It seems that we’re now in the home stretch of our summer vacation. This week we finalized our backpack and school supply decisions, delivered our blank t-shirts to the embroiderers, and tentatively decided to add another dog to our family.
Next week the girls have College for Kids, and the week after that we’ll find out who their teachers are.
School starts on August 15, and my tubes will be tied on the 19th.
I’ll be finishing The Namesake before the weekend is up and giving Room a shot.
I’ve been working on my Christmas knitting list.
Also, I’m now taking a magnesium supplement every night before bed.
Did I mention that we’re thinking about adding another dog to the family?
Do you have a dog? Two dogs? Three dogs? Two dogs are better than one, right? Can you imagine how smiley our house would be if Scout had a brother? A Dachsund mix brother?!
After the 19th, I’ll no longer be able to have human babies. BUT, nobody said anything about canine babies!!!
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I love having two dogs! It makes them able to handle dogs outside of your house better and gives them a doggy friend to play with when us people are tired. And who can say no to those eyes!
Oh my goodness, that dachsund is so cute!
I love dogs. Very much. My long but relatively limited experience with them has led me to believe a few things. The leap between one dog and 2 dogs is exponential. It’s a whole different league than having one dog. The leap between 2 dogs and 3 or 4 or probably up to about 10 is hardly noticeable after you’ve gone from 1 to 2. Two caveats to those beliefs: 1. I am an only child and I’m not sorry about that and 2. I live in a city so dog exercise and toileting must include my full participation in all weathers.
We have two dogs but they’re much larger than your little ones will be. However – when they’re running themselves to exhaustion in the back yard together or snuggled up at the foot of our bed together, I’m glad we got a puppy for our dog.
(Incidentally, you’re not insane until you have four kids under 5 and two dogs over 50 pounds each. Welcome to my home.)
Getting a second dog was the best thing we EVER did. They keep each other company, play together, and generally keep the house more interesting.
Yes, they eat twice as much as one dog. Yes, vet bills double. Totally worth it.
I think you’re courageous to have two dogs. And two girls and a husband. And a cat. I have two houseplants, a husband and an almost-baby, and I’m in over my head.
That being said, I’ve heard that two dogs are really not much more work than just one. So go for it, because that doggy is CUTE!
I have two dachshunds and they are the best! I love them. It’s wonderful to have two–they play all day long and make each other so happy. It is just the best. GO FOR IT!!
Two dogs are much better than one, specifically for the sake of the dogs’ sanity. They need pals when the humans aren’t around, primarily because they get very lonely very quickly. While the levels of insanity probably vary by breed, I do tend to think loneliness and the resulting anxiety are more of a universal trait for all dogs.
Your cats are going to hate you. I say that in the nicest possible way.
We are a two-dog family. It is great when they enjoy each other’s company, and I think getting two dogs when they are young is key.
I do think you need to pay attention to gender, though. Dogs who are fixed are still “interested” in each other (that actually happens regardless of gender, now that I think about it). Also, male dogs of all breeds tend to be more aggressive and dominating, which could confuse or scare Scout.
Just proceed with caution, and it will all be fine either way.
Yay for Christmas knitting!
We are SO TOTALLY thinking about getting another dog. The thing is, I’ve recently been reminded that I think puppies are awful. I mean, they’re cute, but THE NEEDS. THEY HAVE SO MANY. And I have a teensy chip of flint where my heart should be. But Rascal gets bored with just us humans around, and we think he’d like a brother, too! A big red poodle brother! Only Rascal needs to be the senior dog. Because he was the firstborn and whatnot. But I hate puppies! So we can’t get one of those! So I don’t know what’s going to happen! I am hyperventilating as I write this!
Oh, but YES to the brother for Scout. Because how freaking adorable is THAT puppy?!
We would probably, easily have two dogs. Hooper is kind of a jerk around other dogs. He gets along fine with the ladies. Our biggest regret is not getting the shelty he was kenneled with at the pound the same day we got Hooper. We still get teary when we talk of that day.
I just finished “Room.” I’d be interested in your take on the book. I have some thoughts on the story and using the five year old as the narrator.
Oh, I want to lick their fuzzy faces!
We got our second at the beginning of this year and it has been great exercise for our older dog. The only downside is the extra vet costs and the occasional extra boarding costs. Other than that, I love having two and they love each other!
We just added a second dog last week … and we’re still figuring out how to be a multi-dog household. We have a standard poodle, and just acquired a miniature poodle. (No shedders allowed!) The standard is not quite 2 years old, so we were hoping an older friend would chill him out. So far … not so much. He is actually a little worse right now, acting out a bit. Sigh. I keep thinking eventually things will improve. Right?)
Oh – and I loved “Room”! The child-narrator did not bother me at all, but I’be heard several people say they struggled to get past the “baby-talk”. Personally, I don’t think it would have been the same story, or as compelling, if the child had not been the narrator. JMO.
I’ve considered getting a second dog for Oscar to play with. He loves to play with other dogs and honestly when I’m out of town and he’s staying with my parents I think he misses his dog friends more than me. However…. My boyfriend is allergic to dogs. I bathe Oscar often and spray him in between baths with some kind of stuff from Whole Foods that keeps the smells and dander to a minimum – but I’m pretty sure the man who loves me might be a little ticked if I got a second thing that makes him sneeze. Also, Oscar really gets jealous when the humans love on another dog. Even when I’m hanging with other dog-moms and we’re all playing round-robin rubs and scratches – he’s not so happy with not being an only dog. So I guess he gets no live-in playmates. How does Scout like the other dog? What about Ramona?
Whoa. Doxie cuteness overload! Also, please tell me how the magnesium works out. I’ve heard that’s good for migraines and anxiety. But then I eat mixed nuts (supposedly high in magnesium) and get more headaches. So tell me what happens.
We adopted a rescue Great Pyrenees a few months ago. We think he’s been abused, but he’s always been with another dog…and then we adopt him, bring him home, and he’s the only dog. I think he was terribly lonely when he first came home, but he seems to be adjusting. Pyrs can be difficult dogs and he takes a lot of our time and energy, but we still kick around the idea of adding a second dog. So far, we are settling for borrowing the neighbors dog for a few hours once or twice a week.
And seriously, if we added a second dog, we would have to get a bigger car, so that keeps the “LET’S GET ANOTHER ONE!” thoughts at bay.
Room is intense and difficult, but immensely worthwhile. The kind of book I wanted to finish in one sitting, but needed to put down to get through. Haunting, may be the word.
1. I take a magnesium supplement before bed, too.
2. We have two dogs, but they’re big, so I think it’s a different situation. It makes it much harder to leave them for the weekend (have to find someone willing to watch two, and it’s expensive), and oh, the poop. The piles and piles of poop. Our older dog doesn’t play so there went that advantage… I think he was too old when we added the puppy. Our younger dog 0nly wants to be around us and doesn’t care much where the other dog is, but that could be because he’s no fun.
That being said, if I were to do it again, I’d probably get two dogs but keep ’em small and non-shedding(ish), don’t wait too long to get the second (but our trainer said to wait until the first one is trained well), and make sure you get them used to being boarded and/or dogsat (is that word?) early on.