So sitting on the computer after work and my boyfriend comes running upstairs - our neighbour has to go out of town on an emergency for work and can we look after Spike for a few days? We LOVE Spike. He's a 9 year old Shitzu who has one trick in his arsenal - he does the "ewok" - which is him up on his back legs begging for food. Hey, it works for him and I can respect that - when you got something that works, why change it?!
Anyways, Off to get Spikey and bring him back to our apartment... yes, technically we live in a "no pets" building but it's only for a couple nights, Spike doesn't bark at all, and my theory is that if my landlords can't fix a drawer after 3 months or our toilet after 6 months, a little puppy love isn't going to hurt. Uh-oh. Twisting the rules to my advantage - bad parenting habit #1.
Drop off Spike's stuff and I figure we'll get him nice and tired out on a walk. Grab some poopy bags and out the door. Things are going good, we've walked a grand total of about a block and for some unbeknownst reason, he digs in his paws in the classic I-don't-wanna-go-there puppy gesture. Try to channel the Dog Whisperer. Be a pack leader. Try to make that sound the Dog Whisperer makes - sound like a sick bird. Spike tilts his head and looks at me like "Really? You think I'll feel sorry for a sick bird and come where you want me to? Nice try sucker." That's it - this is a 8 pound Shitzu. Scoop him up and carry him across the street. Bad parenting habit #2 - when he doesn't do what I want, I just force him to my will. Whoops.
We come to a pretty lilac bush and he starts sniffing around - does the dog like lilacs? Nope he's got the determined air of a canine that needs to go. Sure enough, next thing he cops a squat and out it comes. Being a good surrogate puppy parent, I whip out my plastic baggie and scoop it up. YUCKY - my extreme sensitivity to smells is still in high gear and the smell of puppy poop has me gagging in the bush. Bad parenting habit #3 - gonna have to change diapers and if I'm gagging all the time, it's really gonna suck.
Spike keeps walking around the bush, the he looks right up at me and cops another squat and... another dump! AHHHHHHHH! Pull out my other plastic baggie and swearing under my breath - I just picked up after you 10 seconds ago! You couldn't have done it in one go? Bad parenting habit #4 - he can't help having to go again 10 seconds later - get used to it with babies and changing a diaper 20 times a day.
We manage to continue the walk and when we get home, I figure the pup deserves some dinner. I microwave up some lasagna for me and put some doggie food in his dish. He looks at me and my lasagna and looks at his dry food. Ewok. I mix a little of the meat sauce from my lasagna into his food, along with some stew from the fridge. Down goes his plate of food in no time. Bad parenting habits #5 and #6 - I totally fell for the super cute act and I bribed him to eat his food.
We're done with supper, sit down to watch some TV - he comes to cuddle me, but it's mostly me coming to him to cuddle - I guess that's something else I'll just have to get used to.
Then Tyler gets home - Spike is excited beyond belief running around and as Ty lays down on the futon, Spike jumps up and curls in a little ball right up to him. So that's how it's gonna be, eh? I'll walk you, feed and water you, and clean up after you but at the end of the day, it's all about the daddy.
Nuts. At least I still have 5 1/2 months to figure this stuff out - now off to walk the dog again.
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