Dog Sitting

If you are a grandparent, sooner or later you will become a dog sitter. If you happen to be one of those rare uninitiated persons, here is a hint: Dog sitting is kind of like babysitting except it’s harder. In the first place, you are dog sitting not for your children, but for your grandchildren. And their standards of required care for their beloved pooch are much, much higher. No tying the dog outside to a drafty old dog house, no siree, dogs nowadays are accustomed to sleeping inside, preferably on a bed – with blankets for those drafts that can suddenly arise from the night air. And, just so you don’t forget, the grandkids will be checking up on you, asking how Fido is enjoying your pillow.

Generally you’ll be dog sitting at home during the winter months while the kids and grandkids are vacationing somewhere that is warm, probably enjoying time on the beach. Meanwhile, you will be suiting up in your cold weather parka with you and the dog taking several trips outdoors so the dog can do his business. This can be annoying if it has snowed several inches and it is too dark to avoid stepping in a pile –  the dog won’t warn you about this either. Even more annoying is when you take the dog out and he doesn’t go …until later, when you don’t want to go back outdoors for the third or fourth time and you especially don’t want to be picking up frozen poop that was left on the sidewalk because the dog wouldn't trudge through the snow.

Dog sitting also means entertaining the mutt. Surely you didn’t think the dog only needs to be fed, watered, pooped, and put to bed, did you? High- strung dogs of today’s ilk need entertainment beyond a few simple dog toys; otherwise you can expect chewed furniture, broken lamps, upturned wastebaskets and other symptoms of doggy boredom, according to experts (and grandchildren who are knowledgeable in such matters). This means you must play with the dog, not canasta or bridge mind you, more like 'throw-the-stuffed-animal' or a game of 'tug' on the chewed, dog saliva-coated toy while the dog growls and jumps around your living room threatening to break the television. I've found dog games like these are not particularly enjoyable for older adults. Instead, I keep my parka handy for regular walks so the dog can sniff out secret places where other dogs have done their business and mark the same spot with his particular odor. It is kind of doggy Facebook and it keeps dogs entertained just like people.

So you probably have guessed that I am dog sitting just now. Here is my charge, Pocket. She is a pup – that means she is even harder to understand than an older animal.

 

 

This is her personal bean bag chair that she likes to make into a bed.

 

The cage provides her personal space.

 

She arrived with her own coat and luggage (the overnight bag) and lots of toys that now decorate our living room floor.

Here she is asking me when we are going outside again.

 

She really is kind of cute, don’t you think? I have to finish this blog since she just told me she is hungry, besides, she and I will be watching Jeopardy together after our walk.