The Dog House Diaries :

Ups and Downs

My bloody alarm clock didn’t go off this morning!!!!  I woke up with an absolute panic at 8.00 am, realising that I hadn’t done the 6am toilet shift.  Yes, our little poppet had not been to the loo for FIVE hours!!!  Dreading a scene from a 1980’s Irish Prison with a dirty protest in his crate, we both ran downstairs, and there was our good little boy, clean and dry and wagging his tail with joy to see us.  Needless to say we wasted NO time running him outside where he managed to poo four times in quick succession, and eat two of them.  Lovely.  

After ‘poo-gate’ we had to take Barkley back to the vets for his jabs, and as Jon was at home this time, he sat on the back seat with Barkley behind him in the boot, while I drove.  It turned out that our little primadona wasn’t that keen on slumming it in the boot.  He cried and whinged so much that in the end, Jon gave in, and pushed the back rest down so that he could join him on the back seat instead.  

I was pleased that it calmed him down, but am now dubious that every time we get in the car there will be a Mariah Carey type rider as to what he needs before he gets in there.  

Inside the vets we were ushered in to see the nurse, and as before Barkley sat nicely on the table and took some treats.  Yay, we thought, it’ll be nice to have a dog who isn’t terrified of going to the vets for a change.  

Then he had the jabs.  

The needles were absolutely fine, but weirdly there was a ten second delay, and all of sudden the pair of us were puppy wrangling while he yelped and squirmed like a bucking bronco.  Jon tried holding him in his arms and got a nice scratch down his neck for his efforts.  

Still, at least it matches mine, that Barkley gave me earlier in the week! 

Im guessing neither Barkley OR Jon will be so relaxed next time we go to the vets.  

Anyway, back at home and after five days and nights of us living, eating and sleeping in the kitchen and dining room in a bid to keep Barkley confirmed to a small space for a while and not be overwhelmed, tonight was the night we finally introduced him to… the lounge.   

He had a lovely time sniffing his way around all the furniture, and squeezing himself into every single tiny space that he could…round the back of the sofa, where he tried to chew electric cables, and underneath a side table where he tried to knock off a lamp.  I thought we’d puppy proofed, but apparently not!  

It was exhausting running around after him, blocking off exploration routes with foot stools and box sets of dvd’s, but the little git, then turned into a four legged free runner, leaping over the stacked box sets of James Bond and Friends and swinging from the cushion covers.  It was a bit like watching ‘Its a Knock Out!’ 

Eventually at around 10pm, after a close call with the log burner furniture, and trying to eat the rug, he decided that his new favourite place was actually curled up in the smallest little ball possible on the hearth.  He just looked SO tiny it melted my heart. 

Finally, while the tiny destroyer slept we would be able to sit back on our usual spots on the sofa, and relax with a movie.  

We paid for and downloaded a film, which we started watching, before promptly falling asleep ten minutes later due to our puppy induced sleep deprivation.  

Never did see the end, but at least I remembered to set my alarm for the following morning…

Sherry x 

Stay tuned for more from The Dog House Diaries; or have a butchers at my feature about Fabulous Finn

If you liked what you read, please applaud by liking or sharing this post so that more people see it!  If you like my style, please sign up to my newsletter where each week I share real life, tips and storytelling.  You can also hire me to waffle for you! www.adropofsherry.com