I'm settling into the new house pretty well. An old retriever mix dog (Lab and Golden) has taken up residence here, too. He has been an outside dog all of his life. That doesn't sit well with me, but you know what they say about teaching old dogs new tricks.
Still, Max has arthritis, and he's near the end of his time on Earth, so I can't just leave him outside. His run takes up just about half of my roomy 2 car garage, so he has lots of space. I'm gradually introducing him to the inside of the house.
The garage stays tolerably warm right now, since it's attached to the house and it's insulated. The plan is to have him stay in the house overnight once the garage gets to be too cold. That will mean sleeping downstairs with him, since he can't climb the stairs and he'll need someone to be here to let him out on demand. I don't mind too much, since there's a fireplace (gas log) down here. The TV and computer are down here, too. Might be fun to camp out with Max!
The garage stays tolerably warm right now, since it's attached to the house and it's insulated. The plan is to have him stay in the house overnight once the garage gets to be too cold. That will mean sleeping downstairs with him, since he can't climb the stairs and he'll need someone to be here to let him out on demand. I don't mind too much, since there's a fireplace (gas log) down here. The TV and computer are down here, too. Might be fun to camp out with Max!
I'm accustomed to small dogs, so a large dog is a big change for me. Everything is bigger, from the amount of food they eat to the amount of food they recycle. And the shedding! Oh, the shedding! But Max is just the sweetest animal. He helped me weed the garden last weekend, popping his head under my arm at odd intervals for a cuddle. I've never before had a dog that could be left off leash without a fence. Max is reliable that way. Besides, I can outrun him (poor beast).
Here's a picture of my buddy for Fave Foto Friday. This was taken in the midwest in September:
