Having a family dog is something that has always appealed to us, and we thought that living in Binsted would make the idea of owning a dog even more attractive as there are so many lovely walks right from the doorstep. However, neither of us really understands what is actually involved with owning a dog on a full-time basis.
So, a few weeks ago, when one of our friends offered us the chance to ‘dog sit’ their Labrador Poppy, while they were on holiday we jumped at the opportunity. Chloe and Hollie have both spent a lot of time with Poppy over the years and they were very excited at the prospect of looking after her for a week.
We had Poppy during one of the summer heatwaves, which meant that we had to make the effort to take her out for walks early and late to avoid the heat of the day. This was a bit of a shame for Chloe and Hollie as we typically took her out before they were up or after they had gone to bed.
However, from a shellfish point of view, Tash and I both really enjoyed having some peace and quiet with Poppy at the start or end of the day to go for a walk and explore some of the area. It was really relaxing to start or end the day with a dog-walk. Timing-wise, it also meant we were out at some very pretty times of day and got some great views.
I have always said that if I was to get a dog, I would like one that is able to run with me. So, I was keen to take Poppy running at least once. I opted for the coolest day of the week and went out early before it was too hot. It was a lot of fun running with her, and I was amazed how easily she was able to navigate the footpaths and made light work of the hills while I struggled on behind. It was also nice to have some ‘company’ while running and I genuinely felt a little lonely when I ran by myself the following week.
I also enjoyed her company around the house during the day. I typically work from home most of the time and having Poppy, curled up next to me was comforting. Even just having ‘someone’ to talk to while making a coffee was something I appreciated.
The girls didn’t miss out completely. We made an effort to do a couple of short pre-bedtime walks with them and some early walks at the weekend. The ‘power of Poppy’ was evident when we went out for a pre-breakfast walk on the last day that we had her. The idea of getting out pre-breakfast with the girls is typically unheard of. But we managed to have a really nice walk and even picked some blackberries for our pancakes when we got home.
The main issue we had when walking with the girls, was taking turns to hold her lead and explaining to Chloe that Poppy prefers to be off the lead, so that she can run freely and explore. She didn’t seem to comprehend the comparison that if we took her to the park, she probably wouldn’t want to be on a lead the whole time.
We all loved, having Poppy for the week and it certainly ‘sold’ the idea of dog ownership to us. However, we are completely aware that it would be more challenging on a wet January morning to get out and about. Ideally, if we were to get a dog in the future, we would like to have a puppy to grow with the family. So, I think we will be waiting a few more years for our children to be a little more self sufficient before adding a puppy to the chaos.
Hopefully we can dog sit again soon.
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