When you are working through rescue dog issues, you (unrealistically) assume that the world will go away and leave you alone for however long it takes for you to deal with your pooches. You're stunned when you find out that this is not the case. That in fact there is much to be done, that your dogs are not the center of everyone's life and perhaps not even your own. Of course, at age almost-73, multi-tasking can be a challenge. For example, in younger years, yesterday's family dinner would have been a breeze. I might have even thrown in some intelligent conversation into the mix. As it were, the children's needs, the dogs' craziness, the dinner preparation -- well, my head was buzzing! My son-in-law noted that I had forgotten to give him a plate for dinner. Believe me, it was not intentional! I was watching the dogs, the kids, the foods on the stove. A plate slipped my mind.
Today was supposed to be a breather. Dogs at doggie care, Nina rests with her feet up. Well, one of those two came through.
This morning, Sadey and Henry were so tired from yesterday's two visits to the dog park and evening play with Goose, that for the first time since I got Henry, he did not come over to wake me. I was up and showered before he did his morning stretch and greeting.
It's a bitter cold day. We'll be bouncing around like this for a month or more, but it's definitely cold enough for doggie sweaters. Yes, I know, they may be too big. Sizing a dog online is challenging. Neither pooch minds the sweater. They are quickly shedding their Texas roots in favor of Wisconsin habits.
At home, I notice a slight change in their behavior. Henry seems less timid. Sadey appears to be less frantic. They actually have a friendly moment with each other on the carpet. And both stay still for one second with me on the couch.
Breakfast? So very calm, on all fronts.
And then it's daycare, garbage, groceries, farmette, compost... and so on. I'm sweating on this cold day! But I do pause to check in with Bee in Poland. A half an hour on Zoom is an investment in my sanity. Okay, I'm ready for my afternoon crazies: pick up Sparrow, pick up Snowdrop, bring them to Sally's House...
... take him to Taekwando, pick up Henry and Sadey, walk both, but separately, come home.
I really do not intend to have both dogs in doggie daycare each and every weekday. For one thing it's crushingly expensive. At least for me it is. But I need to resolve a Henry issue that has been swept under the rug with my move from apartment to house -- his fierce barking at strangers. It doesn't arise as much here, in my new home. No elevators, no corridors. No fear of someone coming at us suddenly, maybe with an ax and a chainsaw to mow us down. But the trips to the dog park are troublesome, because he will find a person (or two) who will set him off, and the barking, loud and in your face (or at least in that person's face), cannot be tolerated. He is my Jekyll and Hyde dog: so friendly toward people he knows! So calm, quiet, respectful, affectionate. But step outside where strangers walk and he is a different pooch. I need to help him through this. Until I do, doggie daycare is in fact a panacea. He gets his stimulation there in the same way he would in a dog park. Without me worrying that he's giving someone a heart attack. And Sadey? I think leaving her there with Henry was transformative. Again, she is far more lively than the shelter implied. She needs the mental and physical exercise as much as he does. At least for now. So daycare it is, for the both of them, for a while at least.
At home, they are at peace again.
I'm going to leave her gate open for the night. I need to see what happens when both of them are in the same space in their sleep. If it goes well, only the feeding and toy playing will have to be done in separate quarters.
So, we're moving forward! Let's hope it remains forward, with not too many pivots and realignments!
with so much love...
