My life this week

This past week I lived with 4 dogs, an experience I'm not in a hurry to repeat anytime soon! My sister adopted a dog just a week before her family was going on vacation. I had already agreed to watch their other dog, and while my sister "tried" to find someone else to watch one of her dogs, the night before they were to leave, I got the phone call I knew I'd get - "We can't find anyone to watch the dogs. Can you take them both?" So being the good sister I am, I laid on the guilt and then said ok. Luckily, the new dog was introduced to my dogs before they left, so I knew they would all get along. In fact, Teddy and the new dog became bosom buddies, and were rarely apart the entire week. I lived for 6 years with just one dog before I decided to get another. I thought having 2 dogs was a lot of work, but 4 dogs is insane. My life became all about doggie bodily functions - eating, pooping, vomiting, etc. I think I went through 3 rolls of paper towels in a week. My floors need to be disinfected, my carpets cleaned, bedding washed - you name it, it needs to be cleaned. Luckily, none of the dogs are shedding breeds, so at least I didn't have shedding issues to deal with.

If you ever want to get your neighbors to notice you, try walking 4 dogs at the same time. I noticed more than a few people laughing at me as they drove to work in the morning. After a few days, I finally figured out which dogs needed to walk next to each other, which dogs would stop at every tree and which dog (the new one) just ran in circles in the grass.

This whole experience has made me appreciate Teddy even more. No, he wasn't housebroken when I first got him, but he is 95% better than he was 3 months ago. He still has issues with new people, but he's relatively calm, he doesn't bark, and he knows when to chill out and watch tv.

Really, this is all Ranger's fault. If it weren't for him being such a good dog, my sister wouldn't have gotten her first dog, I wouldn't have adopted Teddy and my sister wouldn't have adopted her second dog. Thanks Ranger!