After expressing much frustration about the dogs to anyone who would listen, I finally called a family meeting. I posted the meeting time and what to bring on the family whiteboard (aka my external brain) in giant writing. The kids told us why they want the dogs. I brought to the table my stressors written down so that I wouldn’t get frustrated trying to remember everything.
The big stressors for me were cleaning up poop inside and outside, the dogs barking outside anytime someone walked by, the dogs coming in covered from head to toe in dirt/mud and jumping straight onto my bed, and me having to beg for help with the dogs. Most of these stressed me out because they would happen and interrupt my day and momentum in whatever I was doing. If they came in muddy I would have to stop and immediately clean them. If they pooped inside I would have to stop and immediately clean it up. For people with ADHD changing tasks, and then going back to the previous task can be hard. Then I started worrying about when I would be interrupted and have to do something I was not planning on doing, and it caused unnecessary stress.
My husband then took over the meeting and came up with parameters that would decrease my stress and allow the kids to keep the dogs. The kids were given a month’s trial, and if the parameters are not kept, then we will rehome the dogs. The trial renews every month, so if at any time they stop taking care of the dogs, they will be rehomed. The parameters are written down and posted so that everyone is clear. Here they are:
DOG DUTY
Your Day
Night Feeding
Pick up poop
Bring them in when barking
Take them on a walk
Fix any parts of the garden fence that Luna may break
ONCE A WEEK
Wash the dog
Bug- Luna
Bear- Ginny
Beaver- Paws as needed
Saturday whoever is sleeping with the dog feeds and potties the dog in the morning.
My husband works East Coast time, so he takes care of the weekday morning feeding and potty.
This has been implemented for 2 weeks now and seems to be going ok. We will see how it keeps going. I have felt less stress so I’ll take it as a win.
Missy
Emotional Support Sisters 
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