Baby Gates

I’ve lived in DC for over 4 years – I can’t believe it has been that long! The first 3.5 years in the area I rented large houses split between 3-4 roommates, had yards, and plenty of space both indoors and out. At the end of November, I signed a lease on a small 2 bedroom apartment in an idyllic condo community, and soon after found a wonderful roommate on Craigslist. I love where I live for a variety of reasons, but adjusting to apartment living after always having a house has been trying at times.

Golden Retrievers are more of a medium sized dog breed under AKC standards, but who are we kidding – they’re still pretty big dogs. I have big furniture and a lot of stuff (it’s amazing how much you can acquire in just 4-years!) – so our lives in the apartment are quite “cozy”.

While I’m at work, both Hush (usually crated) and Milly are left in my bedroom with the door shut. I never had this problem in a larger house, with more circulation, but in the apartment the air in my bedroom gets stuffy having the door closed all day. I hate coming home to a stuffy, dog smelling bedroom at the end of a long day.

After all of the rain we have been having surrounding Hurricane Irene, I was finally fed up with my bedroom smelling like a dog, or worse, a wet dog. On Saturday, I bought a baby gate, and today happily kissed my pups goodbye, and left the door open with Milly gated inside and Hush in her crate. I can’t wait to see, or smell, the difference when I get home.

Baby gates should be added to all must-have lists for dog owners! They’re great, and at only $10, this was a very cheap solution to my problem. As Hush gains more and more freedom, I will probably pick up 1 or 2 more baby gates. They are an excellent way of slowly bridging the gap between crating and being loose, and enable your dog to have more space with you not having to worry about your dog getting into anything he or she should not.

Award: Bad Blogger

I am the worst blogger ever! If there was an award for bad-bloggers, I would get it! So much has been going on.

First, I moved on Tuesday. I now live in a lovely little condo complex in Arlington, on 14-acres of beautifully manicured lawns, with well established trees, and a river… did I seriously just discuss the “well established trees”? No wonder I’m single.

The complex is extremely dog friendly, and I love it! Moving has really monopolized the majority of my time, and I will be very excited when everything is set up. I’ll post pictures as soon as my apartment no longer looks like a national disaster area. I have so much stuff, so I’m implementing a lot of down-sizing and space-saving tips I’ve learned on all of the blogs I follow, and am debating ordering the shoe rack DC Gop Girl blogged about.

Second, I am currently trying to get a new job. I know, controversial whether or not to put this out on the worldwide web, but my boss knows about my endeavors, and fully supports my career so I’m going to go out on a limb and own up to it, at least on the blogosphere.

Third, as you all know, I have a puppy. I really did not grasp exactly what I was getting myself into with getting Hush. Don’t get me wrong, it was one of the best decisions of my life, but I now really understand first hand why you should never get a puppy on a whim. I researched puppies, breeders, training, and just about everything dog related for over three years, and am still blown away by the amount of time and work involved in having a new puppy, especially if you care as much about training as I do.

I promise to return to blogging regularly, just as soon as possible.