Tag: dogs

Jody, our neighbor’s dog, has been checking the pups out lately. At first, it seemed like Rosie and Sophie were a bit scared and Jody, who must be around 10, was wary. Now, however, all three seem a bit more comfortable seeing each other.

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We arrived home tonight about 7 p.m., long day of work behind us, to a bit of a surprise.

Looking in the window, there were dozens of dog toys littering the living room. I left the house today at 10:45, the toys in the dogs’ toybox, but we have a friend’s college-age son walking them at midday. I figured he let them play with the toys and left them where they were when he left — no problem.

Except, that’s not what happened. As I took out my keys to unlock the door, Annie saw Sophie in the living room, loose. Loose?!? Was Rosie out, too? Sophie had escaped from her pen, somehow leaving Rosie behind. What happened? Did she leap the gate?

Turns out that Carlo left the lower gate hinge unlocked — or so we think — and Sophie, who is the burlier of the two pups, pushed her way through. Rosie, thinner and faster, probably couldn’t do so.

It was a bit of a scare, but there was no damage — Sophie confined her business to the newspapers by the entranceway and we’d closed the doors to the bedrooms.

But it was the culmination (I hope) to a trying week during which both Annie and I were at the end of our wits — they weren’t listening, were peeing in the house, picking up every leaf and stick outside and eating them — just a very frustrating time.

I think we my have contributed to it, however, because we forgot that they were puppies and were showing our frustration. And in our effort to not hit the dogs or react in anger, we were coming off whiny and losing control of them.

I’m hoping that, by recognizing our own failings in this mission, we can do a better job with them, take control and regain our own sanity.

I’m thinking the puppies have adjusted. Rosie and Sophie have been with us 12 days now and have turned into little balls of energy. Rosie still has a bit of a cough, but they spend much of the time that they’re outside their pen in some form of wrestling frenzy. It is fun to watch — for us, not sure about you, dear readers — though we sometimes have to break them up.

Rosie is the quicker of the two, so she gets the better of Sophie indoors — mostly because she can use the furniture to keep Sophie off step. Sophie, however, is stronger and tends to win outside when they tumble around in the snow.

And they certainly are getting more comfortable by the minute, taking over the house (but not exceeding their bounds — at least not yet).

What is striking to me is that after just a dozen days — and way too many people in and out of the house — these little mutts are incredibly attached to us. They follow us around, climb into our laps if we sit on the floor and look for us when we get up in the morning and sneak into the living room.

Annie asked me tonight — jokingly, of course — if I was having second thoughts. The dogs were in active mode and I was trying to write a column. My answer was simple: No. No second thoughts. None at all.

The dogs are settling in, though Rosie’s kennel cough seems to be getting worse. It’s a terrifying thing to watch as she coughs and then almost chokes. Annie is a bit scared, but Rosie and Sophie — who seems completely over her lack of appetite and lethargy — are going to the vet today.

On another note, they are amazingly curious little animals and we’ve probably given them a bit more freedom than is good for them or us so far. For the first time last night, Sophie cried when we led her to her pen to go to sleep. I had to sit in the living room until she fell asleep (and, yes, I dosed off on the couch). I’m not sure how wise that was.

This morning, getting them into the pen was like corralling cats. I think that, next week, once it is just the dogs and us, we will be able to develop a real routine.