It's the perfect wake-up. Henry first, then Sadey, by my bed, wagging, licking, putting on a happy welcome to the morning at 6:45.
As always, I have trepidations about taking Henry out. It's either going to be a perfect, calm, ten minute stroll through the neighborhood, or someone will emerge from somewhere and his hair will stand up and the barking and pulling will begin. I will redirect and he will quiet down, but still, I give a nervous glance in all directions, hoping that today peace will prevail. And it does. We see no one. Henry is calm.
Next comes Sadey the pull dog. With her, the challenge is in teaching her to hang back with me. We are nowhere near that skill level! The second challenge is to get her to do her stuff. Usually we are at least in part successful.
And then comes the best part of the morning -- I feed them, I prepare fruits for the kids, I sit down to my own breakfast, with book in hand.
The dogs know to leave me alone now. They rest and I keep on reading until the construction activity outside heats up to such an extent that the two hounds are off and woofing away at the window. Okay, pups. Let's head to doggie daycare.
It's not a hard trip at all, though I am now mindful of the fact that the peace in the backseat is not altogether a perfect peace. This weekend, as I was tidying the car, I noticed that someone -- most likely Henry -- chewed up the passenger seat belt. To shreds. How much will that one cost me, Henry? I am sure going to take it out of your allowance! Sigh...
I have a 10 a.m. meeting with the fence people putting up a fence at Steffi's House, where I am not yet living, but will move to this summer. I look at the area about to be fenced -- just a portion of the side yard, right by the construction taking place next door.
It's such a small space that I can hardly regard it as the dogs' future playground. Convenient for potty breaks, but not in any way adequate for my two high energy pooches who need to run! Still, let's not make light of the convenience factor: it will be super nice to just let them out.
I then have my first consult with the dog trainer who specializes in working with reactivity issues in dogs. I went over the trouble spots with her and she reflected on how I might proceed. Honestly, she did not say a lot that I did not already know, but we did schedule a meeting with the dogs to go over some of the behavioral bits that I may want to emphasize That's one component. Another is calming meds for Henry. If it wouldn't have been rude to do so, I'm sure she would have laughed heartily at the pickle I find myself in: two large barking dogs, both high energy, both tightly strung, both the same crazy adolescent age. You could not ask for a greater challenge! Still, she remains optimistic! That, of course, is her job.
Ed comes over for lunch. Well, I eat my granola bars while he exhales.
Nice and quiet here right now -- he tells me. What he means is "it's very pleasant without having Sadey bark nonstop at me." True, she chose to greet him with suspicion, but she wasn't hostile and began to warm up to him in the course of the evening. I retort -- she'd bark less if you were here with her more; it's not as if I can bring them over to the farmhouse because of your cats... From him -- true, it would disturb them... You might think that we'd whittled down our areas of divergence to this: which pets have a right to their behaviors at which location!
In the afternoon I pick up the two big kids -- first Sparrow, then Snowdrop.
And we go to Sally's House.
(reading a letter from their cousin)
Then, more shuttling -- to his Taekwondo, and finally -- to pick up my dogs.
My troubled, loving, beautiful dogs. Besieged by life. At home, I feed them, I feed me, we share the couch -- Sadey to my left, Henry to my right. This is such progress! Henry has sulked on the floor as Sadey hopped on to join me each night. Tomorrow, one will pull too hard again, one will bark his head off at a pedestrian two miles away. But what stays with me is the warmth of this moment. Him and her, trusting, hoping that when they wake up, nothing will change. We'll still be here, together, my two dogs and me.
with so much love...
