28 Weeks

28 weeks
67lbs

About to outgrow his size "M" collar. Ordered an "L", and also a martingale (size "M" for now, according to measurements. Eyeing the 1 and 1/2-inch wide one in an "L" for later, if needed...). Walking him is just so exhausting. While it's been better this week, I realized that avoiding introducing a prong collar doesn't mean I can't use another type of training collar. Martingales are usually intended for dogs whose necks are wider than their heads, so they can't slip or back out of the collar and escape. He doesn't have a habit of doing this, but he pull so hard I'm afraid his regular collar will break someday, and he'll be out on the town without his ID. We don't normally walk our dogs on their everyday collars, but trying to teach him loose-leash walking without the aid of a training collar hasn't worked, so... This should be good.

I've had to start walking him on his own again. He's just too strong and nutty and ill-behaved. He and Airlie feed off each other's energy, which makes the walk unpleasant for all 3 of us. Even though I'd like to get it all over and done with at once, I'm just going to have to do this for a while. I take him for about 35-40 minutes, return him home, pick up the girls, walk them together for 15 minutes, take Kansas back home (15 is as much as she can do right now, without rendering herself unable to walk for the rest of the day, and she walks better with Airlie as company than she does if it's just me and her), and then take Airlie for another 15 minutes.

It's amazing how easily Airlie walks when it's just the two of us, at a pace that's right for her. She's always been an awful puller (despite the prong collar) and now, even her agitation when passing fenced yards containing other dogs is so much better. I think she enjoys the one-on-one time, and not having to deal with Kal pouncing on her at random.

It's exhausting for me, however. I used to walk all 3 dogs together, in the Houston humidity, for an hour every day, first thing in the morning. The past two years, owing to moving house and having new, more limited neighborhoods to walk in, and then ailing dogs, and young dogs... our walks have only been about 35 minutes.

This is kicking my butt. If I manage to wake up feeling refreshed, rested and not sore from the previous day's work/workout, by the time I'm done walking each of the dogs, I feel like I've been hit by a truck.

From walking.

SMH...

Again, the new collar should help with all of that.

I really hate not being able to walk all three of them together. It's been so weird...everywhere we've lived, for as long as we've had 3 dogs, I've been the marvel of the neighborhood. Everyone wants to know how I walk three dogs at once, with all of them so well-behaved.

Unfortunately, that comes from years of experience on the dog's part, and right now, adding a new, young dog to the routine just doesn't work. Now, instead of being cooed over, awestruck neighbors asking me how I walk three dogs, I get "Where are the other two?" and have to explain that one is too old and slow to keep up with the new kid, who is still learning, and the other just can't stand him.

This, too, shall pass... but it just isn't the same.

I really miss walking my former trio...

Kal's funny moment of the week:

Last Saturday night, after his twice-weekly weigh-in, DH turned Kal loose. Kal took himself back to bed (we tend to weigh him before WE go to bed, which is after the dogs all go out once last time for the night), and I noticed DH didn't follow and shut him in his crate. Instead, DH went to the kitchen, to write down Kal's weight at the time (66.6lbs, which we joked about). I made a mental note to check the crate, but I forgot.

Which is why when I awoke at 3:33am to the sound of jangling collar tags. Thinking he was just scratching himself, I continued to doze,

til I heard the sound of loud gulping coming from the kitchen, and realized that the 666 puppy was loose in the house, having managed to sleep five full hours in an open crate (responsibly impressive), then awaking and taking himself on a midnight tour of the house that included a stop at the water bowl. I got up to let him out to potty (he's still been going out at about this time all week...that's two weeks,  now...), which meant encountering him in the hallway after he'd raided the toy basket...

It was, at least, more humorous than annoying.