I didn't want dogs because I wanted children. Children aren't as hairy and my dogs will never learn English.
Dogs don't date, and they don't mean I need to save for their university tuition. My dogs will never hang out in Osborne Village with torn jackets, rolling with a rough crowd pretending to be a homeless kid and then steal home at all hours of the night to raid my fridge.
My dogs will come upstairs to visit me when I'm reading blogs. They will fight to sit on my lap, and then watch intently as the computer screen changes while I type. My dogs read your blog. My children probably won't.
My dogs, in spite of their size, will steal butter off the kitchen counters. It involves Schipperke stacking, but I've seen it done. They will tear around my in-laws place at full speed barking and jumping and hiding. My Schip's will hide behind and under our huge claw foot tub. They steal my husband's toques.
They sit in the picture window and bark at the house down the street that has puppies inside it – because even though the puppies aren't in the yard, they still get the message. They sit in the picture window, hiding behind the curtains with just their heads sticking out and try to steal food out of my hands by popping out as I'm about to take a bite of toast. My dogs sit in the picture window and rest their heads on my shoulders, watching TV with me or examining my knitting.
My dogs know if my last row was knit or purl.
Sometimes, when I'm bundling them up in their snowsuits, snapping them into their car harnesses, or hearing my family refer to them as “The Boys” I feel like I'm in a little over my head. Like I'm being launched forward into some future world where we have babies and car seats and I have to worry about winter maternity wear.
Then one of them bites the other, or loses a puppy boot and I remind myself to calm down – they're only dogs, thank goodness!
New Tricks in Month Nine:
- When it's deemed too cold to go for a walk by the puppies (-35° C and colder), Mal flips onto his back and refuses to walk. After dragging him for 1 – 2 houses I always end the walk….because I don't want the neighbors to think I'm an animal abuser.
LAST UPDATED ON: January 6th, 2009
CATEGORY: All Posts
such a cute little baby :) Having dogs is definitely so rewarding.. how could you not love those little balls of fur?!
Love this post. I love my Edie pup even if she makes me crazy sometimes. She’s my baby!
I don’t blame them I wouldn’t go outside in -35 C weather. My pups don’t like going out when their is snow on the ground.
In the winter, our chihuahua constantly wears sweaters. Our Great Pyrennes mix never wants to come inside in the winter. He just wants to watch the chickens and enjoy his thick coat!
This is such a sweet post. & I love how much you love your dogs =). I can’t wait to end up with one, too. (And, it really does prepare you for kids! Even if you aren’t planning on it anytime soon)
too funny. yes, I’ve dragged my dog down the street, after he locks up and super glues himself to the sidewalk. I’m the girl hissing “damn it, get up you lazy thing”, and then picking him and taking him home.
Dogs over kids win handsdown, no contest. At least in my world.
Your dogs sound like they have the cutest personalities. Any chance of a vlog guest starring your puppies?
I love your blog. And your dogs. Great post, my cat is like a furry kid to me too :)
Seriously? I’ve never thought about dedicating a blog post to my puppies. What a great idea. Your dogs are adorable!
And that’s probably why my mom loves more my big furry lab than my sister and me.
How cute! I wish I was brave enough to have a dog. Just seems like so much work to handle all by myself…much like a child :-)
This was so cute! <3 I love when you said, “My dogs read your blog” Hahaha, adore that!
Sooo cute!! I don’t know how you manage to keep those booties on for even a minute, my Nahla would have none of it.
Your puppies are way too cute.
I had a dream not too long ago that I was in this giant office building with all of these escalators, and I lived there on a lower floor. I had my rat, and a new puppy! He was chocolate brown and the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Then there was this crazy guy that came in and started eating everyone. I ran away as fast as I could, and hid. Then, I got really worried for my pets and had to return to see if they were okay. But I wasn’t entirely sure. I woke up with a start, and the only thing that was on my mind was, “I can’t have a dog! It’s way too much responsibility!”
Haha. I don’t know how that managed to be the moral of the story. I guess because if I hadn’t had the dog, I would’ve been able to grab the rat and run away, but I couldn’t take both of them. Weird.
This was THE cutest entry. :] Your puppies sound so wonderful; much like my dog Sofie. She really is a close to a human as possible. & because of this, I could never want children. I am 100% satisfied with little Sofie. :]
Oh my goodness! This was the cutest post ever!
Its amazing out getting a “pet” can be more like having a child. Rocco has seriously helped prepare us for parenthood. Actual mothers roll their eyes and don’t believe me when i say that, but I truly believe it. And while I never thought I would be this attached to a dog, he seriously has been my child for 2 years now. I love him and he will definitely not be one of those dogs that gets banished to the backyard once baby comes. :-) He’ll always have a place… just maybe not in our bed anymore.
Dogs are so special.
They are like kids.
If Jack is sick, I go into what I call “mommy mode,” and I can’t sleep, worry about him and etc. Darling, my mother, informs me that it’s what it’s like to have a child!
Great post!
I’ve never had a pet, which most people find shockingly (especially since I love dogs). But my lifestyle just doesn’t allow for it. Someday though, I’m GETTING A PUPPY!
I love your blog!
Your dogs are SO cute. My long-haired chi doesn’t look like a chi, but he kind of looks like your dogs! I am actually scared to have kids after I realized how nuts I went over my dog.
If living in the Canadian Prairies means dressing your dog in adorable outfits, I’m totally moving there immediately!
Ha, great post! I skipped ahead and read the last line. Just had to check!
Help me pick a dog!!
So cute! This just makes me want a dog even more. *Sigh* Maybe one day!
There are a few times that, in my sleep, I’ve thrown the cat off the bed. And that’s why I have cats and not small humans.
I loved this post!
Stella is also a fan of butter. She’s always trying to get into the garbage to steal the discarded butter wrapping.
uh, the fact that it’s EVER -35C is HIGHLY ALARMING to me. i am pretty sure i would flop onto my back and require dragging as well.
Ash and Mal are good baby substitutes.
I love this line: “My dogs read your blog. My children probably won’t.”
I love this post! Mainly because we have a black pomeranian that through his growth spurt, everyone assumed he was a schipperke. Here’s our baby during his growing years :D
http://a301.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/89/l_0ce69f32f05cbbf5fb0db71e6a9752d4.jpg
http://a469.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/122/l_97b41a3ccc993d020ffc789adb519afc.jpg
http://a682.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/119/l_739e26f30b7a81eb13f543e54bb3bce9.jpg
http://a806.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/105/l_c6ebef40b91f30f2719591ec17e55815.jpg
See, I want children, but I want dogs first. It would be cruel for me to get a puppy now though since I’m not a homebody at this season in my life. Thanks for letting me live vicariously through yours instead.
I adore this post. I’m a dog mama too and I’m constantly amazed and amused by the things my Lola does.
My dogs are my children! And they also bark at the house with the big labs just because they think the curtains are moving. I love the “ladder” to get butter… if mine were a little bigger, it would totally happen.
This is probably one of the most adorable things I have ever read. I can definitely relate.
My dog hates walking in the super cold, too. She sits down every few houses. And I find myself having a conversation with her. More like a pep talk. C’mon. You wanna go run? Let’s go! It’s super frustrating. Especially because she has a coat. She has rubber souled booties. She should be fine! I feel your pain…
I was recently informed that our cat is “training” for me to be a mom and that I wasn’t doing very well. Boys! Keep warm :)
I love your dog…so cute with that little face. I chose a puppy over a baby. It seemed like the better choice and I still stand by it :-)
Hehe…My grandmother has 4 Schipperke. Much better than her grandchildren, she says. :) Seriously. She said this when I visited her last week! She said they mind better. Lol….
I love my doggy children. :)
hahaha… i used to drag my lhasa through the snow because he hated walking in it, i felt the same way about people seeing. it’s like when kids freak out in a store and parents try to act all calm and cool rather than flip out and grab them like they would do if there weren’t 65 strangers looking on.
dogs really aren’t any different than kids… except for the speaking and life span things
They really do become our children. I’ve always been under the assumption that if one cannot handle animals, they cannot handle children. So it looks like you’re on the right path! :)
Oh I so wish I could have aa dog… but The Boy is allergic!