Wow!
We've had snow, ice, and lots of rain. Some days have been spectacularly beautiful and up in the 60's. Others have been in the 50's, but windy and rainy. When the weather is a'changin' the dogs they are amazin'!
There's something about the pouring rain that seems to prevent me from rushing around at 430 am to get the dogs ready to hie out the door for our walk. There's also something about the rain that prevents the dogs from being excited about going outdoors for even the simplest bowel and bladder evacuation - except Skally and Rusty.
Rusty tiptoes out the front stoop and wanders out to the front grass, does his thing and then rushes back in with a hop and a flair that is definitely his own. He has verve - and it actually doesn't matter if it's raining or not - he's just slower to go out when it's raining.
Skally, though, walks out regally, sniffs the air, looks around and then begins her inspection of the street. Shall I say a very thorough inspection; she goes directly next door where Samson's old home was, and then to the new neighbor's house (where I try to shoo her back up to the house, as I'm typically in bathrobe, jimjams, and slippers, and hate being out there.
I do tend to venture out with her and Samson as I fear coyotes roaming the area - we do find remnants of cats and small dogs here and there, and have seen the feral canines roaming about. Some neighbors down the way have stories about sighting cats being snatched right off their lawn by the hungry hounds in the wee hours - so I tend to be vigilant on our walks - especially in the school yard down the way. I let the dogs off leash there, being careful to pick up after them. Years ago, Skally chased off a coyote, and as we approached the school from another direction, on another day, she chased off a cougar.
Yes, we have wildlife - from coyotes, cougars and deer, to peacocks that somehow appear to run up and down the streets avoiding capture - but not our ears. Those suckers are really annoying! One of my former neighbors called animal control about one that was making herself at home in my yard and they told her not to worry. They also offered to give her the recipe for Peacock Under Glass. She hung up the phone in horror!
So, when it rains I look for the times when it's not pouring so we can, at the very least, get out and get some fresh air. I look at it this way - I hate to be housebound in the snow and ice, and they are so spoilt they hate to be kept inside and on the grounds; they'd rather be a little wet and get outside for good exercise!
So, how is it walking 4 dogs? Not so bad, really.
I put in my earbuds and listen to my audiobook (right now it's "The Plantagenets"), harness Samson, yank Simon out of bed (or off the couch - he's not a morning dog), and stuff my pockets with poobags. Then I leash them all.
Once out the door, I have 3 dogs on a mission to walk, and one that wishes to have a look-see every 5 feet.
At 430 in the morning, I'm not in any rush, and I'm not so focused on the time they take with the book in my ear - believe me, it does make a difference.
We walk down the hammerhead to the street - with a few stops for Simon who needs to pee as though he's not had a go for weeks. I swear, if he was squeezed he'd fill a pool!
I'm walking, usually for the first 15 minutes, in the "Crucifixion" stance. Simon lags behind the others for some reason. After a bit, though, he joins the group (usually with Skally), sniffing and exploring the areas - especially around one of the many greenspaces in our neighborhood.
We eventually make it to the school yard where they can stretch their legs. There is so much to sniff there. They love exploring - and it's very dark at this time of year, so I have to keep my eyes and ears open so I don't lose any of them.
I do know that if danger were lurking, they would definitely pack up and attack/defend. I couldn't have asked for a better group!
By the time we get home (usually about 50 minutes and 2.5 miles later) Rusty isn't quite so light-footed - he's really grown faster and stronger over the years, Simon is pulling - but not as much as earlier, Samson and Skally are a little slower - perhaps they're tired, or just upset we're going home.
IN the door and they decide we're going to eat immediately! Well, they can want, but ...
Tonight we went to the park after two days away - we did walk at least twice a day, but it wasn't enough - they needed their social and free time.
Simon chased that ball like crazy. Samson was slogging through the mud, and playing with a Bijon. Skally found him quite tempting and she began to be a little randy!
By the time we arrived home they were totally tired! But they needed to feed.
An hour later and I have 2 dogs passed out (the 6 year olds), one looking about for what might be next (the 11 year old), and one demanding we play "chase me around the house!' (the 15.5 year old).
I love my pups!
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