Reality check!

Well, it didn't take long for reality to set in. Now don't jump to conclusions -- it isn't the reality of puppyhood! It's more like the realization that the entire social dynamic of the "pack" has changed, and the alpha (me) needs to regain her position.

It's not a matter of sleep deprivation; Halo slept right through the night with only one whimper around 2:00 AM. Her crate was right next to my bed, so I simply reached down to stick my fingers through the gate which was enough to let her know she wasn't alone. She went right back to sleep. No need to get up to "get busy" during the night. One hurdle already overcome!

Reality came in the form of breakfast. My pet dogs eat Purina dry dog food, but Halo's food is a blend of frozen meat (translation: organs) that is thawed, blended with warm water to an oatmealy consistency, and stinks to high heaven. I'm told that the more tripe is included, the more it stinks. Caution: if you don't know what tripe is, you don't really want to know. After taking all 3 dogs out to get busy and successfully corralling all of them back into the house, I began by giving my pets their dry food to keep them occupied while feeding Halo. Unfortunately, Halo would rather eat the store bought Purina rather than the nasty Abady dog food she is supposed to eat. So she ran for Midnight's bowl, while Harley scarfed down his serving. I grabbed Halo away and tethered her with a four-foot lead to a drawer handle, prepared her food, and put it down for her to eat.

Where is the problem, you ask? Harley finished his meal, darted out the mudroom door that I (stupidly) left open, and shot out the screen door on the run. He seemed to be puttering around the yard instead of heading for the woods as usual, so I (stupidly) thought I might be able to grab him. Knowing that Midnight isn't too fond of Halo yet, I (smartly) took her with me to retrieve my golden retriever -- who promptly decided that having me chase him might be fun, and he took off into the woods. He always comes back, but on his own timetable. I decided to return to the kitchen, where I found my Midnight looking pleased as punch after eating Halo's food. This was aggravating for 2 reasons: 1) Abady costs $5 a loaf, which lasts about 2 days and 2) now I had to make more of that stinky creation.

Eventually everyone ate the proper food, Harley wandered back after about 20 minutes of running, and the only thing I didn't do before leaving for the day was straighten my hair. A bad hair day was a small sacrifice for the first time around juggling a new morning routine. Tomorrow morning WILL be better...

The lesson I've learned so far: my pet dogs have bad manners.

Halo isn't a problem!  She got busy when my son let her out at 10:00 AM, ate her midday meal out of her Kong to keep her occupied during the afternoon, and wore herself out playing with Harley this evening. Now I'm the one exhausted from trying to spread my attention and affection to all 3 dogs, creating a successful (yes!) evening feeding, working with Halo on her training, getting her used to her gentle leader, body handling, laundry, blogging...and still haven't fixed the leaky toilet.

I'm tired, worried about how long it will take to create a new pack dynamic and routine -- but not regretting for a minute the joy that I feel when Halo shows what she knows, watching Harley and Halo play, and feeling Halo's head on my foot when she lays down next to me. I guess it is just joyful chaos right now.