Our Little House Really is a Big Dog House

As soon as anyone drives into the long, winding driveway from our dirt road, they can tell we have pets, even if they’ve missed the faded “Beware of Dog” sign (originally placed there to keep people from taking a tour of our property when we didn’t live here full time).

The doggy symbols become more apparent as people near Our Little House.

I’ve put together the Top 5 Signs that Our Little House is more what Dale calls it, “The Big Dog House.”

1). There are multiple “babies” all over the driveway and scattered throughout the yard. While we try to keep these dog toys confined to Our Little House or The Belle Writer’s Studio, Abbi, the newest member of our 4-legged family, loves to take them outside and shred them. If we can catch her and tell her to “drop it,” she will, but sometimes she sneaks out and literally runs for the hills with her baby. Incidentally, all of the other dogs know these as “bobos,” but to Abbi, they are “babies.”

2). There are multiple water dishes out on all 3 of the porches and deck. Sometimes they’re not always full or clean, but we try.

3). The floor in Our Little House is wall-to-wall dog beds. Really. There are dog beds in The Belle Writer’s Studio as well, but it’s a bigger, more open space, so it’s not quite wall-to-wall.

4). This window in The Belle Writer’s Studio, as well as all of the glass in the doors are permanently imprinted with dog nose slobber and prints. This window is especially vulnerable as it is about 1 ½ foot off of the floor, so all of the dogs can easily sit and watch squirrels and birds in the woods in back of the studio. No amount of washing multiple times a day will get rid of the prints.

5). This sign says it all. Spoiled Rotten Dogs do Live Here!

Ok, LL community, what are the signs that your home really belongs to your pets – dogs, cats, ferrets, fish, birds, or whatever you may have!? Or, if you don’t have pets, what’s a sign when you go to a neighbor’s or relative’s home?


22 Responses

  1. Cindyt says:

    Hi Kerri, I haven’t checked in for awhile…but stopped by today to get a little chuckle over what the evidence you have pets in your home? LOL. Like some one else said Hair is considered a condiment at our house…also, it is an accessory! You are not properly dressed and accessorized with out plenty of White long doggy hair on your outfit!!!! Thanks, For the smile this afternoon! Cindyt

    • Kerri says:

      HI, Cindyt! Good to see you back at Living Large! Accessory? I can so relate. We were eating at a diner last night and Dale kept brushing little short black hairs from my plate. “Must be Dakota hairs coming off of your shirt,” he finally said. I looked down and I had her hair all over the front of me! 🙂

  2. Love the photo of the dog on her back. Are all your dogs female?

    We have bones all over the house plus the inevitable dog hair.

    • Kerri says:

      That is Chloe on her back, Heather. Molly is the red Doxie lying next to her in her own bed. Yes, all of our dogs are female. In addition, there is Sade, Dakota and Abbi.

  3. Sheryl says:

    Ours is the huge cat tree in thr front lroom– placed smack in front of the windows so that our furry children can sit, sleep and see all things that happen on the front lawn. Its hand made from several thick ltree limbs so its hard to miss.

    I would imagine the cat fur here and there in the house is another tell-tail sign. They are very spoiled cats, to put it mildly.

    • Kerri says:

      OH, and they do love to watch what’s happening outside! My cats in the city had a window bed so they could lie there all day watching the neighbors, dogs and other cats coming and going. 🙂

  4. Dog beds, dog toys, and probably barking … I hope it isn’t smell. :o)

    • Kerri says:

      Fabreeze pet odor eliminator is my BFF! 🙂 After a trip into town, we come home and Dale always has to say, “It smells like dogs in here.” I wonder why!? 🙂

  5. Mo says:

    At our house Dog Hair is considered a condiment…

    We’ve also learned that it is best to have either dark colored dogs or light colored dogs and then match your furniture and wardrobe.

  6. Frugal Kiwi says:

    No huge clues re: the two cats, but the chicken coop aka the Millenium FOWL-con that houses our chickens Princess Layer and Hen Solo might be a clue we have a small backyard flock…

  7. Jennifer Meyer says:

    Also obvious at my house, four wire tie outs under the kitchen door, multiple beds, tall gates in three rooms. I had to close the small pet doors on the bottom except for the cats room and that has a ladder blocking part of it so the dogs don’t go through them! I have two that can do it at 30 plus pounds each, Britts are very smart, too smart for me hahaha. Plenty of dog bowls, and a water bowl plus a pet fountain in the kitchen which they love by the way.You should try out this toy, they used to have a video of Sweetlips playing with it and then they ran it over with a big truck and could not destroy it.

    http://www.petproductadvisor.com/store/product-detail.aspx?pi=T-U-R-RP
    I get lots of goodies off this site!

  8. NoPotCooking says:

    Oh, it’s obvious at our house too. We have two golden retrievers. My parents also have two and when they travel, their dogs stay here. We often say our house is carpeted with dogs. You can’t get anywhere without stepping on one. One of our dogs takes the retrieving part of his name seriously and spends his days hauling clothing he steals from laundry baskets or off of chairs. He leaves them all over. We also have dog toys just everywhere. And then there is the ever present dog poop in the backyard, which no matter how frequently you clean it up, they always make more – or you manage to miss a lot. Our sliding glass door is covered with smears too.

    • Kerri says:

      Oh, the clothes thing is funny! No matter how big of a house you have, 4 goldens in one place at times!? Wow!

  9. Olivia says:

    We have no pets now but when we had our beagle the car windows were the worst – always covered in nose tracks. Plus dog hair everywhere, including my clothes.

    I have a friend who has cats and dogs and the cats have scratched every chair and table leg in the place. Really scratched. Gouged. Some of the wooden legs are half their original size.

    • Kerri says:

      The hair does come with the territory. And yes, those slobbers on the car windows. Had them more when we were driving back and forth from the city. Yikes on the furniture. I always told my husband that we didn’t have kids, but animals have the same effect on furniture, so don’t expect perfect showroom quality!

  10. Robin Homsey-Blaine says:

    I have 5 dogs (2 lab’s and 3 french bulldogs) and try as i might i can never keep the floors or windows clear of dog hair. i have nose prints and slobber all over my windows. clean them daily but 30 seconds later they are slobbered on again. dog beds covering the floor so it is impossible to walk. a doggie door that allows access in and out so lots of things that aren’t supposed to be in the house are and things that are supposed to stay in are out. brand new furniture covered with throws and the new pillows are now dog property. to me it is a perfect house…to guests, well let’s just say we don’t get many anymore! that’s okay though. I would rather my dogs for company. lol

    • Kerri says:

      That’s funny, Robin. We call those hairballs, “Tumbledogs!” I would rather share my home with dogs too. 🙂

  11. Brian says:

    We had a “Rottweiler Crossing” sign with the image of a Rotty when 3 of those big lugs lived with us. My wife was not impressed.