Dog!
So, last weekend we adopted a dog. We've been tossing the idea of getting a dog around for years, really, but we lately decided that a dog might help with the girl's anxieties in addition to being a family companion who could help us be better about going for walks and getting fresh air.
Meet Coda:
She's a shepherd mix. That's what they told us, anyway, and we can certainly see shepherd. Also maybe lab. The rescue ladies thought also maybe some cattle dog? But she's not very big, so there must be a smaller breed in there somewhere. She's a little younger than the shelter estimated, I think. More like 10 months than a year. So she's got a lot of chewing and digging and shoe-stealing impulses in her. She's super intelligent and submissive, though, so she backs off pretty much right away when you tell her not to do something. We're still keeping the dog and the cat apart, which is pretty inconvenient, but so far things are going well with them getting to know each other (knock on wood!), so I'm hopeful we'll get to a place where they can be free in the house together. We bought the cat a fancy cat tower so she can be up high and feel safe and superior:
I think we'll put a cat door in between my office and the garage studio/laundry area so the cat can get away from the dog when she needs to. I love that we're getting out for nice walks twice a day--and I love that our new neighborhood is so nice for walking. This would have been a totally different and much less enjoyable experience before we moved.
In other news, we're picking up trees to plant in the park strip in front of the house tomorrow, so I need to go start digging some holes. I'm not deluded enough to think that I'll get very far, but I don't want my dad to try and do the whole thing tomorrow. I can at least investigate how difficult it's going to be.
Meet Coda:
She's a shepherd mix. That's what they told us, anyway, and we can certainly see shepherd. Also maybe lab. The rescue ladies thought also maybe some cattle dog? But she's not very big, so there must be a smaller breed in there somewhere. She's a little younger than the shelter estimated, I think. More like 10 months than a year. So she's got a lot of chewing and digging and shoe-stealing impulses in her. She's super intelligent and submissive, though, so she backs off pretty much right away when you tell her not to do something. We're still keeping the dog and the cat apart, which is pretty inconvenient, but so far things are going well with them getting to know each other (knock on wood!), so I'm hopeful we'll get to a place where they can be free in the house together. We bought the cat a fancy cat tower so she can be up high and feel safe and superior:
I think we'll put a cat door in between my office and the garage studio/laundry area so the cat can get away from the dog when she needs to. I love that we're getting out for nice walks twice a day--and I love that our new neighborhood is so nice for walking. This would have been a totally different and much less enjoyable experience before we moved.
In other news, we're picking up trees to plant in the park strip in front of the house tomorrow, so I need to go start digging some holes. I'm not deluded enough to think that I'll get very far, but I don't want my dad to try and do the whole thing tomorrow. I can at least investigate how difficult it's going to be.