Everything's relative. People who don't have any kids (me) wonder how families with even two or three kids can manage. I think it's the same with dogs.
We have four dogs. I run in dog-people circles – four dogs isn't considered a lot to dog people. But if you don't have a dog, four can seem unlivable.
We've temporarily added a fifth dog. Just for a week. Rocky, the very first service dog we raised, is back for a visit/vacation. It's always wonderful to see him – it's dreadfully hard to give up a dog you've raised for two years, so we love having him back for visits.
Adding one more dog, however, makes more of a difference than you might imagine. It's not just the extra dog – that part's easy. What's one more dog when you already have four?
The hard part is trying to divvy up your attention so each dog gets all the love, attention, training, and playing they need. Two of the dogs are used to going with me every time I leave the house: Talos, the service dog in training, and Rocky, the working service dog.
Believe it or not, it's those little things – deciding who gets to go – that makes five dogs harder than four. I love having them all. And if I thought I could bring more into the house (and still have a husband), I'd do it in an instant. What can I say, I'm a dog-lover…
Glad to hear Rocky is back for a visit. So who is coming to #FredNMT? Enjoy your time with all of them.
The easy answer would be Rocky! He’s a veteran – I could take him anywhere and he’d be happy and perfectly behaved. He could even *help* me if I dropped something, as he’s trained as a wheelchair assistance dog – he knows how to pick things up, deliver to hand, all kinds of handy things!
Talos will be coming with me, though. He needs the exposure, the experience, the practice. He’ll be more challenging, surely, as he’s definitely NOT a veteran like Rocky. I hope we’ll be fine, though. Or at least I hope his antics bring laughter, not sharp intakes of breath! 😉
And still have a husband. ROFLOL
I think having two dogs is hard sometimes! Of course I’m splitting my time between two dogs, a cat, a horse, a donkey, nine goats and waaaaaay too many chickens, so I guess I see your point. 😀 Enjoy him while he’s home. I’ve always wanted to try my hand as a service dog puppy raiser, but wonder how I could handle giving them back!
The giving them back part is not my favorite part. I’m already thinking about T’s turn-in day. And dreading it. When you raise a pup from 8 weeks and then have to just give them back, your heart breaks. There’s no other way around it. But I know going in that’s the way it’s going to be, but it doesn’t soothe the hurt on turn-in day. Only time — and seeing the dog make someone’s life richer – helps that.