Dog Days

A few thoughts from a relatively new dog owner. With all of two and a half months of dog parenting under my belt, I figured I’d throw together a short list of observations:

1 – Pockets of Kibble: I’ve found I seem to have a little kibble or a few liver snacks in the pockets of every coat and pair of pants I own. Around the house this is actually kind of nice, as I can readily award Jäger for good behavior. At school, however, the doggy treats have not been quite as handy. Oh… and in case you were wondering, kibble doesn’t hold up well in the laundry.

2 – Crowded Bed: At first we crated Jäger every night. We actually had little choice; he had a taste for power cords and wasn’t very discriminating in when and where he relieved himself. He’s a quick learner though and it didn’t take him long to finagle a spot at the foot of our bed every night. He’s had little trouble wrapping us around his little paw, but in this case it’s worked out alright; he keeps our toes warm and loves to sleep in, just like my wife.

3 – Spontaneity Killer: No more road trips on the flip of a dime. Even planned trips present a bit of a problem these days unless we’re bringing Jäger along. In fact, we can’t even hit dinner after school and work without skedaddling home first. We feel bad making Jäger hold his bladder for more than 8 hours, which is a good thing because he can’t seem to hold it for more than 6.

4 – Michael Moore Lover: Yup. That’s right. Our boy loves the mighty Michael Moore. My in-laws gave Jäger a Michael Moore chew toy for Christmas and it’s become far and away his favorite thing to chew on. In fact, he’s gnawing on it right now.