Adventures in Doggy Sitting

A hyper puppy, a skittish dog and a slowing, senior dog make for an interesting mix. When you add in the unexpected like a female dog going into her heat and a stomach sick doggy, you have adventures in doggy sitting.

I’ve been on a bit of a blogging break. Two weeks ago, I spent a week in Pennsylvania caring for my brother’s three dogs: two young Shetland sheepdogs and one senior Golden retriever. After coming home, I jumped right into prep for teaching Pre-K/Kindergarteners in Vacation Bible school, (but more on this second topic in a later post.)

Cinnamon, a partly merle Shetland sheepdog, three years old
Abby, a tricolor Shetland sheepdog
Princess, a senior Golden retriever

Abby, Cinnamon and Princess are all nice doggies, but their personalities are quite different. Abby, the tricolor Sheltie, has quite a bit of puppy in her still, likes to jump up on people and still likes to mouth things and “chew” on fingers. Cinnamon, the Sheltie with merle coloring, can be skittish and shy, acts submissive to her more rambunctious housemate but will still quietly seek attention. Princess, the Golden, is friendly and gentle, likes affection but takes a lot of naps and has some difficulty getting up and down.

Every day, I fed the dogs twice and let them out in the fenced yard several times. At night, I put the two Shelties to bed in their crates while letting Princess have her choice of two big dog beds. In between times, I gave them plenty of pets, cuddles and attention.

Dealing with animal care, just as with human caretaking or babysitting, can sometimes be a dirty job. This was a week where I think I dealt with nearly all of the possible bodily fluids, and I realize that I am not terribly squeamish. It makes me think I might have made a good nurse.

My brother and his wife are planning to start a breeding business with their Shelties, so neither Cinnamon nor Abby have been spayed. This made it possible that either dog could start her heat cycle while I was watching them, and it worked out that it happened for Abby.

I had to diaper her, and that process sometimes had its funny moments.

Abby is sitting on my lap here and making a fashion statement in her pink polka dots. Humorously, she seems to coordinate with my pink striped pajamas.

The first time that I attempted to diaper her was a little bit of a struggle. As you can see from the photo, I had to pull her tail through a little hole in the diaper. She didn’t cooperate too well and pulled out of it three times before I successfully diapered her. Then, I realized, to my dismay, it was time to let all three dogs out and I would have to remove it anyway.

It was also a rhythm, thinking about all three dogs and their needs when I let them out. The back deck had one set of steep steps that the Shelties could run down, but Princess, the senior dog, could not manage. I would lead her, on a leash, down some less steep side steps and then back into the fenced area of the yard via a horse gate. Because of the distraction of Princess and hooking her up to a leash, a couple of times, I forgot to remove Abby’s diaper before letting her out. She would dart out like a shot as soon as the door opened. By the time, I led Princess around into the fenced area, catching up with Abby and removing her diaper, she had already peed in it. So, I had the extra job of handwashing the diaper and swapping it out for another.

Abby
And a photo where you can see Cinnamon’s interesting merle coloring.

In spite of all this, Abby was much more cooperative with me after my first attempt to put her in her diaper.

These were not the only dirty messy jobs of the week. Cinnamon got sick to her stomach that week. I woke up in the early morning hours to the sound of her retching and found vomit inside her crate. This repeated itself multiple times. Sorry, squeamish readers, but I will try not to be too graphic. She vomited on the hardwood floor in several places the next day, and then again in her crate, so I had more messes to clean and blankets and towels to rinse.

Following instructions from my sister-in-law, I started Cinnamon on some doses of coconut milk to help her nausea, two teaspoons every two hours and, the next morning, a small piece of bread with honey and ginger. Whether it was just timing or the effect of the home remedy, she stopped vomiting after the first dose of coconut milk.

All of these extra duties could have stressed me, but it didn’t as much as it could have. Instead, I had a feeling of success from meeting these interesting challenges. I certainly would have been more worried if Cinnamon went on being sick without recovering. It’s not necessarily pleasant to deal with these messes, but it’s something we deal with out of compassion.

Certainly, caring for dogs has its rewards, and I enjoyed a lot of affection and cuddle time with this lovable bunch.

Abby again
Princess
Abby and Cinnamon

Happiness is Two Warm Golden Retrievers

It's a DoggyDog World

Charles Schulz said, “Happiness is a warm puppy.” I agree with him. The happiness extends to full grown dogs … even two full-grown large Golden retrievers.

 

SusanwithtwoGoldenretrievers
Casey, me, Amber, Photo by Linda Smith Pursley

I do some sitting for other people’s dogs, and for the past three days, it’s been with two six-year-old Golden retriever sisters named Casey and Amber. I don’t want to suggest by the title that I have a particular prejudice towards Golden retrievers. I watch other breeds and mixes of breeds, and I love all of the doggies in my life. Even so, there’s a lot to love about Goldens. They are gentle, even-tempered and loving, intelligent, loyal and playful.

From my very first meeting with them, they were eager to meet me and love me. It reminds me of Pixar’s Dug the Dog from the movie Up. (I’m pretty sure Dug is a Golden retriever.) Dug loves his master, Carl Fredricksen, from the moment he meets him.

Amber and Casey both nosed at each other in their eagerness to get to me and receive some attention, a theme that stayed through the three-day stay to come. Amber, the sister with the darker, deeper coat, pranced in place, her toenails clicking against the floor, and whined at me, while Casey mostly succeeded in pushing her sister to the side. Soon, I had Casey’s front paws on my torso. Some people would consider “jumping up” to be bad dog behavior, but I understood it as friendliness and love, mixed with a lot of enthusiasm.

TwoplayfulGoldenretrievers
In the foreground, a distracted Amber. Behind her, a distracted Casey and me. Photo by Linda Smith Pursley

Giving the dogs equal attention was a challenge. Casey had a habit of pushing her sister away in order to get undivided attention for petting and affection. Sometimes, I managed to sit in the recliner and pet a different dog with each hand. Casey often had a way of wriggling herself and pushing her sister to the side. Often, she did a full rotation and leaned her butt against me, and I would talk to them, saying, “I have Casey’s butt and Amber’s head,” as I petted each. Once situated this way, Casey liked to sit between my feet or even on them. I didn’t mind this foot warmer, and I supposed she wanted me to be able to pet her back and sides, which I did. Amber, pushed aside, would complain with her voice and, perhaps, giving up, lie down in another part of the room.

Lookatthecameradoggy
Casey, me, and Amber distracted with cuddles. Photo by Linda Smith Pursley.

I discovered one way to keep them both content was to sit on the floor between them. At one point, I had Amber’s head on my lap, and Casey lying with her full length against my right leg. I sat with them for quite a while, lavishing them with petting and affection. They were both quite happy and calm in this situation.

TwoGoldensplaying
Casey, me, and a playful Amber who wants me to hold her paw. Photo by Linda Smith Pursley.

Both girls liked to give me their paws and let me hold them, and I sometimes serenaded them with a line or two of Beatles parody, “I want to hold your paw.” I’m not sure what they thought of my serenade, but they listened very seriously.

Letmeholdyourpaw.png
Casey, me, Amber, Photo by Linda Smith Pursley

Their owners had warned me that I would have Golden alarm clocks during my stay. That was another funny situation. Every so often, during the night, there were Golden noses on the edge of my bed until I whispered for them to go back to their own beds. In the early morning, bouncing and wriggly noses returned to the edge of the bed. As their patience for me to be up diminished, they were like children on Christmas morning. The noses were wriggling among my layers of covers — it was cold — to find my face and give me morning kisses. Later, front legs and paws joined noses on the edge of the bed.

So, I got up around 7:30 — as the owners predicted — and gave them breakfast and let them out. How could I be upset with all of that enthusiastic affection? Happiness is a warm puppy or a full-grown dog … or two.