Edel's diary - just don't ask!

[Ajax]

Hiya as a dog lover and mud hater I can sympathise with you! HUGS!

Have you thought (and please dont think I am evil or anything!) about getting a cage for your dog? Its been proven by lots of dog experts to be good for the dog as it is you? I hated the idea of them but since having used them on both dogs ( i have a 10 year old jack russell and a 5 month old bullmastiff) I wouldnt be without one now.
Our JR used to be terrible with us eating, so when we ate he went into the cage (was locked with his toys/blankets) then when we let him out after we had finished he got a treat. (It was also used when people visited as he became very jumpy) He still is jumpy but you tell him "bed" and he goes into his bed - where his cage used to be. Whenever we eat, he automatically goes into his bed, it took a few weeks perseverance but it paid off. We now have our pup in the cage at night, so she doesnt chew the house to bits, and also again when we eat. We have had her less than a week and she is following our older dog and learning well.

The mud from the garden or walkies can be a nightmare too, but now we have a strict regime of as soon as they walk in we have a damp warm towl that wipes them down and a dry towel to dry them off as soon as they walk thru the door. The towel is used wether they are wet or dry, clean or muddy. They soon get used to waiting to be done before they walk in. You can also by magic mats form JML - in boots/wilkos/woolies which gather a lot of moisture and mud from when they walk in. we have a few old towels/sheets on the floor as they walk in, which we chuck thru the washing machine with tesco value soap powder each night! If anyone comes over, they are picked up and hidden, so looks nice and tidy. Then any mud that is on our (beige!!) carpet is usually hoovered up ok!

I apologise if I have missed anything in your thread I haven't read it in full, i just felt for you because its obvious you love your doggy dearly. Just trying to think of something that might help.


Hope you are ok

 

[dellybelly]

Angela - you truly live up to your name. Thank you.

I had decided last night to bring her home but to build a pen for her in our back garden when she's outside during the day but the crate idea is a fantastic one for when my DS is eating at home. I just didn't have anywhere satisfatory to send her when we were eating. Having the crate will mean that I don't have to rush to build a pen for her now, I can keep her indoors and keep her clean.

 

[pandora]

i really hope you can come to a suitable arrangement to be able to keep her. The cage sounds like a good idea, my aunt has one for her Jack Russell & she allways goes & sits in there when people come around & even when the door is open she doesn't come out till she's told. My dog's a bu&&er at dinner time, but with my 2 being older (12 & 8) they just shoo him away.
hugs
xx

 

[Starlight]

Sorry I didnt get to catch up on your thread yesterday Edel. Im glad youve got a possible solution for the dog.... you sounded really down at losing her. The cage sounds a FAB idea

 

[ladylipo]

Awh i feel so bad for you, iv two little doggies of my own id be lost without them even tho they drive me mad sometimes!
This morning after i let them in from the morning piddle they mucked the kitchen floor, and i thouht of you!
I think the cage sounds lik a good idea and drying her off aftr shes been out!

Hope your feeling better x

 

[dellybelly]

Thank you all so much.

I took the day off work today to ponder my options and have decided that I'm going to go with Angela's crate idea. That way, I'm sure she'll stay in it when DS is having his snacks etc. ... the only problem is, payday's not till friday and we're on a limited budget till then. I've asked my friend to keep her till I get sorted out with a crate next week and she's agreed - It's not so much of a problem for her as she doesn't have any little ones around to steal food from.

We've also decided to keep her indoors until we get the chance to build a proper run for her in the back garden, and I'm going to search through my linen cupboard for old sheets etc to keep on the floor on the really wet days.

it's funny without her here, the floor was clean all day, but I've just picked DS up from creche and he's just spilt some of his dinner on the floor and juice too so the floor is dirty anyway - just a different kind of dirt. Children and dogs - why do we do it?

 

[pandora]

Children and dogs - why do we do it?

i ask myself this question on a daily basis !
Seriously i'm glad you've made a decision, & truly hope it all works out for you
xx

 

[Starlight]

Sounds like a great compromise Edel. Now that you know shes coming home youll be fine til she gets here *HUGS*

 

[paula 36]

hi edel sorry ive only just had time to catch up on here,hope you find that the solution works with the crate.
Sending you a big hugxx

 

[dellybelly]

i ask myself this question on a daily basis !
Seriously i'm glad you've made a decision, & truly hope it all works out for you
xx

Sounds like a great compromise Edel. Now that you know shes coming home youll be fine til she gets here *HUGS*

hi edel sorry ive only just had time to catch up on here,hope you find that the solution works with the crate.
Sending you a big hugxx

Thanks Cheryl, Sandy & Paula. Yep, I've been feeling much better since deciding to bring her home. I'm also slightly embarrassed as I think I may have over-reacted in a HUGE way. My OH is distinctly non committal about the entire thing, DS keeps asking when Sasha is coming back from her holidays and the only people who are unhappy about my decision apart from my friend and her father are my parents who didn't want me to get a dog in the first place.

 

[dellybelly]

Blooming in-laws!

I'd just about got myself on an even keel again last night after a major freakout at the weekend and we had OH's cousin visit last night. She's up from Dublin for a few days and brought us a box of Thornton's chocolates which I managed to polish off far too many of. We also - being good Irish hosts - brought out the tea and biccis. It's just as well it was too late to have any effect on my WI this week.....

I've lost 2lbs which means I'm on track, week 1 of my challengearty0011::bliss:

I think I may have to go and bring the dog back to get a bit of this: :chores016: done to try and burn off those terrible chocolates and stay on track for next week.

My WW leader has suggested that I try the quick start plan for a week. Might just give it a go and see how I do.

 

[ladylipo]

Hi delly i was thinkin about doin the kick syart this week as well!
id only beon 18 points a day, and last week i only allowed myself 19 a day because i was going out and i stayed the same!
Sandy thought maybe i didnt eat enought points so im kinda afraid to try it lol

 

[dellybelly]

Hi delly i was thinkin about doin the kick syart this week as well!
id only beon 18 points a day, and last week i only allowed myself 19 a day because i was going out and i stayed the same!
Sandy thought maybe i didnt eat enought points so im kinda afraid to try it lol

I know what you mean - I'm sort of worried about that myself, the only thing is, I still haven't managed a week where I haven't had a blow out of some description at some point. I've had at least one and most weeks two extremely bad days where I've gone wayyy over my points. I've been very lucky to have not put on massive amounts of weight since my gall bladder operation in October. I keep wondering what kind of weightloss I would have if I stuck to my points for 2 full weeks.

When I first started WW, my losses were so slow, never more than 2.5lbs and I started with 7 stone to lose. I'm now down to having around 5 & 1/2 stone to lose and it's been quite slow up until I started to take the reductil. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't hoped to be much further along than I am right now (at least 2-3 stone off already).

Basically, I figure, if I do it for one week and STS, then I'll go back up to my full points allowance the following week. I do know that my system can be quite sluggish and if I have a brilliant week, it can take 2 weeks to show, equally, if I have a terrible week, it can be the same - it'll take 2 weeks for it to show on the scales if I don't make a huge effort to pull back.


Tell you what, why don't we do the kick start together for the next week. Starting tomorrow, (I'll be on 22 points though) until WI next Tuesday... what do you think?

I'll even start a food diary so you can check out how I'm spending my points....

 

[dellybelly]

Oh - went to visit my wee doggie tonight and had to bring her home. She got so excited when I got up to leave that I couldn't leave her behind.

I'm sure we'll manage for the next week or so until we get sorted out with a crate for her.


And here she is:

 

[paula 36]

oh mate shes gorgeous you sound alot happier.I know what you mean i had 4 really good days last week and 3 awful i need to stop buggering aboutxx

 

[ladylipo]

Sounds lik a good plan lets go for it!!!
Only ill hav to start tomorro i hav my dinner worked out and ill hav used 20.5 points after that, well i hav been workin since 6 this morning which means im up since 5 iv another 3 of these shifts this week
i like having points in the evening so i can hav something if i want! Any ideas for a good low points lunch??

Awh your doggy is sooooooo cute, glad ya hav her back!

 

[dellybelly]

hmm, a good low points lunch - some 0 point soup and 4 slices of kingsmill crusts away, 2 laughing cow extra light cheese triangles, 60g wafer thin ham.... .... all for 4 points.


or have a low points dinner - if you can get Denny gammon steaks, they are 1 point each, along with 4 scoops of mashed potato (mashed with skimmed millk from your allowance) 2 points and a huge plate of free veggies and a portion of gravy made with granules 1/2 point. - dinner for 3.5 points.

 

[nicnak]

Just been reading this thread and its made me want a dog even more.
We had 2 cats before we had kids but when my eldest was about 3 we had to re home them as he has eczema and asthma... but hes 12 now and although he still has these things hes alot better and also we now have no carpets downstairs and a leather sofa.... sooo this makes me think we could now have a pet... but OH is not keen but me and youngest son would really love a dog or a cat

Nicole x

 

[ladylipo]

Sounds lik a good lunch for only 4 points
but theres no where in work i can make that and id feel a bit silly bringing it in with me, i no i no you prob think im a bit mad but im set in my ways lol

 

[dellybelly]

Just been reading this thread and its made me want a dog even more.
We had 2 cats before we had kids but when my eldest was about 3 we had to re home them as he has eczema and asthma... but hes 12 now and although he still has these things hes alot better and also we now have no carpets downstairs and a leather sofa.... sooo this makes me think we could now have a pet... but OH is not keen but me and youngest son would really love a dog or a cat

Nicole x

Hmm, Nicole, usually when someone says to me that they want to get a dog I advise them not to for several reasons. Although I love Sasha dearly and can't bear to be parted from her, they can be quite a lot of work.

Firstly, puppies need housetrained and the first year is very trying as they'll chew EVERYTHING... and I mean everything. Then if you get a ***** and she goes into heat, that's a whole different story. Then there's grooming them, choosing the right food for them, walking them, keeping them at a decent weight (that's not easy when they look sooo cute and are begging from you). The mess that comes in on their paws on wet/winter months,

Then there's the proper training for a dog - walking to heel on a leash, coming back when they're called, teaching them not to snap food out of your hand, training them to not to growl if you take their food away, socialising them with other dogs..... cleaning up their pooh on the streets....

Then the hair that lies in the corners of your house that suddenly appears even though you've just cleaned up, and also, getting them looked after when you're going away - boarding kennels are expensive and you fret about them when they're with relatives;...

Having said all that - it's a great excuse to get out walking and excercise yourself, it can teach your children responsibility and they are wonderful companions and can be a great addition to the family.

Think very carefully about getting a dog, some can live to 14 and beyond (I've heard of a laso apso that lived to 20!) they really are for life....