Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Finding Balance

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We have a tradition in our house when we first come home.

We must pay homage to the King.  I know I’ve written about this before, but this post is more about balancing attention between Sampson and Delilah.

Delilah typically greets us at the door, while Sampson will wait at the top of the stairs.   Once the initial greeting is over and you have gone to unload your packages or put your lunch stuff away one of two things will happen with each of the dogs.

Sampson will 1) take one of his bones and lie there licking and gnawing the bone all the while pretending that he doesn’t care what you are doing, or 2)  he will just lie on the floor waiting for you to finish what you are doing and go love on him.

Delilah will 1) grab her favorite toy or bone and roll around on her back playing with the toy or 2) be all up in your stuff, pushing her way through begging for attention.

With Delilah requiring so much work and attention I often times feel like Sampson takes a back seat and this makes me feel very sad.

Like Kirsten and Lamar at Peaceful Dog, I do my best to make sure Sampson gets the attention first.  As soon as my arms are free I head on over and lay on the floor with him, rubbing his face, his ears his tummy.

For the longest time I was trying to give Delilah the same kind of attention I was giving Sampson, but it just didn’t seem to be working.  A couple of weeks (or so) ago, I read somewhere about giving little massages to your dogs.

I decided to try it with Delilah.

Instead of soft, little caresses, Delilah gets deep, stimulating massage.  I will massage her shoulders, her back and the tops of her back legs.  I also will give her a little head massage.

Delilah loves her massages, instead of rolling over and taking off like she used to do, she now stands there calmly letting me massage her.  I’ve recently started naming it and asking her if she wants her massage, so she begins to recognize what comes next.

Who knows if the word cookie, dinner or snack can get her jumping around, maybe the word massage will calm her down. 🙂

In my opinion when you have two entirely different dogs, it’s all about find balance and I really feel like I’m finally getting a handle on it.

Are there any special rituals you do with your dog(s)?  If you have more than one, have you found a balance, a way to give each dog what they need?

Happy Mother's Day

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I dragged my butt out of bed just before six this morning and headed out to the Woodstock Fairgrounds.  There was an AKC match today and my friend Ann and I were Stewards in the Rally/Utility Ring.

The morning started out a little on the chilly side, but by this afternoon it had warmed up to about 80/85 degrees.

The last time we Stewarded we only worked in the Rally Ring, this time we added Utility.

Unfortunately I left my camera in the car and didn’t pick it up until after the lunch break so my pictures are limited.  But I did catch a couple of really cute ones that I thought I’d share.

Enjoy and whether your baby is human, fur, feather or fin, HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!

This lab placed first in her class.

A pretty Bichon waiting for the show ring.

 

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

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A couple of nights ago I was lying in bed reading, Delilah was stretched out across my feet and Sampson was stretched out between Hubby and me.

I shut the light off, lifted Delilah’s head so I could shift my feet and rolled over onto my side, sticking my face into Sampson’s. We lay there like that for a few minutes, our chests moving in perfect sync as we inhaled, exhaled, inhaled, exhaled, each taking what we needed from the other.

Ok, so it was really me getting what I needed, Sampson could have cared less.

All of a sudden with no warning Sampson blew out his breath and rolled over onto his back, legs up in the air.  I obliged him by reaching over and rubbing his belly.

As I did, I had a thought about how very different my dogs truly are from each other, even in sleep.

Delilah has rarely spent the night anywhere else besides our bed.  When she first joined our pack I fought a nightly battle with her.  I would wake up and she would be on the bed and I would get up and drag her off.

All. Night. Long.

Eventually I gave up and gave in, it was just plain easier.

For all her issues, Delilah is a very quiet and still sleeper.  She normally curls up on either my or Hubby’s feet and that is generally where she remains all night.  If she gets up to shift position, it’s not noticeable at all.

This big, pushy, won’t take no for an answer, I demand you pay attention to me, bull in a China shop dog, is very dainty, quiet and feminine when she sleeps.

Sampson on the other hand is a very restless sleeper, he changes positions frequently, not just rolling over but getting up, turning around and most of the time he simply flomps down.  If your body part happens to be in the way, well he just lies on it.  When Sampson moves we generally know it.

There are two dog beds in our room, one at the foot and one on my side of the bed.  The one at the foot is one of those really big, over-sized beds.  The one on my side has seen better days, it’s getting low on fluff and probably should be replaced.

Sampson now will sleep in our bed only in the cooler weather, and by that I mean winter.  Even with the cooler weather we are having now, it gets too warm for him.  Don’t get me wrong he always starts out on the bed but sometime within the first couple hours, after tossing and turning, he will get up and go sleep on one of the beds on the floor.

Even with him off the bed, Delilah still remains curled up in a ball or stretched out across the foot of the bed.  She rarely if ever ventures further.

It’s almost like they switch personalities when they sleep.

Do you notice anything about your dog’s sleeping patterns as opposed to their every day personality?  Do you have a peaceful sleeper or a restless sleeper?

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