Get a puppy she said…

” Get a puppy she said…it’ll be fun, she said…”

Those word resonate around our home with great frequency at the moment.
Probably about 30 times a day it escapes the lips – sometimes through gritted teeth – of one or the other of us…

If we ever decide to think about getting another puppy – please – someone – remind us that we’re too old for this shit…!!!

Digby the Farm dog is 16wks old now, and we’ve had him for just over 4wks.
He’s a rescue dog, and was one of a litter of 15 apparently, that was surrendered to the local rehoming/rescue service.

He’s definitely one feisty lil fella, and like every toddler, is into anything his eyes happen to land on.
So far he’s managed to attempt to eat: furniture, clothing, hair, towels, toys, two boxes, a handbag, both of our arms, legs and ankles; a hairband, flowers, shoes, a basket, 2 earrings, a bell, a large laptop bag, the broom, a microfibre sweeper, numerous water bottles, glasses, the aircon remote, the Austar remote, the vacuum cord, a mobile – and that’s just the stuff we can recall without thinking too hard…!

Also like your average toddler, he has a sudden need to pee, which he often does wherever he happens to be standing at the time, and sometimes in mid-walk.
We’re working on that, and he’s getting a lot better, but it still means we’re prone to regularly stepping in warm puddles, if we’re not super diligent with where we’re walking.
And as he grows – which he is doing at a totally insane rate, those puddles are getting bigger and bigger…
We’re thinking that if this doesn’t get sorted soon, we’re probably going to need scuba gear in another month or so…! ?
It also mean loads more washing, as we use a lot of old rags made from dead towels, to mop up his little indiscretions.

Which of course meant that, only about two weeks after getting Digby, our six year old washing machine decided it had finally had enough – and came to a screeching halt (literally), refusing to do any more washing – no matter how nicely we spoke to it…
The week we had without a washer was not a good thing ? – and needless to say, having to get a new one put a huge dint in the finances.

We could have lined the entire shed twice over with what we had to part with, but after much discussion, decided that a new one made more sense financially in the long run, as the ‘risk’ of getting a second-hand one was more than we were willing to take our chances on – as if it had broken down in a couple of weeks or months, it would have been a waste of that money – and we’d be up for even more outlay.

Anyways – moving on to number three on the ‘like a toddler’ list; is sleep…
We vaguely recall what that is – but right about now we are tossing up the idea of sending Digby to the babysitters overnight, just so everyone in the house – animals included – can actually have an unbroken nights sleep, and maybe even get to do that weird thing we’ve heard about that happens in some homes on Sunday mornings – the elusive sleep in!

That dog has an inbuilt alarm clock (!), and come sun-up, he figures he should be out there inspecting the world and greeting the day!
But the most irritating thing about that not-so-endearing little foible is that once we get up, let him out, make coffee, and actually start to wake up – he has come back in, found a comfy spot, and is suddenly sleeping the sleep of the dead….!

All our dogs sleep in cages in a designated bedroom overnight.
Molly and Hamish share one cage, and Digby has another, which is actually attached to theirs – so that he is close enough for warmth, companionship and comfort, but so that there is a physical barrier to stop him from sending Molly into a psychotic tailspin.

This will undoubtedly change dramatically when we move full-time to Strigidae.
a) there won’t be enough room in the shed for their cages,
b) they won’t be allowed to ‘free-range’ in the shed overnight – or they would sneak into our bed in a heart-beat, which would not make for a restful night for any of us, and
c) unless its super-cold, its time that they had their very own home/bedroom and yard – outside!
They’ll of course still be allowed inside, they’re part of the Family – but the sleeping arrangements will definitely be having a major shift.

We do love our dogs dearly, and they give us such joy, such great delight, and so very many laughs each and every day, but seriously – “Get a puppy she said…It’ll be fun she said…”

(yep – we’re too old for this shit lol)

But as someone wise once said: This too shall pass…