Days Without Dogs

I was away for work recently and had to leave the girls home.

Days are so different without dogs.

I woke up to my alarm clock instead of Ivy whining under the door to let me know she’s awake…and drinking my coffee was too easy…since no one was laying on top of me while I tried to sip it.

I was in San Diego, CA and there were dogs everywhere…and I mean everywhere.

They were in coffee shops, in restaurants…running besides their owners while they were roller blading. It really made me wish it was more acceptable around here to bring your dog different places. Service dogs are generally welcome, but I wish more outdoor patios would allow them…it would definitely force me to work on the girl’s social skills a little more…

But seeing the dogs everywhere, made me miss my girls at home.

Luckily, I was only gone for a week and since coming home, they have not left my side.

Poor little Ivy was stressed without me.

She was still her happy self…carrying socks and wiggling her butt…so she didn’t seem upset. But when I arrived home, I noticed she had rashes from being anxious (who knew that was a thing with dogs).

She had spots on her belly and under her armpits that were red and itchy…but, nothing a little CBD couldn’t clear up.
[You can read all about the kind we use here.]

Since I’ve been home, Ivy has cuddled with me non-stop…she really knows how to show you she loves you.

Addie on the other hand just missed me playing with her…

She has now gone to the lengths of dropping her tennis ball in the shower for me, to let me know that she’s ready to play at any time.

This week, we’ve upgraded from one tennis ball in the shower…to two. After she drops them, she doesn’t know how to get them out…so she waits in the bathroom, under the shower curtain and cries until I hand the ball to her.

It’s forced play time – pretty smart.

Then she starts all over again at our next spot in the house…dropping the ball at my feet to make sure I know she’s ready and willing to play with me.

Being without them for a week really made me think about the impact dog’s have on your life. It just isn’t the same without them.

It was quiet walking into my hotel room every night…but made me realize that dogs are there for you even when you don’t think they are.

When you’re happy – they’re there.
When your stressed from work – they’re there.
When you just want to hang and watch TV – they’re there.

And when you get home after a long week away – they’re there and happier than ever.

Their whole life revolves around their humans…while their human’s lives are revolving around so many additional aspects in life.

They say time passes differently for dogs – I was only gone a week, but was it a week to them? Did they wait around all day, thinking I was just at the store? Did they think about me like I thought about them?

According to How Stuff Works, dogs only live in the present moment. They don’t have the ability to have memories like we do, but they have internal biological rhythms which works like an internal clock to them.

It’s quite fascinating and something we will definitely be exploring in a future blog post.

I like to think the girls missed me and that the time I was gone was shorter for them than it felt for me. They live their whole life to be companions to our family, while the family has many other responsibilities and tasks to complete on a daily basis. It really makes me value all of the time that I’m able to spend with them, and appreciate all of the love they bring to our home.

Today’s Lesson: according to Roger Caras, “dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.” For your dog, you are their whole life. Time is precious…both theirs and ours. Enjoy every minute that you have of it with them.

#blog-63