First Reaction

I know what you're thinking- you're thinking "two dogs? That's crazy!" I have to say, after I agreed to foster Tango and Schroder I was feeling pretty good about it until I got them home. Then my first thought was - "Oh dear. What was I thinking?"

The first day was a bit hectic- Schroder was missing all the people at the rescue and spent a long time crying at the door to go back. Tango stuck pretty close to him, comforting him as she could with her presence. We went out for quick walks 10 times that day since it seemed to help them settle. The spent the first night in our bedroom, terrifying our cat who lost his standard place at the foot of our bed. They slept really well that first night and only made noise when our cat, Gibson, attempted to reclaim his favorite spot and got everyone riled up.

The next day was almost perfect. We went out for a few romps in the snow, but due to the cold they were again very short. Schroder sniffs every possible thing and is often happy to stand in one place for several minutes just sniffing the air. Tango is patience personified (or dogified?) and waits for him. Neither of them pull on the leash at all, and the only problem we had was Tango sticking so close to my side that sometimes it was hard not to step on her. If she goes a bit ahead and Schroder stops to smell, she turns around right away and comes back to your side, waiting for the signal to go.

The benefit to the two of them is that they can cope quite well on minimal exercise. For Schroder, 15 minutes is plenty and you can see him getting tired sometimes by the end of it. For Tango, she can and will go much longer than that and loves it, but is happy for any time spent outside with you. After even a brief outing, they both settled down with a chew toy or get comfy for a nap.

They are, 100% of the time, absolute cuddle bugs. Both come hopping over to you when you come in the house from shopping or work or even taking the garbage out with their tails wagging joyously. They never jump, as they can't, and they never push into you or push you over, they just come over and wait for an ear-scratch or belly rub. Today I had lots of cuddles. I had Schroder sprawled beside me on the left, and Tango on the right, both waiting for cuddle time. I also just finished watched a movie with Tango snoring way in my lap and Schroder asleep in front of me, warming my feet.