In a perfect world, they could all go out together. But due
to varying walking speeds, stamina, and reactivity, I choose to walk in
shifts. But who first? Mr. Long black tail will find things to
eat and tear apart, if left behind, so he gets to go on BOTH walks, lucky guy.
He is already bounding around the room excitedly and when I pull out the lash
and ask him to “sit,” I get a 2 second sit followed by a jump and a
“hor-ra-row.” I give him a look and he sits back down, but squirms his head
around as I try to loop the gentle leader over his long snout. “Eh” I utter and he finally stops
squirming long enough for me to fasten the leader to his collar. Now he is off prancing about with the leash
in his mouth. Meanwhile, the
little wrestler has been sitting patiently, occasionally rocking back and forth
on his front feet in a show of mild impatience. He will go along on the first round.
The first walk is fairly uneventful. We walk slowly and only around the
short block as the wrestler’s tendonitis is bothering him. Also he just likes
to take his time and sniff everything in sight and this gives Long Tail the
opportunity to pee on everything in sight, which then of course prompts the
wrestler to pee on top of everything peed upon. But it’s early and quiet and no one else is out, so it’s
nice.
We arrive back, and it’s now time for the Little Miss to
join Long Tail- he gets two walks so I can keep an eye on him. He could wait in a crate but he’ll wake
up the whole building with his impatient barking at this hour so for the sake
of my husband and neighbors, he gets to walk again. He didn’t poop on the first round anyway, so he needs more
exercise.
This is a much faster walk, as both dogs are young and want
to GO. They are also both a little
bit leash reactive so we keep an eye out for other dogs approaching. We are
ready to turn, cross the street, or reverse direction at any time. I believe
that avoidance of confrontation at such an early hour is the best action. I can’t control how the other owner
controls their dog, and don’t want to take any chances that the other dog we
pass could be just as reactive as my two. But this morning is quiet, no dogs in sight and we
move swiftly around the 2 mile route.
Back home, the wrestler is anxiously awaiting
breakfast. I find him sitting in
front of the door, as if he has been staring at it the entire we have been out.
Everyone is unleashed and the Little Miss and Long Tail are
off creating a ruckus as they jump and play. I silently apologize to my downstairs neighbor- hopefully
she is up and getting ready for work anyway.
I start running water to refill the water bowls for the day,
and open the food bin and begin doling out the portions. Glucosamine tablets are crumbled into
the wrestlers food, and finally, a little crumble of freeze dried raw patty in
each bowl as a little “dessert.” At one end of the kitchen goes the wrestler’s
bowl, but I have to block Long Tail as he is desperate to get to any food bowl
before it is plunked down. Long Tail and Little Miss follow me excitedly to the
other room, where I plunk their bowls into their crates.
As they eat, I finish filling water bowls and then fill the
water chamber of the coffee maker and flip on the coffee. I wash my face, throw in my contacts
and gather my things. Coffee
is ready, and in a travel cup it goes.
Off to the morning insulin shot for “grumpy” kitty. Hope she’s in a good mood today!
