Burrito Wrangling #21

Burrito Wrangling Update # 21: Since Murphy has been more stressed recently, and it is too dark to safely walk the dogs in the morning, I thought I would give a summary of my morning routine and how I try to keep the peace. Mila is a total lunatic in the AM and so it can be very stressful to try and get ready for work and keep them both happy and safe. I get up at around 5:30 and immediately let them out into the yard. If Murph is super grumpy I let them out individually (Mila first bc she can't hold it well yet). I get their food ready (Canidae grain free at the moment) and let them come in whenever they are done their business to eat. If Murph seems really bad, I give him a bully stick afterwards, and let him sequester himself (with the door shut). On most days they both want to be next to me and get upset if locked away. So, I grab a handful of really tiny treats and get ready for work (they get a half portion of breakfast so that they are still hungry). They both follow me of course, and I make them sit and give each a treat every few minutes in between washing my face, getting dressed etc. If Mila gets too crazy, I make them sit/treat more often (I always reward both to avoid confusion and resentment). They start to get the hang of what is coming and wait patiently for me to finish. It's adorable to see Mila squirm as she tries insanely hard to behave. This morning, because Murph was ignoring her attempts to play with his Flaps of Destiny ( = increased anxiety), I had a can of tripe with me (Tripett from Amazon) which turns them into perfect drooling dogs as they wait for their spoonful. I can usually get one morning "event" (e.g., face washed) completed between each treat. If they are both super excited, I do a jumping "on/off" the bed exercise so that they can practice being there together while giving me their attention (this was suggested by Train Without Pain to help deal with Murph's resource issues). Once I am ready, I put Mila in the car and give Murph a couple of minutes of one on one squeezing #burritowrangling