the sucky parts

Since Woz is sick, he can't be around Lebowski. Boo. It's very difficult to balance the guilt of letting the beagle in and not letting the dog that's been with us a year in when he's in, then dealing with Woz whining when the dude is inside and he's not. Also hearing Woz hack his guts out is really sad. 

Obviously, when changing one dog in and the other out, they are drawn to each other like magnets, they want to sniff and play and tails are wagging like crazy. Yay! Just what we wanted. Just can't have it yet.

Woz and the cats are dealing way too well together. I dunno if his lethargic attitude is overwhelming his hound sensibilities but he seems to have no genuine interest in the cats, which as egotistical cats would have it, suits them just fine. Yesterday Woz napped at my feet and LJ in my lap. I guess after rambunctious Lebowski, they fear no dog. Even Gadget could care less.

I know you guys aren't cat people. I freaking am. I love that they just cuddle and sleep with you and are potty trained. I don't have to walk them, I don't have to do anything for them besides feed and water them and clean out their litter box. Level of commitment with a cat is minimal, thus fantastic for me. I am very proud of how well my guys are doing with all the changes in our home. I've grown to appreciate them more and more every day as they have appreciated Charlie Rose more and more.

This guy. We've had two rough nights of howling with him. Today he decided to start scratching at the door like a zombie killer lion was after him. Uncool. I got the squirt bottle out because I know that kinda behavior would piss the crap out of Ceaser and he would NOT STAND FOR IT and neither would I. You have to show them who's boss. Two squirts. He stopped. Discipline. Pack leader = us dang it. We say when, we say who, we say how much. Oh wait that's Pretty Woman. Woz is testing us, I know it. He's howling and barking when separated, just like Wikipedia told me he would. But he's gotta learn to be alone for now when we're not home 'cause after he gets better, he still has to deal with surgery and ANOTHER two weeks of isolation before he gets to just hang out in the back with his new brother Lebowski. He's quite the snuggler though. He comes in and goes right for the couch, lays down as close as doggily possible and gets lovin'. No wonder he hates being away from us.

I had a bad attitude about the howling last night. I went to bed and ignored it and Matt came downstairs to deal with it. I was feeling like we'd made a huge GOB sized mistake. I wanted to take him back to the shelter. We never had these problems with the dude.

This morning, I was singing a different tune. I didn't want Matt to feel like it was all his problem and he had to deal with it. This is OUR dog. He belongs to US and we won't quit on him after only a few days. I just gotta brush up on my Dog Whispering and be patient. Things are always hard at first.