The Guppies

The Basset Hounds, otherwise known as the Bassets or the puppies remind me of guppies. I have a male and a female, they are siblings.  The male is Doc and the female is Bug and they are about six months old. They are still short enough to walk under Samson's belly (The German Shepherd), and when they look up at me from way down on the floor, they remind me of guppies reaching up to the top of a fish tank for fish food.
Sometimes I feel like the Pied Piper when I come home.  That's when I have three dogs and a cat following my every move, waiting for attention.  I'm usually in four inch heels, so walking around them is a very slow and dangerous past time.  Once I get my shoes off and change out of my work clothes, I have to give each animal a treat and then one on one lap time.  Of course, the lap time isn't that big of a deal for the cat, he's a light weight.  And you would think the guppies would be lighter than they are since they really aren't that big.  However, by the time I get to Samson, his 105 pound body on my lap is literally breath-taking!
The guppies, however, are the ones that really demand attention.  If I don't give them attention, they will bite my toes, which doens't hurt too bad when I have shoes on, but when I'm barefooted, that gets my attention! And if biting my toes isn't enough, then they begin to tug on my pant leg or the bottom of my skirt or dress.  This can get dicey.  So I'm usually in a hurry to get away from them to change, and then get them occupied with something other than me.  But the lap time isn't an option and usually can't be avoided.  Both guppies like to put their paws on my shoulders and rest their heads on their paws so I can more easily rub their backs.  But now that they're going on six months old, their bodies are longer and this becomes a wrestling match.  I'm trying to keep them from falling off me onto the floor while they wiggle like a guppy to get the optimal back scratch.  Who needs areobics!
Tonight, though, the guppies are in deep water.  For the moment they are sentenced to the back yard and the dog door is closed.  They have taken my new pair of tennis shoes outside and two balls of yarn that cost $15 each.  I've never met a dog more intent on chewing than these two!  And yes, I've been the good dog parent and gotten them all sorts of goodies to play with and to chew on.  They even play tug-o-war with Sam.  But there seems to be something about my shoes and my yarn.  Their cuteness isn't working on me at the moment, although I'm sure I'll pay for that as well.  They are probably scheming while I'm writing this.
So, I'm sitting here, counting and trying to remain calm and waiting for the inevitable.... the time when they are tired of being outside and begin jumping at the window.  By then I will have to let them in or they will rip yet another screen.  So I'm wondering.... how expensive is cuteness?  And how much cuteness is really worth the expense.  Those two hoodlums better hope the answer is "A Lot" !