November 16, 2012

Maybe She Needs a Sibling

I was actually going to write this post with just a quick update on our yard work, but then I looked at his picture again:
"Why won't you play with me??"


Yep, Rita is play-bowing to a down-spout. She's so desperate for a little playmate out in our (still crazy-disheveled) backyard that she is trying to entice a tube of tin into a game of chase.

Poor crazy kid.

(As a quick aside, the madness in that photo of our yard is the prep for pouring the concrete patio. At the moment they are using one of those tamper-downer-thingies -- sorry to get all technical on you there -- and it sounds like a helicopter is trying to land in our yard.)

Anyway, I think Rita would love a sibling, but I worry... We don't want to upset the apple cart. Our apple cart is a bit wobbly as it is, so it could be easily upset. For instance, Rita can be a pain to walk on leash. Off-leash, she's great - loves to meet other dogs. On-leash, not so much. We've been working hard on that and she's come a long way (in fact, the other day a random woman in the neighborhood walking her own calm, perfectly-behaved dog shouted across the street to us how impressed she was with Rita's progress). I don't want that to be set-back by adding in another crazy walker.

Like this guy:
Soldier. Isn't he wonderful???

This big gorgeous boy, named Soldier, is at HWAC right now. He has the most beautiful coat and is super soft, but look at that crazed look in his eyes! That look does not lie. He's super tall and jumped all over me when I went in to say hi to him. Much as I'd love to bring him home, I don't think we (I) can handle his energy on top of Rita's leash/protectiveness issues.

The only way I can see bringing another dog home is if that dog is super mellow. Like, as mellow as a tube of tin...

Other News
In some other quick news re: the book, earlier this week I wrote a guest blog post on the Chapter 1 - Take 1 blog about my "dream cast" for What the Dog Ate. You can also check out Sim's wonderful review for the book on the previous day's post. Thanks again to Sim for letting me fantasize about the movie version of my book!

In one of my crazier moments, I even tweeted Debra Messing this morning and sent her the link to my dream cast post. I'm sure she's going to get right on reading my book, and then she'll get her agent to call all her important movie producer friends. (It really is a perfect role for her...)

This week I also got a lovely review on the wonderful I Still Want More Puppies blog. This is a really fun blog and you are almost always guaranteed to find something to make you laugh or go "Awwww!" You also have to, at a minimum, check out the lovely Bella whose adorable face graces the blog masthead.

Advice?
If you have any advice on adding a doggy sibling, I'd love to hear it in the comments. (A guy at the beach the other day said "Don't do it!" as he walked with his two crazed pups. I think we'll probably take his advice, but we'll see...)

8 comments:

  1. POOR Rita! That is a sad playmate! Rocket really feels for her! Not having a playmate can be lonely BUT he sure gets a lot of attention and treats. I don't think he'd like to share now that he is number 1! Maybe Rita wouldn't mind sharing.

    Hope your yard gets in order soon! It'll sure be nice!

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  2. That dog is cute but his eyes just scream, I'm a WILD and CRAZY guy.

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  3. get a KITTY sibling!

    Barks and licks and love, Dakota
    www.dakotasden.wordpress.com

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  4. Have you ever considered fostering? Or foster to adopt? Just to see how it goes?

    It certainly sounds like you're tempted.

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  5. I'm like Rita - I'd love a sibling - Mum used to have 2 Goldens, but Dad says one of me is enough? However, I do have my buddy Cosmo next door who I see every day, so it's nearly like having a sibling….

    The foster idea sounds good :)

    Hope you're having a fun day :)

    Your pal Snoopy :)

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  6. My experience: I had Timba for 18 years. During the last year of her life, I got Hobie (he was a puppy). It was a perfect transition. Timba "trained" Hobie. Timba died in May of that year. Six months later, we adopted Hector, also a pup. (ha ha joke there). Having 2 males the same age was a huge challenge, at times I thought I would lose it! They dragged me down on the ground, oh it was awful. But as they aged, they became the best dogs in the world. Hector died last year. Five months later, we got Charlie Brown (a puppy). The circle starts all over again, Hobie, now almost 13, "trained" Charlie. Four months ago, we adopted Charlie's brother, Cooper, who was returned to rescue and had to have his leg amputated. They are real brothers, same litter. I was afraid to have 3 dogs, I had never done it. Cooper walked in, and brought with him IMMEDIATE balance into our household. Just the opposite of what we were afraid of ! You have to make your own decision, but I just wanted to share my experience. Make sure if you do adopt, you get a dog who has the same or lower energy as you. I have two "handicapped" dogs and one crazy-but-lazy!
    Good luck, keep us posted

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  7. You know, I once thought Bella was play bowing to our gutter, and it turned out that there was a chipmunk inside it that she had cornered. I'm just saying... ;)

    And having recently(ish) added a new pup, I say it's worth checking out. Though I like Pamela's idea of starting with fostering or fostering to adopt... I love my Tavish, but I think it would have been easier for me to go that route than just jumping in with both feet!

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  8. That pup is definitely cute, but his eyes scream "Bernie Bin Ladin #2!"

    We ended up with Finchy, because Chili Dawg was lonely. They were only 6 months apart in age, but Chili Dawg was the mellower of the 2 of them. When we lost Chili Dawg to the bone cancer, Finchy was lonely, which was how we ended up with 5 year old Buster. Finchy is training him to be good, but he is naughty at times. He is pretty mellow as well, but he does have more energy than Finchy does now (but there is a 5 year age difference).

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