It’s been a few days since I adopted a second dog to join me & Wiggles. I am happy to report that none of us have completely lost our minds yet. Nor, other than for a few brief moments the first night, have I thought, “Oh no…what have I done? Did I ruin my quiet, easy-going life?“
My new dog, now has a name. Sparkles. She has already changed our lives for the better.
Wiggles and I has settled into an easy, comfortable routine. We had our schedule for eating, sleeping, walking, cuddling, playing and chilling. Since Snickers died, we’ve become closer to each other. We spend more time together as each others primary companion. I wrote before about how quiet my home seemed after Snickers died. Now that it’s been a few months, we both got used to it.
Well that has changed, along with a bunch of other routines.
- Walks. We now walk through parts of the neighborhood we’ve never visited before to avoid the chaos of Wiggles’ frenzied barking and lunging at bikers on the greenway. We still see bikers and the dreaded children on scooters, but far less frequently.
- Being present. I have to pay full attention on all of our walks since I’ve got 2 dogs on flexi-leads so I leave my EarPods at home. I don’t trust myself to keep my girls safe if I’m distracted listening to podcasts or chatting on the phone.
- Playtime. Wiggles never was much into playing. She enjoys “hunting” for food, but has never chased a ball or played with a toy in the 3 years we’ve been together. When I gave Sprinkles a squeaky toy the first night, Wiggles wanted one too. I couldn’t believe it! They now play “keep away” from each other and chase each other around the house trying to steal the squeaky toy.
- Workout companions. Sparkles is clingy. She wants to be near me all the time – far more than Wiggles. So I put two dog beds in the garage where I spend several hours each morning working out. Both are now hanging out in there with me all morning. They snooze, chase flies, chew on toys and mess with each other while I workout.
- Interruptions. My life was super-efficient. I had everything dialed in and scheduled down to the minute. I like that. That rigidity has changed: I have to wrangle two dogs, there are constant demands for attention and when one of my pups is staring at me for attention, I make time to give it to her.
- Noise. Now I realize why it got so quiet without Snickers. It’s because Wiggles didn’t bark much as an only dog. But with Sparkles here, Wiggles is in her face barking all the time – to get her to play, to complain about her stealing the toy, to alert me that this big dog is messing with her. I’m hoping this subsides over time. Wiggles is incredibly shrill and loud – especially at 3 in the morning!
I didn’t think I’d fallen into a rut. I thought living with Wiggles was fantastic – and it was.
But it’s gotten even better with two.
