Mitch here!
Noodle’s been training for this pandemic her whole life. She sleeps like 22 hours a day and she’s always hated going outside. This quarantine is playing right into her little paws. You see, she wants us home. She wants us home real badly.
Dachshunds are a tough breed, and Noodle is a weird dog (as much as we love her). I know all about it because she lives in my house. The long and short of it is that she’s long, short and incredibly loud. But below you’ll find a few observations on how Noodle’s taken to quarantine:
- Noodle hates walks. When we used to take her out, she’d try to drag us back home. She hates walks so much that her vet told us to stop trying to take her on them for fear of traumatizing her. (Sad story: a baby gate was dropped on Noodle when she was only a couple of weeks old, and the vet thinks this is why she’s so skittish. She’s improved a lot over the last few years, but she’ll likely always be this way!) “Some dogs are inside dogs,” the vet said.
- Noodle is overwhelmed with attention now that the girls are home, which is great. Before the pandemic, we were a little worried about how much attention Noodle was getting, but we worry no more. She’s a tail-tugging, toy-chasing, treat-chomping champion.
- Noodle has panic attacks when her nails are trimmed, which has her in a predicament. I’m not kidding–she’s been kicked out of several groomers, and the doggy daycare refuses because she’s “a danger to herself and others.” (And the whole running-on-cement tactic doesn’t seem to have a big enough effect.) We found ONE groomer who will do it, but unfortunately that shop is shut down right now… so we’re thinking that we’ll bring her to the vet to have it done. (Fingers crossed she doesn’t have to be put under for it, but she might.)
- I’d say nearly 80 percent of Noodle’s diet is dropped Emma/Lucy food. And she’s become quite the connoisseur, leaving trails of the snacks she doesn’t like throughout the house. And given that I’m very lazy, Noodle now dictates the girls’ diet as I, obviously, only serve them stuff that Noodle will ultimately clean up.
- Noodle sleeps an extraordinary amount. Honestly, sometimes I forget I even have a dog. I suppose the girls are tiring her out, but her absolute favorite activity is snoozing, whether in her new crate or various dog beds. I mean, she lived a simple life before the virus, but this is ridiculous. Even worse, she snores! Dachshunds were bred long and short for the sake of burrowing, and that instinct is strong in Noodle. She gathers random blankets, towels and clothing from the house and rolls and twists herself into the most comfortable little nests. The best is when I find her down the sleeve of my sweatshirt. It breaks my heart to undo her handiwork each night when it’s time for bed. But that’s exactly what I’m about to do right now.
Sorry for this strange post. (It was my turn to right and… well… 😜) As always, though…
Mitch. OUT!
