Walking Two Dogs

I'm thick in the middle of back-to-back conferences. This would be a heavy and taxing weekend. But it's all work, I'll deal. I don't mind having Ryo over during this period. At this point, he's like my second dog. He's been raised and trained in home etiquette that I approve of. He toilets outdoors and holds his bladder fine (yes we still pee them 4x a day). He doesn't bite cables or stuff or rip my things. He doesn't seem to have separation anxiety or be affected by thunderstorms. 

Managing his fears of the outdoors and such, especially interactions with other dogs aren't the concerns now. I know how to manage him, and he has been doing good. As long as he is fine with Choya at home, and follows her lead, I welcome him. Ryo's pawrents are awesome people — kind and considerate. I never minded having Ryo over for a longer period. He can always go home to his nanny, but he likes company too. 

The husband is on dog duty this weekend mainly because I'm flooded at work. But I can still easily walk them and such. Having a dog is honestly a two-person job. What more two dogs. 

I'll still walk Ryo and Choya together. Although during bedtime pees, they're split because Ryo pees so much faster than Choya. He just wants to pee and go home — 10 seconds, we be done. Choya knows it's the bedtime pee, and still she likes to meander. Zzzzz

Walking 17.5kg Ryo and 7.5kg Choya is quite adorbs. It's a bit of leash technique too. Every owner will eventually figure out how to sort that out with their dogs. They often want to go in different directions. Choya is a terrible walker. It's much easier to pull and coax Ryo to follow her.

This is why I need to work out. I must be able to walk the dogs without being pulled off of my feet, or having my wrist and fingers jerked into a strain or a sprain. Each time, these floofs will remind me that I do need to maintain a level of fitness to keep them clean, happy and exercised. 

At the gym, I always work in sled push and pulls of minimally 80kg. That is a very manageable weight for me. I can do 120kg, but I slack off often and don't overload. I just need to remember how pulling and pushing ~90kg feels like. 100kg is comfortable. 

Walking the two of them that morning was eye-rolling. Morning walks are dicey. Sometimes, they would both poop. Sometimes not. Often, one would poop and the other one wouldn't. Imagine the juggling I have to do to hold on to their leashes, get out poop bags, wipe their butts, and pick their poop without forgetting where they left the turd piles. And maybe watching out for passing floofs because Ryo is NOT friendly.

Ryo would often bolt if he hears strange noises or something scares him. I can't drop his leash. And I need to keep a constant hold on his leash instead of being shocked into dropping it or unable to hang out if he lunges and I'm not ready. It's not just arm strength. It requires almost all my core strength to hold the leashes in order not to move Choya's while she's pooping, and the 17.5-kg clown tugs at his.

Choya getting a poop in.