Dog Sitting in My House

I did something I never thought I would do this past weekend. We dog sat in OUR HOME. I am a little on the obsessive compulsive side, I barely let my own children sit on the furniture in the living room let alone have a dog inside the house. I grew up on a farm and we had cats and dogs that stayed in the barn not in the house.

The contractor who is building my daughter’s bedroom had asked Erik if we could dog sit. I agreed right away and then learned it was going to be in my home. I decided that maybe this gesture on my part would get the contractor to work a little faster on the bedroom.

The puppy is a shorthaired terrier named Nala.

The dog arrived at our house Friday afternoon along with two 11-year-old boys. I figure if you are going to have chaos, why not have it to the fullest? That first night, the boys ended up being more work and messier than the dog. Emma and Hannah spent most of their time sitting on the couch and running to where they wanted to go in order to avoid any contact with Nala.

On Saturday, Erik worked on hanging drywall while the kids and I played with Nala. Maybe playis not the right word. The kids spent most of their time scolding Nala. “Nala get down.” “Nala stay out of there.” “Nala, no!” By the end of the day, the kids were driving me crazy. Saturday evening the little girls started to feel more comfortable with Nala and reached out to play with her until bath time.

When Hannah came down the stairs after her bath, Nala jumped on her and would not leave her alone. I had to pick her up and hold her above my head to keep Nala from nipping at her toes. We couldn’t figure out if Nala liked Hannah’s bright red pajamas or the fact that she smelled like berries. After that we had a hard time convincing Hannah to play with Nala.

I have decided that I may be able to handle a dog in our house after all - especially if it is already house trained. Erik did find it amusing and slightly annoying that I wanted Nala’s paws wiped off every time she came back into the house after going outside. I am not so sure that the kids want a puppy as much as their father does. I know it would take a while before the little girls would warm up to the puppy.

In the end, I was much more patient with Nala than I thought I would be. And really, Nala made a lot less mess and work than the kids.