We just moved across the country and are now in Edmonton living with my boyfriend's brother and sister-in-law. They have a little beagle who has sort of piqued my curiosity. I'm interested to know: in comparison to what you consider the "average", how much time do you spend with your dog and how well mannered are they (not necessarily connected).
I keep whispering to my dogs a out how lucky they are. I spend as much time as possible with my dogs. I walk them at least once a day, we go to agility a few times a week, I take them on trips to pet stores even when we don't need anything, I take them hiking or to dog parks. If I'm going to a non-dog thing I do my best to take the dogs with me. Whenever I go to frisbee games or practices I bring the dogs and tether them with my stuff. I stop in to pet them whenever I come off the field, I take them on our warm up run, and I let them run and play disc before and after the game/practice.
In contrast this little beagle almost never leaves the house except to go out in the backyard. I think I've seen him get taken on a grand total of 2 walks in the last month. When I take my dogs out he often stands at the door and tries to squeeze out with us. The only place he gets to go is to my sister-in-law's parents' house which is down the street. And even when they are home they don't really spend any specific dedicated time with him. I mean, they cuddle on the couch while watching t.v. and he might wander around in the yard while they do yard work.
And then manners... I won't say he's horrible but so far he has stolen my salad off the kitchen table when I turned my back to let my dogs back inside. He stole Jarrett's sandwich off the counter when he popped his head out the back door to answer his brother. Oh, and he chewed out the pocket of my scrubs because he smelled crumbs. He was also throwing our bathroom trash all over the floor and eating used feminine hygiene products (sorry if that's TMi). We had to set up a baby gate to keep him out of our space in the basement. And he HOWLS at everything and nothing. I know he's a beagle and a lot of these are beagle behaviours ad really he's not that bad compared to what some dogs must be like. And he's a sweet, laid back dog otherwise. But man, I could not tolerate that in my own house. I do not expect to be able to leave a plate of food out all day and not have it be eaten, but I do expect to be able to turn my back while in the same room as the food and not have it eaten. And Kili still spends a lot of time in a crate precisely because she's not totally trustworthy yet.
We move into our own house August 1. I cannot wait.
I keep whispering to my dogs a out how lucky they are. I spend as much time as possible with my dogs. I walk them at least once a day, we go to agility a few times a week, I take them on trips to pet stores even when we don't need anything, I take them hiking or to dog parks. If I'm going to a non-dog thing I do my best to take the dogs with me. Whenever I go to frisbee games or practices I bring the dogs and tether them with my stuff. I stop in to pet them whenever I come off the field, I take them on our warm up run, and I let them run and play disc before and after the game/practice.
In contrast this little beagle almost never leaves the house except to go out in the backyard. I think I've seen him get taken on a grand total of 2 walks in the last month. When I take my dogs out he often stands at the door and tries to squeeze out with us. The only place he gets to go is to my sister-in-law's parents' house which is down the street. And even when they are home they don't really spend any specific dedicated time with him. I mean, they cuddle on the couch while watching t.v. and he might wander around in the yard while they do yard work.
And then manners... I won't say he's horrible but so far he has stolen my salad off the kitchen table when I turned my back to let my dogs back inside. He stole Jarrett's sandwich off the counter when he popped his head out the back door to answer his brother. Oh, and he chewed out the pocket of my scrubs because he smelled crumbs. He was also throwing our bathroom trash all over the floor and eating used feminine hygiene products (sorry if that's TMi). We had to set up a baby gate to keep him out of our space in the basement. And he HOWLS at everything and nothing. I know he's a beagle and a lot of these are beagle behaviours ad really he's not that bad compared to what some dogs must be like. And he's a sweet, laid back dog otherwise. But man, I could not tolerate that in my own house. I do not expect to be able to leave a plate of food out all day and not have it be eaten, but I do expect to be able to turn my back while in the same room as the food and not have it eaten. And Kili still spends a lot of time in a crate precisely because she's not totally trustworthy yet.
We move into our own house August 1. I cannot wait.