Dexter, Comet, my wife and I had a full day spent with the dogs. We ran errands with them, dropped a car off with our mechanic (they were in the second car), got a couple things for Halloween. We took the dogs out to a county park and a drive into the East County (San Diego) for a few hours while guys were putting the finishing touches on our new concrete (two patios, a walkway, and a driveway). On returning home, we also played a game with our dogs called “how to not step in wet sealant”.
We have patiently waited for a month for the concrete to cure fully, and the weather to cooperate, to have sealant applied which would need between 24 and 48 hours to cure fully. Just as we had a month earlier left a “gangplank” to gain entry to the house by way of a side door, we now had to get dogs in and out over that “bridge”. That time, we had boarded the dogs for a couple days while the concreted cured. This afternoon, we tried to show Dexter and Comet how to get inside and back out again. It was a bit traumatic. My wife suggested that an old door that was up in the garage rafters might make a wider bridge for the critters to cross. I did note that our cat made use of that door bridge almost immediately. She was not going to get her paws sticky.
The challenge for me was how to guide 2 dogs on leashes across, and allow neither to step onto the wet sealant. In three attempts, I had little success like the cat modeled earlier. One, was trying to carry Dexter across the gap but his dismount inside the garage was ugly. He was no worse for wear. The second loss- was Comet stepping onto a wet spot. He made it to the carpet before my wife got a rag and scrubbed his rear paw clean of “goo”. My third fail (these dogs had to relieve themselves a lot today) – both Dexter and Comet stepped off the bridge onto the pavement returning to the house on our last walk.
A dog-person rarely dwells on imperfections around ones home. If you put up with drool, wet-dog smells, biscuit crumbs in carpets, and dog hair everywhere, what is the bother with a few paw prints? I just cannot let my concrete guy see paw prints. I may be the patron but the artist was adamant early on about dogs scratching his work. After all the creative efforts of a modern-day Michelangelo, he would not bear it if someone left a sticky handprint on ‘his’ David.
It's a Dog's Life 