At the risk of sounding like a tired mother of a toddler, I am not getting much done here, thanks to my puppy parenting. We take our puppy parenting pretty seriously, so I don't just throw him in the yard to dig holes to his heart's content, though I am often tempted to do so. He does have a crate, which he sleeps in, but I also don't put him in it unless he is sleepy, or unless it is absolutely necessary, like I have to go somewhere for a short while. He naps about 2 hours a day. During that time, I have figured that I need to do the following things, which I can't easily do with puppy supervision:
- Anything in the studio; painting or weaving or design work. He is NOT allowed in the studio, for very good reasons!
- Cleaning. While I can do some cleaning tasks (ie.dusting), I can't ever finish them up. And vacuuming is even hard to do when he is asleep, if I want him to stay that way.
- Laundry. He is not allowed in the basement... same problem as the studio. He just finds too many 'puppy toys' and whatever I'm trying to do just turns into chase and retrieve time (with me doing the chasing and retrieving, which is NOT a good thing.)
- Bathing. He likes the taste of soap and shampoo, but I really prefer to rinse with clean water, rather than a puppy tongue.
- Actually, pretty much anything that I used to just 'do' without having to plan around puppy naps.
So there are not that many things that I can do while he is awake. I can sit at the computer for short periods of time... a blog post works occasionally. I can cook; the kitchen is easy to keep him closed in with me. I can read, if I do it outside. I can also use the laptop and do some knitting outside. He is a very good puppy outside, if I'm out there with him. I can do yardwork, if I do it in the puppy yard, so it is getting more work done on it than ever before! It is starting to get cooler, though, so sitting and working outside are soon going to be things I don't want to spend much time doing. But pretty much anything that I can do with him under-foot can only last about 15 minutes, before we must move on to something else.
I know that this, too, will pass. And we will have a very good dog as a part of the family. And all of the time and attention we are giving him will have been worth it. (So, does this paragraph sound well-rehearsed speech? Like I say it to myself a billion times a day?)
Since I'm not getting much weaving done, I PhotoShopped the picture of my husband carrying Booker to somewhat 'simulate' a tapestry. As opposed to months, it only took minutes! I can no longer carry Booker, and soon my husband won't want to, either. He is 3 times bigger than he was when we got him.
News update on the kitty that was here for awhile: My neighbor tells us that it is now an indoor kitty that loves lap-sitting and being petted. A lovely happy ending!
4 comments:
I's amazing how similar our lives sound! Except I do work outside the home and my 2 year old lab can handle that, but as soon as I get home - it's just like you say! One moment he's a puppy and the next he's an old man - there's no inbetween - and like you I keep saying this is only temporary! I did just an hour ago tell someone I can't imagine raising a lab from a puppy!!! My hat's off to you - but I do know that you will have an excellent dog when he's grwon up!
Jennifer, labs stay puppies for several years, and keep that 'puppy mind' for a lifetime! They are sweeties, but, having raised one lab from puppyhood, we opted for the somewhat more anxious to please golden this time. They are all worth it - even now. But oh the attention they demand!
By the way, I still can't leave comments on your blogs, for some reason.
There's a lot of the puppy that I would like to keep around - I'm absolutely in love with him.
What is the error that it gives you when you try to leave a comment? I wonder if there is a setting from my end that would help.
It doesn't give me any error warning. My comment just vanishes when I hit post. Then the blank comment screen comes up again as if I hit 'delete' instead of 'post.'
It's the 'good puppy' stuff that will stay around in your lab. We still miss our sweet Wooster. He had a playful spirit clear until the very end of his life.
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