TerriW
Active member
I work a full day, like many of you, and then I also have to work at night as I teach classes online. So I've gotten into a routine with my pups, and wondered how everyone else handles that arriving-home-from-work time and the rest of the evening.
Mine is to open the door and let them immediately out to greet me. They burst out and circle me and every one of them needs to be touched. So they all get pats or rubs before they take off to go to explore the yard, or woods if we have time for a walk before dinner (which is every night except Dec and Jan, when it's too dark).
Inside, after I feed them (they eat first!), I generally sit down on the carpet with some bones and stuffies and play keep-away and tug o'war with the stuffies, and generally let them crawl or lean on me, and they get petted and talked-to. I have to do this, because when I settle down in a chair with my PC to start teaching, they don't understand why I am ignoring them and am sitting there basically staring at my lap(top).
So they get some good attention, then they all settle down for about an hour. Apparently dinner and attention requires a brief nap.
Thennnn.... the whining starts. That under-the-breath whining that drives me crazy! I can barely hear it. But when I look at them they are staring at me. ("Did you just whine?" Silence. I look away. "Hhhhhhhwhinnnnne".)
And the sighing. And the paw-thumping. It's getting near walk time, see. The official walk. The walk that signals we're in for the night except for potty breaks. But I have to be careful here. Too early and they think they get ANOTHER walk later. So I usually wait until 8:00 - ish. We get back by 8:45 or 9:00 and THEN I can settle down to work while they snooze off the efforts of their walk.
About 10:30 - 11:00 it's outside for a potty break, then upstairs to bed. The little ones get on the bed to play with stuffies some more, and Ben settles in on his dog bed. I get down with him and we "talk" a bit, and he thumps me affectionately a few times with his big paw or head, and once the snoring begins (with eyes wide open, of course), I know I can move onto the bed.
Stuffie wars begin. The stuffies growl, the puppies circle, they all hide underneath the blankets, there is some taco-ing or burrito-ing of blankets that takes place (rolling up in the blankets - - them, not me!) and in general, I tire them out.
THEN. I get out my kindle or nook and I get to read. This is the best time of night.
Except. One hour after getting upstairs, one hour after pottying, Ben has to go BACK outside for awhile. Generally he lays down outside for 15 minutes, then leisurely gets up and goes to the bathroom and then comes back in. I have no idea why he does this except that I'm trained to do it, and I don't want him 'suffering'. So I fall for it. Every night.
Then I get my book back out and my day is over.
What's YOUR routine?
Mine is to open the door and let them immediately out to greet me. They burst out and circle me and every one of them needs to be touched. So they all get pats or rubs before they take off to go to explore the yard, or woods if we have time for a walk before dinner (which is every night except Dec and Jan, when it's too dark).
Inside, after I feed them (they eat first!), I generally sit down on the carpet with some bones and stuffies and play keep-away and tug o'war with the stuffies, and generally let them crawl or lean on me, and they get petted and talked-to. I have to do this, because when I settle down in a chair with my PC to start teaching, they don't understand why I am ignoring them and am sitting there basically staring at my lap(top).
So they get some good attention, then they all settle down for about an hour. Apparently dinner and attention requires a brief nap.
Thennnn.... the whining starts. That under-the-breath whining that drives me crazy! I can barely hear it. But when I look at them they are staring at me. ("Did you just whine?" Silence. I look away. "Hhhhhhhwhinnnnne".)
And the sighing. And the paw-thumping. It's getting near walk time, see. The official walk. The walk that signals we're in for the night except for potty breaks. But I have to be careful here. Too early and they think they get ANOTHER walk later. So I usually wait until 8:00 - ish. We get back by 8:45 or 9:00 and THEN I can settle down to work while they snooze off the efforts of their walk.
About 10:30 - 11:00 it's outside for a potty break, then upstairs to bed. The little ones get on the bed to play with stuffies some more, and Ben settles in on his dog bed. I get down with him and we "talk" a bit, and he thumps me affectionately a few times with his big paw or head, and once the snoring begins (with eyes wide open, of course), I know I can move onto the bed.
Stuffie wars begin. The stuffies growl, the puppies circle, they all hide underneath the blankets, there is some taco-ing or burrito-ing of blankets that takes place (rolling up in the blankets - - them, not me!) and in general, I tire them out.
THEN. I get out my kindle or nook and I get to read. This is the best time of night.
Except. One hour after getting upstairs, one hour after pottying, Ben has to go BACK outside for awhile. Generally he lays down outside for 15 minutes, then leisurely gets up and goes to the bathroom and then comes back in. I have no idea why he does this except that I'm trained to do it, and I don't want him 'suffering'. So I fall for it. Every night.
Then I get my book back out and my day is over.
What's YOUR routine?
