Tuesday, March 8, 2011

On his way

Yesterday I cleaned up the found-a-month-ago golden retriever with a very good bath and a long walk. And today we left at 5:30 to meet up with his transporter an hour later. He's now with a golden rescue and will hopefully be finding a fabulous home soon.

Now just to figure out what to do with the other dog! I'm sure the golden will be more upset about being separated than the lab mix. We prepared the dogs for this by the dogs getting separate walks, time with food toys, and other interesting things happening when apart.

I'll miss the adorable springing up, he can jump all four feet off the ground, at least 2' off the ground! I hadn't been discouraging it (it was sooo cute), but I also didn't encourage that behavior.

What did the dogs learn with me? Not a lot. We practiced recalls in the yard. We learned about petting and brushing. We started to learn about stairs. We learned about food toys. We learned about walking on a leash. Not as much as my board and train dogs were able to learn about, I didn't want to take these guys out in public or let them interact with family due to not knowing about their health history.

Five dogs is just too many. One is my favorite number.

5 comments:

Crystal (Thompson) Barrera said...

One is your favorite number?

Does this mean I should rethink my puppy-getting idea?

Kristen said...

One dog wasn't enough. I would train him and exercise him and he wanted more of it but I knew rest and breaks were important for learning.

Two dogs.. then I had to decide who to take to class. And when time was short, how to divide up training times. I couldn't walk them together for months/years because Luna needed good walking training. And in poor weather (super hot or cold) if we went out, only one dog could go per trip, 'cuase no one could wait in the car.

And then, three dogs, Luna and Blaze could be walked together, but Griffin had to be walked separate until he was traind (...we'll pretend that happened). They could all go in the yard. But if we're in the yard to train, only one can be out. If it's hard to get two dogs in class (and I did for a while), three is just impossible. And then I have to decide who to do what with. And then when dogs are dirty....washing three dogs is a full time job. And then whenn you go places, same as before, in poor weather, only one, which means three trips out for socialization and training. And then you need a van if you have large dogs.

And then, when you jump up to five, there just isn't time for everything. So some get exercise and not ohters or all only get a little. And then you rely on toys and things more than actual interactions.

I liked one. One is my right number. I love my dogs. But one dog is so so so so much easier.

that said, Megan needs a puppy.

Crystal (Thompson) Barrera said...

I do like having one dog. I like the special relationship we have. I don't know how that might change with a second dog. Truthfully, the only reason I've considered a second (beyond OMGPUPPYSQUEEEE) is because I want a performance dog. But... maybe Maisy will come through for me after all?

Kristen said...

And I understand that 1000%. That's mostly why I got a second dog. And 100% why I got a third (he definitely has a role as a companion, but I definitely wasn't lacking in companionship!).

And now I'm seriously struggling with keeping him trained and occupied and working towards our goals... and struggling to keep up with having Blaze and Luna entertained and occupied and getting their behavior issues addressed.

I think I just need more time. Many people very very very successfully manage multiple dog households. At this point in time, I just don't have the talent to do it well!

Megan said...

This is why I don't have a third dog!

I'm glad Mr. Golden Retriever is in rescue now, and I hope Mr. Lab-mix finds a place to go soon so your life is simplified.