Out of the Crate

Other interesting news: A week or two ago, soon after Ruki's 1-year birthday, we decided to give something new a try. We decided to let her sleep the night outside of the crate.

And you know what? No problems at all. I was, as I am prone to be, nervous and could barely sleep that night, listening for her every move. But she did nothing. She got up once and finished her bowl of water. (I call her Night Drinker because she barely drinks during the day, never in the morning, but at night she goes to town on the water.) The next morning, she roused when we started walking around, and it was good times for all.

So a day or two after that we graduated her to spending the day out of the crate. And you know what? She was fine. The day before, I was at home, so I kept an eye on her to see what she did during the day. And now I can tell you--insight into the life of a bulldog:

She sleeps.

And so nowadays, she sleeps all day, but on her bed, not in the crate. She also doesn't need to pee during lunchtime, which saves us on a dog-walker while I'm at school--though I'm at home 2-3 times during the work-week.

And she still *shivers* when we get home around 5 p.m.--she stands there in the middle of the living room staring at us, looks like she's not moving, then you realize she's shaking all over, like she's about to explode. That's her greeting to us. Shivery, ready to explode with excitement and joy. That's our Ruki.