Our dog Charlie loves to run in and out of the house.
I guess all dogs like to do that.
But to me, it seems like Charlie wants to run in and out more than any other dog in the world! If he’s outside, he just wants to come inside. But then when he’s inside, he just stands at the door and whines to go back outside again. This wouldn’t be such a big deal if we didn’t live in the coldest part of the country where the temperatures get down to below freezing on a regular basis. We have to keep our furnace running almost non-stop throughout the winter just to keep the temperature of our house habitable. I know that sounds a little bit crazy, but if we leave the heating turned off for an hour or so, the temperature falls dramatically and we end up having to supplement our furnace heating with either the fireplace or little electric space heaters. And every single time the silly dog goes in and out, a little bit more of our heating goes whooshing out the door into the cold. At this point, I don’t even know if it’s worth trying to use any of the energy savings tips that I’ve been reading about on the internet. I can’t exactly keep the dog inside all of the time, but letting Charlie in and out constantly is really doing a number on our heating bills! I wish there was some way I could explain to Charlie that he needs to either stay in or stay out if he wants to stay in a house that’s warm and cozy from the heating system.