And so it continues.............(Mutt training week 1)

Like I need MORE responsibility in my day. That being said, I know that the dog training will pay off. I really do. The whole family is excited for the days when the dogs are very well behaved and we can do so much more with them. However, I struggle to get through a day with just the kids and horses, so the added time and energy for dog training can be almost overwhelming.

Tuesday night, we got them home and I immediately started to work with them. Recognizing the bugs and working through them is half the battle. That night, all I wanted to do was go to bed. My day was sooooo crazy that I realized I hadn't even had time to eat or....well, use the "ladies" room all day. I wanted so bad for the day to be over. Jay is still having problems falling asleep and that is a whole other issue for another day. But, I didn't lay down in bed until 1:00 am. Then, Gracie starts barking. She's in her kennel and with the new environment, she was letting us know she wasn't happy. She barked every 30 seconds - 1 minute for a good half hour-45 minutes. I eventually fell asleep, only to be woken at 5:30 am by...............................you guessed it, Gracie. I thought, maybe, she needed to pee, so I got up and let the dogs out. I was up, so I took them on a run. That afternoon, I tried to do a little one-on-one work with the dogs, so I left Gracie in the kennel and started throwing the ball to Boo, outside. He was doing fine, until he caught sight/smell of some critter in the bean field. He took off. I started to shock him via his collar and kept turning up the heat. I'm calling, "Come!" and he's ignoring me. Soon, Ally comes out of the house and tells me that Gracie is yelping in her kennel. I had the collar turned to the WRONG DOG!!!!!!!! I immediately yelled for Max to go get Gracie out of her kennel. (He was closer, and I just wanted her OUT, so I could apologize!) I was weak in the knees. Max brought Gracie outside and I melted on her. I kept saying how sorry I was and that I was sooooo stupid. She politely agreed, but seemed to accept my love and apology. It was then, that I burst into tears. How on earth can I manage these dogs, the kids, the horses and the house every day, all by myself??!?!?! Things will continue to change around here once the kids go back to school and those left behind start to figure out how the routine works. I don't mind getting up at 6:00 am to start my day, as long as the bumps and bruises are kept to a minimum. I'm sure it will all get easier. We learn new things every day. I learned today, that Gracie cannot handle a 2 mile rollerblading/jog. She has been gimping around all afternoon. Why is it that Gracie is the sole beneficiary to all my mistakes?? It's because she is loving and merciful. She's my "grace from God", hence the name. She was given to this family to serve a purpose and she has far exceeded her mission. This whole experience reminds me of an email I got a while back. It was from a vet who had made a house call to a home where the dog was to be euthanized. I am paraphrasing in my interpretation, but it went something like this; The vet asked the young boy of the family if he understood what was happening today. The boy responded by saying that he knew that dogs were sent to earth to learn unconditional love, just like humans. But because dogs learn it so much faster, it means that they die sooner. The email is so much more poetic, but the message is so profound. Dogs know the kind of love that many humans never get. They are so happy to see you each and every day, no matter if you ignored them the day before or pissed them off 2 weeks before. They don't hold grudges and their whole purpose is to please you. This is why we are spending the money and time on our precious partners. They deserve it.
I'll keep y'all posted.