A rant about my dogs

 I am so unbelievably frustrated with our dogs. Don't get me wrong, I love them to death, and they are well-cared-for doggies. I don't walk them as much as I should, which probably at least partially contributes to the behavioral issues that they have. I'm also not very consistent with them; for example, they bark at anyone who walks in front of the house or even around the cul-de-sac we live in, and they bark at other animals. I've taught them the command "That's enough", which means to stop barking, but it's not enough, and they keep going out of excitement. Today I finally told them to go to their kennel (a gated-off section under our stairs where their beds are); I didn't shut the gate, just made them go in there, and I think that's what I need to do more often when they start losing their minds at things outside.

 Today's frustration is from my older dog's incessant need to dig out of our backyard. If we leave him outside for any significant length of time, he will dig under the fence and get out. I've laid down chicken wire along the back fence (staked to the ground and stapled to the fence), but he's figured out that he can tear it up at the edges, so now I have to figure out how to completely block him from being able to get to any edges at the posts, but our dirt is so dry and loose that it's nearly impossible to stake it down, and I know he's going to get past it if I leave him outside.

Because we can't let them outside unsupervised, they're in the house with me all day, so the only time that I get any time completely to myself, without having to worry about dogs or cats or kids or my husband, is if I leave the house completely, which just isn't that feasible very often. I could drive into the office now that I have a car, instead of working from home, but honestly, I feel so socially awkward around my coworkers that just the thought of making that effort is so stressful. I just want to be home without having to worry about another living being.

This really is just a vent. There are solutions to all of the issues that I have with our dogs, and with my desire for alone time. They are just going to take time (and money, unfortunately) to implement. I just don't have anyone that I can actually vent to, so... blog it is. I love my dogs, I do, I'm just so incredibly tired.