Dog Sitting

After having never really dog sat before, I’ve become the Queen of Dog Sitting in the past two weeks. (Admittedly, I named myself that just now. But all hail the queen anyway.)

First, it was Murphy, a sweet golden retriever in Des Moines, for about a week.

Now, it’s Walker. A beautiful, rambunctious black lab in L-town, for just short of another week.

Let’s take a look at these two lovely (and incredibly distinctive) creatures:

Murphy. I don’t know Murphy’s age, but she has definitely been around for a while. She’s a mellow dog who’s outgrown the boundless energy of a puppy—but give her the chance to go for a walk and she’ll take off running as fast as she can get you to go. As with most golden retrievers, she’s always excited for a little interaction and absolutely loves spending time with people. Yet she’s also perfectly content to sprawl out on the floor and relax, preferably with a human nearby.

Talk about obedient—Murphy dutifully went into her crate each time I asked, bounded out excitedly when I came home, and knew exactly when to make a beeline for the garage for food. And as soon as she was finished doing her business in the backyard, she was ready to come back inside and hang out. Feeding Murphy was a breeze too—two scoops of dry food in the morning and the same at night. (As I learned when I plopped down on the floor in Borders last week with a book on golden retrievers, they’ll eat whatever you put in front of them, so you have to feed them with moderation.)

Then there's ...

Walker. Oh Walker. Now here’s a lively fellow. Walker is only a couple of years old and is the baby of Conservative Family. The other dogs are gone, the kids are grown. So Walker is the pride and joy of Conservative Parents. And it shows.

Whatever Walker wants, Walker gets. This includes, but is not limited to: riding in the front passenger seat of the car (even if it means somebody else has to sit in the back), hanging out at the law office with clients all day, sleeping on a human bed in his own room, and hopping up on the bench at the banquette in the kitchen for meals with the family. I exaggerate not. Walker rules the roost.

Although he may be spoiled, Walker isn’t a bad dog. He’s just used to having his way. I don’t know if Conservative Boy is going to last this week with Walker at our house (some older brother resentment, perhaps?). But we’re giving it a try. After only a couple of days, Walker is already learning that some of his home behaviors (jumping up on the couch, racing across the kitchen floor, and sleeping on a human bed) aren’t going to work out here. And he’s doing just fine. (Although I believe Conservative Boy won't be taking Walker back to the office anymore this week—he's refusing to, because Walker doesn't know what to do without his dad there and has been misbehaving—so Walker and I will be spending lots of quality time together.)

As long as Walker has someone to give him attention occasionally and gets his super-special meal (one cup of dry dog food, one can of special wet dog food, plus one cup of rice made with love by Conservative Mom before she left on vacation, all mixed together in a big silver bowl with some water) twice a day, he’s set.

Conservative Boy and I are hoping to get our own dog very soon, so I’ve decided dog sitting is the perfect way to ease myself into the notion of having a dog around all the time. This whole owning a dog thing will be a new experience for me, so baby steps are good, right?

(Oh, and Conservative Boy promises our dog will not annoy him like Walker. Again, I think he’s just bitter because the baby of the family gets all the attention. And Walker knows it too. He whimpers like a sad pup when Conservative Boy is around—probably because he can be a meanie to the poor pup, like big brothers can be—but is perfectly content when Conservative Boy leaves. Kids.)