The hardest part of having 3 dogs is that just when dog # 1 settled into a routine, dog # 2 disrupted it. Now that dog #1 AND # 2 have settled into a routine together, dog # 3 came along and disrupted it. I'm wishing I could fast forward 3 weeks or so when they have all settled into the same routine as well. Then life will be a lot less hectic.
My current routine is wake up when Rob gets up. Chelsea has been having tummy issues lately so there is almost always a mess to clean (though she has done it on the potty patch and on the bathroom rug mostly, so it is a lot easier to clean than the carpet). Once Chelsea's mess is taken care of, Charlotte has to be woken up to go potty, or else she'll wait until I'm in the middle of something else and demand I take her then. Then Chloe comes out of her nighttime kennel and I take her right over to the potty patch where she immediately does her business.
Then I put Chloe in her play pen, where she has food, water, toys, and her bed (and a wee wee pad just in case).
She plays in there with her toys while I get Chelsea ready for her morning walk. I'm usually walking out the door with Chelsea for her walk at the same time Rob is leaving for work. By the time I get back home with Chelsea and give her and Charlotte their morning rawhide bones, Rob is texting me that he is at work.
Chelsea is warming up a lot more lately. Now she goes and sits by the gate at the top of the steps when she wants to go out. I come over and put on her harness and leash and we go from there. She is also letting me pet her more when she is on the floor/walking around. And she is listening more to "Come here". When she is in the other room, I'll go in there and tell her to come here and she almost always follows me. Gone are the days of having to carry her everywhere.
I even took her to stop in at the Leasing Office in our community. They have dog treats there and I figured it would get her used to unfamiliar places and seeing people. She didn't want to walk in at first, and the maintenance guy (same guy who comes to the apartment) came over to see her. He has a min pin at home and was shocked at how Chelsea was so afraid. He thought it was sad whatever her previous owners did to her to make her this way. But he let her sniff him and then reached out and pet her, and even though she tensed up, she let him and was a very good girl about the whole thing. In the end, she got the dog treat for it. :)
Yesterday was funny. I was giving myself a manicure/pedicure and was trimming my nails. I look up after about 2 minutes and see Chelsea, sitting up, staring at me with her teeth showing (it almost looked like she was just sitting there smiling at me). She looked so vicious and angry that the hairs on my arm stood up! I figured out that she hates nail clippers. Kinda like how Charlotte hated tape measures and as soon as you'd start to pull the tape out she'd show her teeth and growl. So I went over to her with the clippers (as soon as I got close to her she stopped showing her teeth) and she sniffed them for a little bit and then I showed her how it worked by clipping one of my nails, and she was fine with it after that. It was funny, but freaky at the same time. Only two other times have I seen her do that, once when poor little blind Charlotte jumped up on the couch and didn't mean to but hit her in the face. The second time was when Chloe was being rambunctious and climbing and pawing at Chelsea's face. So we make sure to monitor Chloe around both the girls to make sure she isn't annoying them too much.
Chloe has her new play pen. I took her to PetSmart yesterday to pick it out. She also got some new toys (a little ball and a tiny rope bone with a stuffed animal attached to it). She already ripped the stuffed animal head off of the rope bone. Poor little guy, who I named Oscar, only lived one day in this house before the wrath of Chloe was brought down on his soul. :)
She also got a name tag, but unfortunately the ones the other girls have are too heavy for her (probably weigh as much as she does). So I got her the smallest I could find, which ironically fit her personality the best.
The other day, before I bought her any toys, I gave her this little stuffed dog (almost as big as she is). I got it from Victoria Secret when I bought a whole bunch of stuff during one of their promotions once. Well it came with a little hoodie on the dog. I wondered if it would fit her since she as practically the same size as the stuffed dog. I had to cut the middle part so I could get it over her giant head, but it fit and she looked adorable in it.
Charlotte and Chelsea have been stuck together like glue. If Charlotte wanders into the bedroom to nap, Chelsea follows. If Charlotte comes back in the living room, Chelsea follows. It's cute. It makes me wonder if Chelsea is really only 1 year old, or if she is older than that. Even though she is active outside she seems very lazy when inside. Maybe she just still needs to warm up a bit more. I just expected a 1 year old to get tired of sleeping and want to play at some point, but we'll see. Or maybe she is just following what Charlotte does.
Here is a great photo from the other night. Rob and I were watching a movie and Chelsea was sleeping next to Rob, Charlotte was by his feet, and Chloe was in his arms. He looked like the Dog Whisperer with his mini pack. :)
My current routine is wake up when Rob gets up. Chelsea has been having tummy issues lately so there is almost always a mess to clean (though she has done it on the potty patch and on the bathroom rug mostly, so it is a lot easier to clean than the carpet). Once Chelsea's mess is taken care of, Charlotte has to be woken up to go potty, or else she'll wait until I'm in the middle of something else and demand I take her then. Then Chloe comes out of her nighttime kennel and I take her right over to the potty patch where she immediately does her business.
Then I put Chloe in her play pen, where she has food, water, toys, and her bed (and a wee wee pad just in case).
She plays in there with her toys while I get Chelsea ready for her morning walk. I'm usually walking out the door with Chelsea for her walk at the same time Rob is leaving for work. By the time I get back home with Chelsea and give her and Charlotte their morning rawhide bones, Rob is texting me that he is at work.
Chelsea is warming up a lot more lately. Now she goes and sits by the gate at the top of the steps when she wants to go out. I come over and put on her harness and leash and we go from there. She is also letting me pet her more when she is on the floor/walking around. And she is listening more to "Come here". When she is in the other room, I'll go in there and tell her to come here and she almost always follows me. Gone are the days of having to carry her everywhere.
I even took her to stop in at the Leasing Office in our community. They have dog treats there and I figured it would get her used to unfamiliar places and seeing people. She didn't want to walk in at first, and the maintenance guy (same guy who comes to the apartment) came over to see her. He has a min pin at home and was shocked at how Chelsea was so afraid. He thought it was sad whatever her previous owners did to her to make her this way. But he let her sniff him and then reached out and pet her, and even though she tensed up, she let him and was a very good girl about the whole thing. In the end, she got the dog treat for it. :)
Yesterday was funny. I was giving myself a manicure/pedicure and was trimming my nails. I look up after about 2 minutes and see Chelsea, sitting up, staring at me with her teeth showing (it almost looked like she was just sitting there smiling at me). She looked so vicious and angry that the hairs on my arm stood up! I figured out that she hates nail clippers. Kinda like how Charlotte hated tape measures and as soon as you'd start to pull the tape out she'd show her teeth and growl. So I went over to her with the clippers (as soon as I got close to her she stopped showing her teeth) and she sniffed them for a little bit and then I showed her how it worked by clipping one of my nails, and she was fine with it after that. It was funny, but freaky at the same time. Only two other times have I seen her do that, once when poor little blind Charlotte jumped up on the couch and didn't mean to but hit her in the face. The second time was when Chloe was being rambunctious and climbing and pawing at Chelsea's face. So we make sure to monitor Chloe around both the girls to make sure she isn't annoying them too much.
She also got a name tag, but unfortunately the ones the other girls have are too heavy for her (probably weigh as much as she does). So I got her the smallest I could find, which ironically fit her personality the best.
The other day, before I bought her any toys, I gave her this little stuffed dog (almost as big as she is). I got it from Victoria Secret when I bought a whole bunch of stuff during one of their promotions once. Well it came with a little hoodie on the dog. I wondered if it would fit her since she as practically the same size as the stuffed dog. I had to cut the middle part so I could get it over her giant head, but it fit and she looked adorable in it.
Charlotte and Chelsea have been stuck together like glue. If Charlotte wanders into the bedroom to nap, Chelsea follows. If Charlotte comes back in the living room, Chelsea follows. It's cute. It makes me wonder if Chelsea is really only 1 year old, or if she is older than that. Even though she is active outside she seems very lazy when inside. Maybe she just still needs to warm up a bit more. I just expected a 1 year old to get tired of sleeping and want to play at some point, but we'll see. Or maybe she is just following what Charlotte does.
Here is a great photo from the other night. Rob and I were watching a movie and Chelsea was sleeping next to Rob, Charlotte was by his feet, and Chloe was in his arms. He looked like the Dog Whisperer with his mini pack. :)
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