Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Missing Maisy

I really miss having only one dog. Not because I don't love the other three, and not even because of the difficulty integrating two households (read: fights). But because I just don't have enough time with my Maisy. The other three need more in terms of training. The other three need more exercise (Maisy's stamina is much lower since she's been sick). And the other three are just... I dunno, needier.

Any time I sit down, this happens:


And Maisy? Well, she doesn't value cuddling nearly enough to share her space with another dog. Or even to resource guard my lap. (Unless I have food. Then she turns into Cujo.)

What Maisy does value is her tennis ball, and whoever will throw her tennis ball. In this case, my fiance. When we're all together, I have at least one and probably three dogs draped across me, while Maisy is dropping a ball at Cesar's feet.

It's more than that, though. I very rarely get one-on-one time with Maisy. She and I share everything with at least another dog now. Our bed, our meals, our walks.

She even has to share her beauty shots!

This is no one's fault but my own, of course, but it's becoming clear to me that Maisy deserves some momma time... and that I deserve Maisy time. I'm hoping that this will be easier once we've moved and are settled. Right now my fiance and I basically live together in two apartments, and it's just awkward sometimes. But really, I know that I need to prioritize alone time with Maisy- and all my dogs, honestly.

POSTSCRIPT
So, I wrote and scheduled this post on Thursday last week. I guess Maisy can read, because Friday night, she was wedged next to Lola on my lap. Saturday morning, she was the snuggliest dog ever. So freaking weird. I don't have this post scheduled for a few more days... very curious to see what Maisy does next.

2 comments:

Nina Wernick said...

Hi! I can't help but know how you feel! I have only two - Talos, who is my heart dog, and Kira, who we recently 'inherited' from a family member who basically left her outside, all alone, for the past five years. Kira has issues, she resource guards, she had ZERO basic obedience (or even any concept that humans are nice and that you want to work with them). She needs so much more training and attention right now than Talos does, and frankly, I miss her!
But, we go to agility, just the two of us, and this is sheer magic. We have fun, we bond, we cuddle, we play, we consume obscene amounts of treats... well, her more than me.
I know agility is not the answer, but why don't you take at least a weekly Maisy break? Take some time, head to a park, and play ball with only Maisy and you. Sit and watch the sunset, share a few licks of an ice cream cone (if Maisy will be ok with that), just be the two of you. With a hectic work schedule I often feel like I should just skip training and sleep, but every time I make myself go, and every time I'm glad I did. I feel better, my relationship with my dog is better, and I have more energy for other things, despite having run around like a crazy person :)

Leema said...

I know the feeling! Having more dogs mean less time with my darling Clover. :(