Even though Milo is feeling better, he still wishes he could be running

“Stay. Stay. Don’t move!” I said as I slowly backed away from Milo, who was sitting in his bed. Once I was sure he won’t move, I turned around and went to my room (he’s restricted from running, walking, jumping and playing for about six weeks).  But once I got to my room I heard his name tags clanking together.

I knew he got out of his bed, so I tip-toed back to the room he was in, and saw him run back to his bed just before I reached him, but I saw. I saw him jump back into the bed and curl up in the same position I left him. He knew he was breaking the rules.

Now that his stitches are out and he no longer needs to wear the cone, he’s feeling much more energetic. It’s hard to stop a dog from doing what he does naturally: run and jump around. He can jump onto or off the couch in a split second, and trust me, it’s happened.

As a result, my family and I have created a barricade around the couch so that during the day, when no one is home, he can be free and sit in his bed instead of the torturous crate. We pushed our coffee table against one side of the couch and put a large plastic storage bag and laundry basket on the other side. Milo does not dare to go near the couch because he’s afraid of getting squashed by the giant barricade.

Although Milo’s feeling better, I don’t think he’s too happy. All he is allowed to do is sit in his bed or couch (with someone). He can’t be a true dog for a while. He gets yelled at when he steps out of his bed and carried back to his bed if he’s seen walking around the house too much. We’re trying to control his life for the next few weeks, but he’s rebelling.

We can’t stop him from moving around every single second, so in the end we let him roam around the house for very short periods of time and then he will sit quietly in his bed (well, most of the time).

In the end, everyone has to compromise.

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