OS Singlies - We Do It Our Way!

lostinrates

iammumtoone wrote: »

I love dogs and would like to be a dog walker especially for an older person. However I would be worried that I don't have the skills for such a role. I have never owned a dog myself (I am a cat person ) so much in the same way I would never have babysat a baby before I had my own, I wouldn't feel it was fair to practice my dog control/walking skills on someone elses beloved pet!

Do you know if the charity you talk about happily accept people to help if they have never owned a dog themselves? Maybe if they paired me up with the right dog (ie a small one) I would be ok?

I don't know, . I think they used to ask for a referral from your vet.

I think the key think when walking someone else's dog would be not to let it off the lead tbh. I walk my three off the lead and when a friend had cancer walked her ten :eek: with my three :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

But achieved this by taking them all into a secure field and letting them run off lead together till they were shattered and occasionally roping in other volunteers to help me march them all for some road work and variation. Even though they were all really well behaved thirteen dogs is too many to walk alone off private, fenced land. I find my three quite adaquate :rotfl:

Byatt

LIR, I will probably look into it when I retire, I am a pet sitter by trade at the moment. :cool:

Do you know if the Cinnamon Trust have insurance, as I know there are more risks with dogs than cats, biting someone for instance or attacking another dog. Not to put anyone off, but these days you need cover for all sorts of stuff which at one time you could do without a lot of thought. I remember as a child going around the neigbours asking if I could take their dog for walk :eek:

LavenderBees

The Northumberland branch of the MSE OS Singlies group met int'pub at noon, and didn't move for 4 and a half hours :eek:

Well....our mouths certainly got exercise, even if the rest of us didn't! :rotfl:

Personally, I feel much better now, am in my onesie, and settled down for a lovely quiet night. The world has been well and truly put to rights :T

groatie_queen

LavenderBees wrote: »

......Skids in.......trying not to spill cuppa.....

Anyone heard from Groatie queen? Hope she's ok. I know she said she was feeling dodgy earlier in the week.

Had such a hectic week, that have decided not to go on walk with walking group tomorrow, and will have quiet time at home, catching up on chores, and irritating the cats.

Hi LB - thanks for asking... definitely was well under par last week. I went to work, and had several very early nights (bedroom light turned off at 7.30, 8.00 and twice at 9.00!), but coming up for air now, and managed to go to my regular coffee drop-in this morning, then on to good friends for a bowl of soup and a catch-up.

I also had enough energy yesterday to do the laundry and even hand-washed a jumper (a rare event), then had a slump for the entire afternoon! Cats on lap... bliss.

I think when living solo, it's best not to be too heroic when under par and to conserve energy as much as possible. I've lived with a health condition for over 20 years, and overall find it's best to go with the flow rather than try to fight the river.

The good thing about solo living, is it takes the pressure off - I was married for 26 years, to someone who really just wanted to be looked after, even when I wasn't well... it created so much pressure for me that divorce was the only answer. He found someone else to look after him, and I am happily solo! It's great to be free to pace myself and to follow the ebb and flow of my energy levels.

I do prioritise getting to work, and probably take less sick days than my colleagues, just because I don't want to be seen as a liability. Luckily I look well, even when feeling rotten. This can sometimes result in needing very early nights, but it's worth it - I love my job and when I focus on helping other people, I feel better too - so everyone benefits. Part-time has been my salvation.

Re cats being sick! I've had cats who regularly boked up fur balls, but not this lot. Occasionally I find the odd wee pile of gobbed-up cat food, I think sometimes it gets eaten too quickly. I feed them on dried food and leave down plenty of water. They all like drinking from the bath tap, and play with the water as it trickles down. All three keep me company when I'm having a soak, one at each end and one perches on the loo cistern.

Byatt

GQ, I can relate on many levels. I've also learned to conserve energy, I've had 2 days of not doing a lot, but now feel myself coming out of it, and ready to start again. Glad you're feeling better.

calicocat

lostinrates wrote: »

Well....my offering a dog shut everyone up, rofl........

Lol.....

I used to dog sit my friends dog twice a week as a rule....he's an absolute doll....total lardarse, and more than happy to bunk it in bed all day with me i'd I had been at work. Now i've moved i'm not doing it as i'm not handy and live too far away, so i'm probably missing my dog fix more at the moment.

Nextdoor has dogs, so I think once we get a bit more friendly I may offer my services as her mother is becoming unwell...which would in return also mean in time I would have someone else local to feed the Asbo if I went away.




MElanzana.....dont worry about it, I do it all the time doing this on a postage stamp......no I mean mobile.

boddy

LavenderBees I really enjoyed this afternoon. Calicocat and yourself are very good company. Glad you are feeling better. I'm in my onesie too and settled. Got such a look off the cat when I came in I burst out laughing.

groatie queen I'm sure I read somewhere that research shows that helping others helps our well being.

singlestep

We used to have a dog, years back, and he was much-loved. Since then, due to asthma and the time I spend away on a working day makes it impossible to get a new dog or help with the dogs next door since the neighbour was diagnosed with a serious illness. Will look in to the Cinnamon Trust in my area and pass on the information - thanks!

iammumtoone, you can probably tell from the way I expressed myself (clumsily), I'm not a mum! I am good at making a virtue out of the necessary and a relaxing bath and catching up with TV sounds like a plan. I've done much the same myself today ... although in my case I'm hoping to reset my brain to common-sense mode.

metherer

Evening all. Thanks LB for this shiny new thread.

It has been set up in perfect time for me. My marriage hasn't been going well for a while, lots of stress that neither of us need, and so we had a long conversation this morning with the outcome that we are going to aim to have the house ready to sell by the end of March, and separate. We hope to remain friends, as quite honestly that is what we've been for a few years now rather than husband and wife (even if that is our legal status).

So, am going to have to start thinking about the practicalities of living on my own again. Soooo much to think about!

calicocat

lostinrates wrote: »

I don't know, . I think they used to ask for a referral from your vet.

I think the key think when walking someone else's dog would be not to let it off the lead tbh. I walk my three off the lead and when a friend had cancer walked her ten :eek: with my three :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

But achieved this by taking them all into a secure field and letting them run off lead together till they were shattered and occasionally roping in other volunteers to help me march them all for some road work and variation. Even though they were all really well behaved thirteen dogs is too many to walk alone off private, fenced land. I find my three quite adaquate :rotfl:

Holy smoke....!...13...!!

You must be a very nice /good friend to take 10 dogs out....well at once anyway...even with help that is a tall order.




LB and Boddy......really enjoyable afternoon, and lovely to meet the Boddy at last.

What LB hasn't admitted to is that her lunch plate was pretty much entirely fried....so was mine.., so the only person sticking to any healthy eating plan was Boddy...and I nicked her salad.


Well I was going to paint another wall....but can't be bothered, so I am also in my onesie and watching jamie's weekend cookery programme...bliss. the only thing I am missing is the bloke in the cupboard to rustle me up some soup later.



Edit...re:cats....i eventually relented and fed mine again....funny how all the stuff she won't eat was eaten when I got back in. We had strong words...as throwing upp on my walls is quite frankly unacceptable behaviour.