My family had one dog growing up – Ginger. Basically, my sister and I talked my parents into getting her for us through all the normal manners of manipulation and false promises: “We’ll walk her everyday and take really good care of her! PLEASE PLEASE!” During Ginger’s time with the our family, she had two places of residence: for the beginning portion of her life, we kept her in a skinny, long, pantry room; for the second, we bought one of those Dog-Igloos for Ginger and she lived that outside. So, it was nice. When you wanted someone to play with, you had someone to play with. And, when you wanted to pretend you didn’t have a dog – you simply pretended there was no dog outside, and everything was fine.
My only other experience with dogs was when I lived in Idaho. My host family had two beautiful labs (a yellow lab & a chocolate lab). Grace & Sally were outside dogs as well, but I really grew to love them both.
My wife grew up with dogs in the house. This was entirely new for me. I wasn’t even sure how things like going shopping or out to the movies worked – could you just leave the dog in the house? What happens on a 2-week vacation? These were things I just couldn’t understand. So, to say it’s been an adjustment would be an understatement.
Less sleep, picking up poop, going for runs/walks, getting up early to barking, playing with bones and other dogs at the dog parks, etc. And Sarah really was right about the way I interact with Sadie. I find myself following her around the apartment a lot to see what she’s up to. Why is she being so quiet in the bedroom? (that’s generally not a good sign)
Even as I write this, I have a wild, energetic (because she’s been sleeping in her crate all night) dog jumping around the living room with her bone in her mouth, walking through our home, her little dirty paws touching everything…for anyone who knows me, I’m pretty anal about cleanliness and having things in order. So, this dog-in-the-house thing is challenging. But it’s also been fun. Sarah and I have probably laughed the hardest when she was sprinting around our very small apartment going after her bone, and then landing on the wood linoleum and just sliding across the floor. It was absolutely hilarious.
But the one thing I was most nervous about – the one thing I was afraid of and knew that I just wouldn’t be able to stand was dog hair. I was afraid of dog hair all over the sofa, our clothes when we touched her…everything. We looked at a sad and shy little dog named Tequila before Sadie, and if you ran your hand over her, you’d get a whole handful of hair – that scared me. But Sadie is amazing – I don’t think she sheds at all. I tried once; I put on dark pants and played with her for awhile – and nothing. No hair on me.
So maybe having a dog in the house isn’t so bad after all?
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you have no idea. there is nothing like being gone from your house for no more than 6 hours at a time. and when you do carrying your dog with you in your 4 door car. it’s head hanging out the window slobbering all over the back seat and on the sides of the car and the windows. then the slobber calcifies in about 3 minutes and the car begins to smell like the back of a fat lady’s leg. it’s rancid.
as far as hair, if you get a shedding brush, that takes care of a lot of it. and for what isn’t left, you break down and buy a dyson to make your wife happy.
and there is nothing more degrading than following your dog and picking up it’s poop. still fresh and warm.
Don’t worry… she will start shedding.
Hartley hasn’t been shedding much either… yet. But it will come.
And yea… things aren’t that bad having a dog in the house.
Oh… and still no “accidents” inside for us.
Knock on wood.
sadie looks like you in that picture.
ha.
Dude. Don’t tell me she’s going to start shedding. That’s not cool. She won’t. I swear she won’t. C’mon – someone tell me she won’t.
Jaime – you think she looks like me? What?
She is a good looking dog. I am jealous.
Cute dog. Yet nothing about the chaos that your Hamas buddies have unleashed among the palestinian people. Crickets.
I can’t imagine my life without ‘my boys’. They live inside and most nights, if I’m good, they let me sleep inside as well! Dogs aren’t our whole lives…but they make our lives whole…
Great photo! Can’t wait to meet her. I agree dogs are a big adjustment. I never had a dog growing up so I was clueless when we got our first one. They are a lot of work, no two ways about it. But cute.
Hope the dog doesn’t shed…i’m totally with you on that being one of the annoyances of furry pets.