Skip New Year's resolutions, try dog goals instead (Part 2)
6 of 10 additional ideas to build a better dog-and-dog-owner relationship in 2024 and beyond
If you’re an Achiever like me who loves crossing things off your to-do list, you’re enjoying part 1 of the “Dog Goals” list. Maybe those five ideas are what you’ve always wanted to accomplish with your dog. Or, maybe you need more inspiration. Here are five more suggestions for pet parents looking to improve the bond with their dogs.
Happy (upcoming) New Year!
6. Get a better handle on keeping my dog off the bed.
My mother lucked out and got a hypoallergenic dog. Jackie, her dog, is adamant about leaping above the pillow my father sleeps on and camping out on a stack of pillows like Snoopy rests on his dog house. When I bought Jackie a Snoopy dog toy for Christmas last week, I wasn’t aware she does this, but now the toy fits even more.
Recommended Read: “Dogs and dating: The no-dogs-on-bed rule ~ What do you do when your significant other doesn’t like dogs in your home?”
The average homeowner and/or dog owner doesn’t have the luxury of a dog sleeping above their pillow without fur showing up everywhere. My own household is a no-dogs-on-bed-household. However, if dogs could gossip, Junee and Jackie could call me out on my bulls**t for that if they knew one other dog I dog sat on Rover. I consistently let that dog sleep on the guest bed and my own bed. How was I going to re-train a dog who had always slept at the foot of her owner’s bed before I knew her? Eight days for one vacation and five days for another would never be enough time, so I just enjoyed the foot blanket.
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When my parents went out of town to Jamaica, my mother was on a quest to get Jackie out of their bed so Jackie wouldn’t persistently try to be in mine. My mother bought three different dog beds, and Jackie ignored them all. She went right back above my father’s pillow like Snoopy and stayed there.
Interestingly, Jackie was unphased when she found out my bed was too tall to hop into. She quickly strolled into her crate that I’d set up under my desk and fell asleep through the whole night. And she did that for the entire rest of the Jamaica vacation.
When I visit my parents, Jackie still does not try to sleep in my childhood bed. I put her on the floor one time, and she immediately understood my boundary. She still follows me around like a shadow and insists on going to her nearby crate when I go to bed. When I wake up, she strolls out of her crate, does a downward dog and is ready to be walked. The funniest part about it? My mother has complained multiple times since the Jamaica trip that Jackie stopped coming into their room and prefers the crate.
Do you allow your dog to sleep in your bed? Does anyone in your household protest?
7. Get a better handle on grooming my dog.
This is where I luck out. Junee is a smooth-haired dog. The only thing I need to do is brush her once a week. Baths are super easy to do because as soon as it rains, she’s drenched. I come home, rub dog shampoo into her fur, paws and head. Voila! Clean dog. After a quick towel rub and about 30 minutes, she’s completely dry.
Jackie, on the other hand, looks like a cotton ball (especially around the eyes and head) if she doesn’t get a haircut every five or six weeks. Leaves stick to her fur during autumn walks. I wince when this white dog purposely stomps through a mud puddle. (Junee, a black dog, is way too prissy to step in puddles. She leaps over all of them like a deer.) Junee is R&B where Jackie is rock n’ roll. But there are a few grooming tasks that I found are cheaper to do from home, such as teeth brushing and nail clipping.