent training can learn to modify their behavior based on who they're dealing with.
Anyway, sorry for the long comment :) I hope your stress eases soon and you give your hair a break from the pulling! Good luck with your surgery - I'll be thinking of you.
Aww man, Nancy! I'm sorry you had to go through that!!! Glad your home though!!!
Wow thats one bad dog ! nothing gets on my nerves more than a puppy who's not trained.
Especially when he's taking things from your kids !
Crazy
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