polar opposites

 

Being a musician is so exhausting!! 

Winslow likes to be very near to hubby so when hubby was practicing guitar, Winslow had to get in on the act too.  Almost looks like he is playing with the pedals! 

Hubby said it was very challenging playing but he worked around Winslow.

Yes, Winslow is very spoiled.  Perhaps more than our previous corgi, Koda, and that was one spoiled dog :) 

Koda was such a mellow dog except if he was around motorcycles, buses, trash trucks, and other dogs then he would wildly bark.  We used to call him Cujo during those times.  At home he basically slept a lot of the day away.  He didn't really initiate much play or really wanted to play.  I would walk him 45 minutes to an hour in the morning and in the evening hubby and me would take him for another long walk too so he got plenty of exercise.  He had an amazing sense of time (probably because I was bad and gave him food from the table) so he would nudge me around noontime when I was working at home because he knew that was my break time and he would come around us at about 7:45 p.m. to let us know it was his dinnertime at 8 p.m.  He also knew when hubby was due home from work and would lie at the door waiting for him.  Of course he sometimes did it at 10 o'clock in the morning when hubby wouldn't be home until 5 p.m.  He also laid by the door waiting for son to come home at curfew.  Curfew was 10 p.m. on school nights and he was at the door waiting at about 9:45 p.m.  He was the "perfect" dog.  He was calm enough to sleep on the bed with us at the foot, but would wander up to my pillow after I got out of bed (I was usually the first one up).  Sometimes he would wander up earlier to my pillow when I was still in bed but a gentle "its not time yet" would get him to move back to the foot of the bed. 

So after we lost him and we started at times talking about getting another dog after our year of grieving was over, I was hesitant because I kept saying we would get the dog from hell, like totally opposite.  Kind of like parents have the first "perfect" baby then their second child is the exact opposite.  That was my concern.  

I was right.  Winslow is the exact opposite of Koda.  He is hyper and very energetic.  He wants and initiates play constantly (watch for a post down the line about tennis balls and fetching them).  He is most active between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. and its like trying to run down energy on a hyperactive child.  We don't walk him at night because of safety issues so we'll take him to the dog park to release some energy.  He, unlike Koda, likes dogs.  Koda didn't like to be around any other dogs.  Winslow is friendly and likes to play with other furry friends.  We tried to get him to walk on the treadmill and had a trainer come out and help us, but he didn't take to it too well and now he avoids the treadmill room, fearing he'll end up on the treadmill again.  For those who wonder if it is safe on a treadmill, it is for dogs if done the right way and there is even a mobile service here in the Phoenix area that will come to your house, get your dog, and run it on their treadmills in their van.  

I can never imagine him sleeping on the bed with us.  Koda started to at about a year old.  Winslow is 15 months old.  He sleeps in a nice size crate in our room with plenty of room to spread out and I think he sleeps quite contently.  

Koda loved car rides and would sit in my lap faced out towards my window.  Of course if a bus, motorcycle, trash truck or loud vehicle came up by us then he would bark and go crazy, but otherwise he was perfectly content to look out the window for literally hours.  Winslow is getting more used to car rides but he likes to perch on hubby's right arm and look out the front window.  We haven't done many long rides with him yet but plan to slowly build up to them down the road (no pun intended :) 

So, yep, polar opposites.  Both loved, both spoiled (though like I said above I think Winslow is a bit more spoiled).  

Both Koda and Winslow favored hubby over me, but I think Winslow does it more since hubby is home with Winslow now that he is retired and before I was home with Koda and now I'm out working.

One thing I know for sure.  I won't have energy to get another puppy and more than likely Winslow will be our last dog.