Blog From A Broad

just wait until we have kids



Friends of ours and their cocker spaniel came over on Saturday and stayed the night. This visit taught me one important thing: I have the potential to become an annoying puppy owner. I found myself asking our friends about how often they walk their dog, and thinking that it wasn't as much as the books said. I spoke about crate training, like I knew all about it, simply based on what I've read in the books. As the dog jumped up on me, sat and begged for food as we ate, cried when I got up to go to the bathroom and woke him up in the middle of the night, I thought that our dog will be far better behaved because we have both read the books and will be able to train the puppy well. We don't even have a dog yet, and I already think I'm an expert. See? Annoying.



Similarly, I hereby promise that when we get a dog I will not:

• tell people endless boring stories about the puppy, especially tales about its housebreaking progress.
  
  
• refer to myself as its "mummy" or Paul as its "daddy".
  
  
• dress it up in bandanas, sweaters, little booties, or any item of clothing for that matter.

One thing that Jake the dog taught me this weekend is how fantastically therapeutic it is to have a pet. I hurt my neck and shoulder this weekend (by doing the daring act known as "getting out of bed"), and spent most of Sunday in agony on the sofa. Jake sat by my feet the entire time, jumping up and looking very concerned whenever I'd go "Ow ow ow" while trying to find a comfortable position to sit. He followed me around the house all day, even waiting for me outside the bathroom door. You simply cannot feel miserable and sorry for yourself when you have a dog (or any pet - don't get upset with me, you cat people) around you.