Tuesday, March 13, 2007

It's not fair to be mad at them

Whenever I dogsit, the first day I'm all mushy gushy and thinking that maybe one day when I don't live in an upstairs tower I will get myself a dog. Then I think about all the different dogs that I like and try to decide which one I will get. I'm partial to the three legged greyhound I see every so often, but greyhounds are really big. Then I think, well, I like weiner dogs. but i also like corgis. something about those short, stubby legs.

So for a couple days into my dogsitting gig, I generally contimplate puppy possibilities. Then reality hits.

Damn dogs kept me up all night long. They wanted to play. They licked themselves for an hour or two. They wanted petting. they wanted out. they wanted a drink of water. I wanted sleep. I almost slept on the couch just so I could get some rest. I wanted to kill them. I had forgotten that I have homicidal tendencies when I am annoyed. I wanted to give a good swift kick in the whatever I hit.

But, I didn't. I laid there, told them to go to sleep. swore I wasn't taking them out anymore. tried to talk sense into them. nudged them when they started licking again. And reminded myself that they are like children. and that they do what they do because it is how they are made. yelling, screaming, hitting, doesn't do any good, they don't understand. So I just whined at them. and eventually fell asleep, exhausted.

And today? I don't want a dog. But if I get a dog one day? I am installing a doggy door so I don't have to get up every time they have to pee in the middle of the night, AND that damn dog is NOT sleeping with me.

4 comments:

Sensei said...

We have three. Two Pitbulls and a miniature weinerdog.

One pit farts in her sleep. One starts laughing...seriously laughing, like someoen sitting in a comedy club. THey both try to lay between my wife and I, and then attempt to push off the bed.

The pits most of the time sleep on a doggie bed...far enough away that the farts don't reach us... but when it gets cold, we put the dogs in the bed.

Their body temp is around 106 F. THat makes the bed nice and warm.

Almost every night, though, the weinerdog sleeps with us. She is smaller than a house cat. Weinerdogs were bred to enter badger holes and take out the badger.

THey love to burrow, so instead of sleeping on top of the covers, she sleeps between the top cover and the top sheet. That way, when we move, she won't get crushed. But, since she likes burrowing, she ends up at our feet...making a nice "in-the-bed" footwarmer.

NWJR said...

I love my doggie, but when she's gone, I'm not replacing her. I've had enough, really.

A doggie door isn't an option for my dawg either, because there's a skunk in the neighborhood, and she's already been sprayed twice. Encouraging her to go out at night is a bad idea.

*sigh*

Ginamonster said...

yeah, the greyhounds are burrowers too. and that body temp thing explains why I'm so hot at night! sheesh! they fight for the choice spot curled up at my belly or behind my knees.

NWJR, I totally know what you mean. only we aren't worried about skunks, it's coyotes. they like to snack on italian greyhounds.

sigh.two more days. It sure does make me appriciate being at home!

Sensei said...

Coyotes. Forgot about them. You are gonna have to get a Roadrunner.

Or, if you can catch one, get a Pitbull. You can get them from Pitbull Rescues. They are fantastic. Most have been rescued from evil people who use them in fighting.

The ones that cannot recover from that are put down. THe ones int he rescue are the ones who, given a good environment, turn out to be fantastic family pets.