Lockdown boredom no more as a new baby arrives

WE have a new baby. There has been a whiff of change in the house for a couple of weeks, and change arrived last weekend. It came after a short drive, a garden meeting, masks, hand sanitiser and a celebratory visit to a ‘drive-thru’ American burger restaurant. After 90 minutes outside of the house, we arrived home with two bags of cheeseburgers and a new member of the family. Margo, who arrived with her own bag of food and her favourite toy, made a quiet start and slept for most of the first 24 hours. Perhaps the stress of weaning manifested itself in sleep, because she was so tired I began to worry. It reminded me of when my two were newborn and I would check every five minutes that they were still breathing. But one day in, just as we were ready to settle down for the evening, Margo woke up and started to make the place her own. She’s hardly stopped since. There’s no doubt if you are going to get a new puppy then lockdown is a good time to do it. Not going out for four weeks is not a problem because we never go out. She’s never left alone, and we have plenty of time to give her all the attention she deserves, and almost all that she demands. And, make no mistake, she demands. The sounds I hear coming up the stairs are now a mixture of exhausted sighs: “Oh Margo”; screams “Ow! That hurts”; and commands: “No”. The little dog tears around the house, will chew anything except the things bought for her to chew, and does all those wonderful things that youngsters living life for the first time do – like bark at their reflection in a glass door before running nose first into the same glass door five minutes later. She’s so full of energy it’s draining and there’s a collective sigh of relief when the puppy collapses for an hour. If she’s asleep, it’s just like having a new baby, and we tiptoe around the house, whisper, and maybe even ‘get a few things done’ before the mayhem starts again. No one is more relieved when she sleeps than our older two dogs, who, put generously, are not that keen. The younger one has finally relented after a few days of stink-eyed growling, baring of teeth, and the occasional snap. The old dog on the other hand is having none of it. As far as I can work out, she is terrified of the new baby in the house, and has taken up almost full time residence upstairs in the bed next to my desk. On the rare occasion that she ventures down she will scuttle back up if the puppy gets within a metre of her. Mrs Martin, who a few weeks ago was beginning to get bored in lockdown, is now looking forward to being bored again. The Boy, another almost permanent upstairs resident, has been spotted downstairs more than in years and today talked about going for a walk when the puppy is old enough. I said it was all change! A new member of the family. Lovely.

Margo has made herself at home