I know I am not alone as a dog lover, to be honest I would consider myself someone that has a fondness for all animals, that is other than cats. Sorry, I know there are many that would disagree but I have never really liked them, the purring thing is really annoying and unnerves me slightly. The problem is they know I don’t like them, so they always make a bee line for me.
I wanted to care for an animal, I suppose I should test myself with an unusual animal but I have wanted to have a friendly hound to come home to for many years, but working away at sea meant it wasn’t possible. I really didn’t feel I could leave a dog for four months, even though I was quite happy not seeing some people for that long!
We had submitted an application to board assistance dogs in training and pleased that we were successful, however ‘lockdown’ had stop preceding’s but as of the middle of July we now have a Labrador house guest for the next few weeks.
We have begun to befriend other dog owners but may have removed ourselves from the club as quickly as we entered it. Combining our walk with Luna; a small cockerpoo who lives close by. I think we may not gain an invite on another occasion due to some socially unacceptable behaviour on the part of our dog! No!! Not that, these are two girlys who clearly wanted to see how far they could go. Needless to say, Lilly* (*not her real name) our Lab spied an opportunity and went for it. As we approached the large pond, that we believed was hidden by trees we spied the two girls enjoying their very own swimming session.
Stinky and smelly might be two better names for these two after they treated themselves to a dip. The walk home wasn’t much better as the skies opened and we got soaked on the way home.
Without dog shampoo, all we could achieve was a hose down on the patio (for the dog that is, not us). This we managed and even managed a towel dry – all okay.
Fast forward 24 hours and complete chaos ensues. In amongst getting a dog we have been continuing house renovations and primarily painting. Working around when *Lilly was at doggy school we were able to achieve a lot over a few days. However, the day that came to doing the woodwork and using gloss happened to coincide with trying to clean the dog.
The process of painting the downstairs toilet was at first exciting and appealing, however once started I wanted it over. Having to step over dust sheets and paint brushes was not easy. The stress level only exacerbated by trying to bath a medium sized Labrador that I now realise does not like cold water from a hose.
From these two relatively normal household tasks, paint the bathroom and wash the dog I realised once again that I do not cope well when plans do not work out as intended.
Having been many years since I applied dog shampoo I was uncertain about the ratio, and before you say; yes I did read the instructions! I will advise you reader, that I previously own a Yorkshire Terrier and here I am applying shampoo to a Labrador – in my head this means more shampoo, doesn’t it?!
With Edward on hands and knees doing the final stages of the wood gloss, with the downstairs toilet nearly finished, I was going it alone in the dog washing situation.
Shampoo applied and hose in hand, I did find that the dog was particularly mobile and refusing to stay still. Some of you may be asking at this point why I chose a hose and forewent the option of a bath. Well, good question, as an assistance dog in training we are not allowed to introduce her to mysterious world of ‘upstairs’ so therefore thought the back garden would suffice.
The process of hosing down a dog is not something I’ve ever considered before. However, I realise that they can be incredibly mobile should they not want to remain in one place. Here I was following the dog around the patio trying to get the excess shampoo off of her coat but trying to be humane and only subject her to cold water in small bouts. Unfortunately, the more I rubbed her coat, the larger the amount of soap suds and the colder and more frightened she seemed to look.
I now realise that this is something that should be done as a two-man team. I therefore pulled Edward away from his painting duty to support. With a washing-up bowl of warm water and Edward pacifying Lilly I was able to pour more water. However, she thought this was a game and made a break for it running around the garden with us chasing her. Heading towards the open doors into the house filled me with dread as I could see her heading towards the paint! As a dark coated Labrador, I could just see white gloss door frames covered in black dog hairs!!
I am pleased to say we managed to regain control and get her dry with towels, no damage done. Her coat malting a lot meant I need to wash my hands so I made my way into the downstairs toilet. Lilly heading towards the gate that leads onto the road, I grabbed the gate and cut my hand in the process. Managing to wash my hands in the sink, I then stood talking to Ed and without thinking leant onto the door frame, covering my coat and hand in white gloss!!
Here lesson learnt of not trying to complete too many tasks at once and two hands are always better than one!