With 3 dogs in the house, I think you can imagine that I make the necessary meters per day. If it's not to walk the ladies and gentlemen, then it is to pull the vacuum cleaner through the house once again ... because believe me, if you think that sheepdogs don't shed, you will be very disappointed.
But with love, I pull the vacuum cleaner around for that one extra time, because besides a lot of hair in the house you also get a lot of extra love in return.
And because our ladies and gentlemen are there, I also get the necessary exercise myself. Although I'm not always happy when I just want to write a blog and one or more dogs start making it clear that it's their time again. Once I am outside and see the dogs enjoying themselves, it is always a pleasure, for everyone.
Our ladies are already quite old. Our Myla will be 13 years old next year, and our Lana will be 12 years old. Skipper, on the other hand, is still a young don Juan who can celebrate his third birthday this month.
The age, and the defects that come with age, sometimes make it impossible to walk all dogs at the same time. In any case, given the character of our ladies, that has never been the best idea, and now with our enthusiastic youngster, that has not changed. The ladies react very fiercely when they come across cats. Lana also reacts very strongly to cyclists and walkers, and Skipper? Unfortunately, he thinks that he has to respond to everything.
When I realized that, I knew that walking would only cost me more time. Because even though Myla doesn't have to walk far anymore, she still wants to have her time. And of course, she deserves that too, and she also has the right to stretch her legs, let her brain work, sniff, and look around outside. The same goes for Lana. Skipper is still young, still has a lot to learn ... and really needs to drain his energy. In addition, he just has to learn not to react to everything he sees, sometimes with 3 steps forward, and sometimes with 4 steps back.
It doesn't matter. Together we will get there, at his pace we do what we can, and as long as he knows that I am next to him, that he is allowed to make mistakes, and that I am there for him. He must know that he may look at an oncoming walker, but he must also know that he must not lunge when the walker passes. He may find it scary, that's possible ... I'm here for him and protect him. He may be excited, but he may not jump.
Well, it's not always easy for a dog to do it right. But the most important thing is that we continue to enjoy what is going well because that is really much more. And when I see that lovely big face of his when he looks at me happily to ask if he did it right, then I melt.
My big little boy.
Then my oldest girl.
I've written whole stories about her. You don't have to do that anymore. You already know she's sweet, you know the road we've traveled together has been a long one. And you also know that I will walk through fire for Myla, and back again. As she will do for me if necessary. But, I will always try to make sure that she doesn't have to go through fire for me ... misery I try to spare her, she is much too sweet for me.
As gentle and faithful as she is in character, I have known very few dogs in all my life. (although the traitor usually sleeps next to my partner and not next to me since we moved in together.) Lol! Logical, by the way. I turn quite a bit, and it's always fairly still. And well, our other lady claimed my legs on the last night I still had Rowan with me, Lana lay down with me. And where I was used to Lana standing up for Rowan, it was the other way around that last night. Lana was lying next to me, and Rowan didn't dare to fight her anymore... Myla never tried again and just lay down on the other side with my partner.
So now we have arrived at Lana again.
And Lana, that remains a different story. So our lady will be 12 years old next April. Quite an age for a shepherd. But you don't see anything about Lana, and you hardly notice it either. She is a dog you can rightly call a "Super Granny". Top fit, super in shape, condition you can tell, driven, sporty, and super active. So yes, what's the problem then? Well, her age does cause some minor inconveniences in the sense that her hind legs can no longer handle the heavy sport's load on her body. And Lana herself, she doesn't care. All she wants is to sport and play with a ball 24 hours a day...not just that. She also wants attention 24 hours a day and will make up things when she doesn't get any attention for a while. As you can imagine, what she comes up with is usually no success. And I can still laugh about all that and live with it, but our Lana is not a dog that easily accepts other dogs. She lived very well with Lex, Rowan and Myla. But after Lex and Rowan's passing, she has apparently decided that she no longer wants another dog in her vicinity. As a result, she tolerates Skipper, but that's about it. And if she thinks he's doing something he shouldn't, she also snarls a lot.
Having a pack of dogs (and with 3 you have a pack), entails that they correct each other. I know that all too well. And to a certain extent, that is also good, and even necessary. They often learn a lot more from that. But that has to be right, and not at a time when Skipper is just walking that Lana suddenly snaps. Unfortunately, our Super Granny isn't the best listener if it's not up her alley. And that's where we have the biggest problem. Her free-spirited character, her vagrant past... that means she doesn't need us. She'll take care of herself. She has done that before, forced by the circumstances at the time, but she has never forgotten it. She loves us, does everything for us ... but that one little piece ensures that in the end she will always try to get her way.
3 different dogs, 3 different walks at a time, and only 1 heart to love all three different dogs. Luckily my heart is big enough!
