So we have become one of those couples. Yep. THOSE couples. We actually take our dog to day care twice a week. But we have a very very good reason why: it works.
When I started a new job last month, Chris and I worried that Dallas would chew down the house. We could just imagine the Caesar episode of "Good Dogs Gone Bad," starring Dallas DuMont. It would involve chewed up furniture, permanently poop-soiled floors, and lots of teeth-barring (have you seen those episodes?!) Hard to imagine, considering how uber-submissive Dallas really is, but we did have slight justification for our worries: In April & May, when I was doing consulting work in Wilmington, returning home only for weekends, for two months, she all but ransacked the house under sole provider Chris' care: flip flops, bathroom rugs, a jacket, pillow and magazines, even the crown molding around the floorboards- all destroyed. She even dis- eared a beloved stuffed chimpanzee. So we worried.
Immediately upon starting my job, we found a doggie day care near Chris' work and signed her up. She loves loves loves other dogs, so easily passed their test (they check for aggression, which is good) and two days a week comes home with Chris from work absolutely exhausted. Where we typically arrive home to such eager energy, racing around the house and grabbing a chew toy, Dallas now glides right past us, tunnel vision-ed to her favorite chair, falls asleep immediately and stays asleep until the next morning. Even then, she'll humor us for a walk and breakfast before falling back to sleep again, even before we've left for work that day.
And so far, starting my second month, all walls, pillows, and flip flops are fine, stuffed animals have been able to maintain the remaining ears, and excluding one unfortunate incident involving a significant amount of peanut butter, floors have been safe. All thanks to doggie day care twice a week.
