Pet sitting is great, except when this happens.
Douglas is gorgeous. He's a cocker spaniel and he's lovely.
But he bark, loudly, at least half a dozen times between bed time and sunrise last night.
It's times like that that I really dislike pet sitting. When I feel powerless. When it's too late to call the 'pet parent' (as they're called on the website we book our gigs through). When I really wish they would just sleep so I can sleep.
When I woke up this morning just before sunrise to yet around round of loud barking, I realised two things:
I was exhausted, and
I was angry at the dog for depriving me of the sleep I so needed.
But mammals are sensitive creatures; if I came out cranky at him, he'd feel it and that would just make things worse.
So, I did some tapping (similar to EFT, if you know it). I did some orienting (a mindfulness practice that sees one connecting with their immediate environment).
And I reminded myself that the dog is not cruel; he did not mean to wake us so many times. He was just reacting to the smells and sounds he heard last night that felt like a threat worth investigating.
Fingers crossed, tonight is a quiet, boring night🤞
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Poor Douglas - he is obviously trying to say something! And poor you for not getting any sleep. How long will you be there? Could you bring him inside? It sucks not sleeping. I often just get up, face the sun, and tell myself ive had enough sleep. It seems to work. Tapping is a good strategy too! Hope you sleep well tonight.
The house looks really nice!
We have tried so many things over the last few days. We've done all the expected things. All the normal things. All the things I've been intuitively lead to doing.
I ever did surrogate tapping, where I went into his field, AS him to under what he was feeling. I heard, "scared and alone"; that's why I said to Brad that I was thinking about sleeping on the laundry floor with him. Which is what Brad ended up doing the next night but with nowhere near enough bedding!
I really think that it would be much kinder to have the dog sleep with the humans, since he doesn't have a buddy. But they were very clear that they didn't want him in the half of the house where the bedrooms are.
I will certainly be making different house-sitting choices in future as this one has been harder than many. But, he is adorable. I will miss him despite the whinging, winging, barking and sleep deprivation.
I leave tomorrow morning to start at the next place and Brad will stay one more night and then join me.
Sun in my eyes, bare feet on the ground and exercise always help me feel better. They were my priority these last few mornings. Those and coffee ☕ !LOL
That's how I am feeling waking up this morning! Add some ocean to that and I'll be okay.
That's so sad about the dog. You are so intuitive and attentive that it must have been really hard to see him suffer like that. Did you message the owners for a solution? Hope the next sit is better - any animals?
He looks like a real sweet dog. He is probably just nervous. I do hope you are able to get some sleep tonight.
He was a little better but I'm hoping much better tonight. We're tightening the nighttime routine. Fingers crossed 🤞
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Your ability to transform exhaustion into wisdom is admirable. By choosing serenity over impulse, you have remembered that control is not exercised over external events, such as Douglas' barking, but over your own reaction to them. That empathy born of logic is the highest value of a conscious society: understanding that each being acts according to its nature and that our peace depends on understanding, not on the obedience of our environment.