As expected, thing1 has been busy being my mother’s preferred companion during her visit, and that’s caused some jealousy in thing2. While she’s given him attention as well, it’s not quite the same. The bigger issue, though, is that thing2 and houseboy have had to pick up thing1’s usual duties. It’s not an overwhelming amount—houseboy already handles most of the cleaning—but thing2 was responsible for walking the dogs this morning, something thing1 normally does.

He didn’t do it. And one of the dogs had an accident.

I was furious. After making him clean up the mess, I decided his punishment needed to be twofold. My mother actually asked if she could participate, and I was happy to let her. She gave him a round of spankings—she may be older, but she’s got a strong arm, and I could tell he was feeling it. But that wasn’t nearly enough.

Once she was done, I had him stand and bend over, hands on his ankles, while I delivered 15 strokes of the cane. These left marks. My mother, bless her, actually asked me to go easy on him. This was far from the harshest he’s received, but I assured her I had another part of his punishment lined up.

For the next 10 days, thing2 has all dog duties—walking, feeding, and yard cleanup. Houseboy is more than happy to be off the hook. And to really drive the lesson home? Thing2 will be sleeping on the floor in a dog bed, right alongside the rest of the pack.