“One is like none. Two are like ten…”
Many years ago my sister said this of children. But did I follow her advice? Absolutely not. I had the second child, and all was well with the world. Two felt like little more than two. Now I cannot speak for others, as all children are so different…
Now I have the Kerries, and I think it may be obvious that I am all about them. But I will confess that each is better one-on-one. In a pair all sorts of inescapable naughtiness breaks out.
Although they know well the meaning of the “sit” command both verbally and in sign, when together they construe this as a bid to share in turn taking. And “stay” is reduced to something more along the line of hesitate. And their social graces with other dogs flies straight out the window, especially while together on the trails. So this dog walking thing can actually be quite an exasperating workout.
There should be something peaceful about a dog walk, I should think. And sometimes that is the case. So just yesterday I was set on enjoying our walk. I truly dislike ordering commands the whole time, so I was determined to stick with the attitude of less-is-more.
But out of nowhere Stirling was pulling ambitiously at the end of his retractable lead. I brought him back to me and quietly took him by the beard to have a serious conversation about the trouble with pulling me down the airstrip. He looked back into my eyes with full humility, and a promise of doing better. ‘Quite convincing.
…But a quick glance over my shoulder proved Aoife was devouring a ripe lush chunk of horse manure.
Now moose nuggets are on the menu, though the pack is limited to one morsel each per pile. But horse briquettes well-known for the laxative effect are strictly prohibited. I am quite certain my girl knows that, and I am not at all convinced there wasn’t a conspiracy between them.
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