update: dogs and yard

As an update to the two posts prior to the baby announcement (I know you’ve been dying to know), I wanted to pass along that our dogs are doing very well out in the house by themselves. So well in fact that we are discussing the permanent removal of their large crate that has taken up a nice piece of corner real estate in our bedroom for over three years. I’m quite proud of both of them for not destroying the house, though let's face it, Kinsley was the only real threat. Little Bit just likes to curl up on something soft and snooze.

My quest to subdue the backyard is moving along nicely as well. The dominant weeds have been reasonably quelled and my grass seed is starting to sprout, so things are looking good. I also took it upon myself to finally, after at least a year (I’m telling myself that it hasn’t been three years, but I’m not really sure), remove the numerous dirt-filled plant containers that have been sitting along the side of the yard. Two of these actually had what appeared to be small trees growing happily in their snug confines. Fare thee well, weed-trees, your days in the sun have come to an end! As far as our other quests involving the attic or closet are concerned, we are still holding out for the right time to really dig in. This weekend is a possibility. Yeah, we’ll see…

let loose the dogs...

Today we (or really "I" since it was my grand idea, and therefore my hide if it doesn't work out) are taking a huge chance...we are letting our dogs have free reign of the house while we're at work, as an experiment. Generally, due to the somewhat destructive nature of one of our beloved pets, we keep them in a kennel together during the day, letting them out during lunch. As I was watching TV in bed last night, it popped into my head that perhaps they could handle being alone in the house. This thought stemmed from when I work in the yard for long stretches and my wife isn't home, and I let the dogs inside while I continue working. I may not go back inside for two or three hours, allowing them to do whatever they want. And I realized that they hadn't destroyed anything (to our knowledge, which I guess is as good as not) during those periods, so it should stand to reason that they would react the same way during the work day. Or at least I hope. The increased amount of time does worry me.

We did take some precautions though. We made sure to remove everything from their reach that may look even remotely appetizing to the bored canine palate, closed the doors to the bathrooms (where their most-prized delicacy, tissue paper, is readily available) as well as the study and upstairs, and filled their Kongs with an abundance of not-easily-attainable treats to keep them busy.

Now we simply wait to go home for lunch and hope that it doesn't resemble a disaster zone.

I really hope it works out since neither of us likes the thought of them being cooped up all day. And it should help them release their energy a bit more so that they're not quite so crazy in the evenings. We'll see soon enough.

If anyone besides my wife reads this (thanks hon!), keep your fingers crossed for us!