What Brother?....I've Never Seen That Dood Before.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Today the boys went to Daycare for the first time in weeks.  I haven't been sending them because they've been getting plenty of exercise this Summer, but today DH and I had plans  so we decided it would be a good day for them to go.  We stayed for a while after dropping them off and watched on camera.  It was really pretty interesting.  They got there mid morning, so most of the other dogs were already there.  They all seem to know when there's a new dog coming in....I suppose they hear the bell that rings when the front door opens.  Anyway they all run to the door that enters into the play area and wait.  So, in come Guinness and Murph to a welcoming committee of about 30 dogs.  Guinness is thrilled to death....he's kind of bouncing around with his tail wagging a mile a minute.  Murph is not sure about this whole thing, so he decides the best thing to do is to stay right near his brother.  Do you think he thought Guinness was going to protect him...goofball!  Picture Guinness running, jumping and greeting all his friends with his big brother stuck like glue.  For about the first five minutes Guinness was okay with this whole "clingy thing", but then he just had enough of it.  He wanted to play with his own buddies and he wanted to ditch Murph.  It was just hysterical to watch this unfold.  Every time Murphy came near him he ran away and started playing with other dogs.  Finally, poor Murph got the point.  He walked away looking pretty miserable.  He did find a few of his own friends after a while.  I was thinking about how my two daughters acted very much like this.  When nobody else was around they were the best of friends, but when my older DD was with her friends, she wanted no part of her younger sister tagging along.  Clearly today, Guinness wanted no part of his "baby brother".

There must have been a big party at The Clubhouse after we left because my Doods are exhausted.  I had to coax Murph to even eat part of his dinner...he didn't even want to move.  Now it looks like they have both tucked themselves in for the night.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Isn't it funny how much like human kids they are!! OMD!! Well, it sounds like it turned out to be a fun day for BOTH of them!

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

Big brothers can be a pain - I know because I had one! I was the little, fun loving one and my brother was a dweeb (or whatever they're calling them now)!

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

I love this story/scenario, you never know what you are going to get at daycare.
 A few times back Daisy was bitten by a dog (who has been banned), ever since she does not like going. She has been a couple of times and did not have a fun day except the first half when a couple of her friends were there, after that she just waited for Mommy to pick her up. The Daycare owner told me she did not want to be with the big dogs so she put her with the little dogs and basically just hung out watching everyone. None of her friends came that day :o(

Makes me sad and a little mad because she really use to enjoy going.

I love that Murphy found his own way after being rejected by his older brother, I guess he showed him.

Oh and I think perhaps we all evoke our own human feelings when it comes to our babies but hey, that's how I see it.

[Mimi Linna, Lilly and Lolly]

what lucky dogs to get to go to day care.. hugs to poor murph.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That has to be the name of a rap song or maybe a whole album:

"Hangin' With the Poodles and the Boxers"

ROFL

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

@F, I'm not sure Murph will EVER have as many friends as his "big personality" brother....but it would be nice.

@ Lucy & Sophie's Mom, our Daycare is great for times when I just don't want to leave the guys alone for most of the day.  Many of them now allow you to watch remotely as well as from the lobby.  Look around for one that has plenty of supervision and does pre-testing for temperament.  Ours is run by a former trainer who has a great reputation...she gave it up to open the Daycare, and she has trained all her staff to be able to recognize any body language triggers.

@Nancy, you are already running YOUR OWN DAYCARE!

@Karen, it was a little sad but Murph needs to learn to be more independent and to make "dog friends", so this was a good thing.  The owner said that after a while Murph settled in and was "hanging with the Poodles and Boxers". 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

As an oldest child with a sister who was born when I was only 17 and a half months old, I will defend to the death Guinness's right to have and spend time with his own friends sans Murphy.
But I do feel terrible for poor Murphy. "He walked away looking pretty miserable" evokes the saddest image!
I know you must have had mixed feelings watching that, Jane!
.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Ned, Clancy, Gordie and Sunny need daycare.  First they were mostly cooped up in the RV for two weeks. Then the fence we contracted to be rebuilt while we were gone wasn't, so they are confined to the house with potty breaks.  The want a DayCare-ation!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I really need to find a place like this where I could go to another room and watch on camera because I'm really uncertain about how Lucy and Sophie would react to being left in a place like Daycare.  When we take them to the indoor dog park they never leave our sides unless we stand on opposite sides and call them back and forth.  Lucy is pretty grumpy about other dogs checking her out.  She will tolerate a little sniff, but go much beyond that and she growls at them.  Sophie on the other hand just stands and druels all over her chin!  I really need to have some sort of a back up plan just in case I got in a jam, but I'm not sure what type environment that should be.

[Ronna, Murphy & Wilson]

Poor Murphy...that is so sad...but Funny!