I love Magdalena, I do. She is a sweet, gentle (mostly) Husky puppy. And therein lies the problem.
I get that she’s a puppy, and as such, she has a lot of puppy energy. She roughhouses with Sirocco and Major Tom. She and Sirocco chew on each other and get into some knock-down, drag-out battles. When we go on walks in the morning, she has a tendency to pull, and if she tries to bolt it is everything I can do to keep from flying behind her.
As a Husky, she’s bred to be a work dog. She should be pulling a sled, or herding animals, or something. I’m sure she is bored, but I can’t do a lot any more to alleviate her boredom. I can’t run, and play, and keep her engaged like I might have done in my younger days.
The worst thing though is that she is always under my feet. Or on top of them. I cannot walk through the house without her sitting right in front of me, blocking my path. Or walking directly in front of me, blocking my path. Or sitting next to me, leaning on me, or sitting in the way so I can’t get to my chair. Or if she’s getting pets, sitting on my feet. Or some combination of all of the above.
The biggest problem is the wife has mobility issues. She has fallen eight times since the beginning of August 2024. Her back problems make it difficult for her to get around. I’ve taken to trying to always be with her as she moves through the house to try to keep her upright. I must admit I don’t have the strength to pick her up off the floor myself and if she falls I have to call someone to help get her up. That can be all kinds of problematic.
Magdalena makes the task more difficult. If I’m working at my desk, and the wife is at her desk next to me, Magdalena is usually on the floor next to my chair. If the wife has to get up and move to another room, I have to maneuver around the dog because she won’t move. It makes getting out of my chair an interesting challenge. If I try to lead the wife through the house, Magdalena won’t get up and move. Telling her to move doesn’t work. Nudging her with my foot sometimes works. But the only thing that definitely works is walking backwards as I lead the wife and moving carefully until my foot is lined up against the dog’s side, then applying light pressure in an increasing amount until she gets up and moves.
I don’t want to hurt the dog, but I also can’t have her under my feet if I’m moving the wife through the house. I could maybe throw one of her toys to get her attention and she’d go after it, but then I have to remember to keep one of her toys with me all the time. That in itself is a problem because if I try to pick up one of the dog’s toys, all three of them get real interested in it. Instead of having one dog under my feet as I try to get through the house, I’d have three.
If anyone has Caesar Milan’s phone number, do a guy a favor and pass it along to me.
If you’d like to support my efforts, why not buy me a chocolate chip cookie through my Ko-Fi page? https://ko-fi.com/jhusum