--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Therefore they spent such time as I was…" description: "\"“Therefore they spent such time as I was housekeeping, eating or sleeping, alone in the greenhouse, and I had to manage as best I could when, after the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/elizabeth-von-arnim-2484_dogs_therefore-they-spent-such-time-as-i-was_1186295.png" --- # Therefore they spent such time as I was housekeeping… ![“Therefore they spent such time as I was housekeeping, eating or sleeping, alone in the greenhouse, and I had to manage as best I could when, after these intervals, I went back to them, not to be knocked over by their joyful welcome. Gradually, however, things settled down. The secret of peace with…” quote by Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/elizabeth-von-arnim-2484_dogs_therefore-they-spent-such-time-as-i-was_1186295.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/elizabeth-von-arnim-2484_dogs_therefore-they-spent-such-time-as-i-was_1186295.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/elizabeth-von-arnim-2484_dogs_therefore-they-spent-such-time-as-i-was_1186295.png) > ““Therefore they spent such time as I was housekeeping, eating or sleeping, alone in the greenhouse, and I had to manage as best I could when, after these intervals, I went back to them, not to be knocked over by their joyful welcome. Gradually, however, things settled down. The secret of peace with puppies, I discovered—up to then I had had only ready-made dogs (except Bijou, who doesn’t count), and had everything to learn,—is to give them a great deal of exercise, and a great deal of food. They should be gorged; regularly. Then they will sleep for hours—quite long enough, I found, in Ingo and Ivo’s case, for me to deal justly with Mr. Anstruther, against whom I had been feeling rather a grudge. This, then, was the line I took; and presently a new rug was able safely to be put in the greenhouse, and while they lay on it, stupefied by well-being, lost to the world, a relaxed heap of paws and ears and tails, with two tightly-filled bellies to point the moral, I got on, once again, with Fräulein Schmidt.”” [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator learns that keeping puppies calm requires ample exercise and food, which in turn creates a peaceful environment for handling personal conflicts. **In simple terms:** Exercise and feeding puppies brings calm and helps manage stress. Key Takeaway Provide proper care to create peace. Themes care calm conflict resolution Mood reflective practical Type advice narrative When to use this quote - pet ownership - home environment - personal stress - relationship tension Key Concepts animal behavior stress management Questions to Reflect On - What simple routines can you establish for calm? - How does caring for others affect your own stress? A Different Perspective Over‑feeding can cause health issues; balance is needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dogs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dogs/) [Dogs Bijou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dogs-bijou-3501503/) [Peace Puppies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace-puppies-3501502/) [Puppies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/puppies/) [Puppies Discovered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/puppies-discovered-3501501/) [Sleeping alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleeping-alone/) [Things Settled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-settled-1800873/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [When we speak quietly one to another things somehow get settled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/when-we-speak-quietly-one-to-another-things-somehow-get-settled/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [“quit trying to fix things and we settled into our long polite and quiet life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-haruf/quit-trying-to-fix-things-and-we-settled-into-our-long-polite-and/) [Kent Haruf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-haruf/) > [I would recommend to those persons who are inclined to stagnate, whose blood is beginning to thicken sluggishly in their veins, to try keeping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/i-would-recommend-to-those-persons-who-are-inclined-to-stagnate-whose/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [You see Id rather be with you but you are not around, so imma call somebody up and see if theyll be down, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/you-see-id-rather-be-with-you-but-you-are-not-around-so-imma-call/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Please don't leave me, please dont go...i need you here beside me, to hold me, to comfort me, to...simply I need you. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-lohan/it-s-hard-in-l-a-not-to-go-out-it-gets-lonely-being-an-actress-is/) [Lindsay Lohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-lohan/) > [Sleeping alone seemed unnatural to me, and pitiful, something done in hospitals or when you're contagious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/sleeping-alone-seemed-unnatural-to-me-and-pitiful-something-done-in/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Sleeping alone is better than sharing your bed with someone who shares a bed with someone else when you're not around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sleeping-alone-is-better-than-sharing-your-bed-with-someone-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you're older, you'll appreciate the advantages of sleeping alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/when-you-re-older-you-ll-appreciate-the-advantages-of-sleeping-alone/) [Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/) > [God,i'm sick of sleeping alone...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/switchblade/god-i-m-sick-of-sleeping-alone/) [Switchblade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/switchblade/) > [I hate sleeping alone ,but I also hate getting played and cheated on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-sleeping-alone-but-i-also-hate-getting-played-and-cheated-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sick of being single. Hate sleeping Alone. Miss having someone to love and love me back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sick-of-being-single-hate-sleeping-alone-miss-having-someone-to-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im so weak right now, I just want you to hold me all night. Its gon be hard sleeping alone tonight when I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cuts-and-scars/im-so-weak-right-now-i-just-want-you-to-hold-me-all-night-its-gon-be/) [Cuts And Scars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cuts-and-scars/) > [Not merely by rules of conduct and religious observances, nor by much learning either, nor even by attainment of concentration, nor by sleeping alone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/not-merely-by-rules-of-conduct-and-religious-observances-nor-by-much/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just hate sleeping alone, I hate sleeping alone. So shes here and were both so throwed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/i-just-hate-sleeping-alone-i-hate-sleeping-alone-so-shes-here-and/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) ## More by Elizabeth von Arnim > [“I would have all couples neatly paired in years, the forties with the forties, and the twenties with the twenties. Should the forties, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/i-would-have-all-couples-neatly-paired-in-years-the-forties-with-the/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [“When I drive to the lupins and see them all spread out as far as eye can reach in perfect beauty of colour and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/when-i-drive-to-the-lupins-and-see-them-all-spread-out-as-far-as-eye/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [She had been dragged in the most humiliating of all dusts, the dust reserved for older women who let themselves be approached, on amorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/she-had-been-dragged-in-the-most-humiliating-of-all-dusts-the-dust/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [What a blessing it is to love books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/what-a-blessing-it-is-to-love-books/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [It is beautiful, beautiful to give; one of the very most beautiful things in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/it-is-beautiful-beautiful-to-give-one-of-the-very-most-beautiful/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [“I asked nothing better of life. I still ask nothing better of life. 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It was like a pearl that late afternoon, something very gentle and pale, with faint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/surely-the-colour-of-london-was-an-exquisite-thing-it-was-like-a/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) [Explore all 155 Elizabeth von Arnim quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) ## More Dogs quotes > [My dogs can't do anything--and what a relief. I don't make any demands of them, and I don't try to shape them or their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-chua/my-dogs-can-t-do-anything-and-what-a-relief-i-don-t-make-any-demands/) [Amy Chua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-chua/) > [I know a lot of people want to buy puppies, but adopting a dog who needs a home is doing something good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manu-ginobili/i-know-a-lot-of-people-want-to-buy-puppies-but-adopting-a-dog-who/) [Manu Ginobili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manu-ginobili/) > [Mr. Peabody is this genetic anomaly. He does have brothers and sisters, all of them non-speaking, not super-smart dogs. He's an outcast, but has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-minkoff/mr-peabody-is-this-genetic-anomaly-he-does-have-brothers-and-sisters/) [Rob Minkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-minkoff/) > [I joined PETA for minks and dogs. 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There are no more Blue Dogs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-if-you-look-all-across-the-country-the-so-called-blue-dogs/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My baby boo<3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-baby-boo-3/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Where are the ethical concerns, that so many people called animal lovers invoke, when you steal the children of wild dog mothers and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-nther-bloch/where-are-the-ethical-concerns-that-so-many-people-called-animal/) [Günther Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-nther-bloch/) > [It's pretty rare for them to not be in our fridge, I have usually a good supply of all-beef hot dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-chestnut/it-s-pretty-rare-for-them-to-not-be-in-our-fridge-i-have-usually-a/) [Joey Chestnut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-chestnut/) > [While your children are sleeping, your puppy is crappin'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/while-your-children-are-sleeping-your-puppy-is-crappin/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [“Lebedev: France has a clear and defined policy... 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When you accept to come here to open the festival,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-dahan/cannes-is-a-sort-of-gladiators-arena-and-that-s-the-fun-part-of-it/) [Olivier Dahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-dahan/) [Browse all 1,621 Dogs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dogs/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Therefore they spent such time as I was housekeeping, eating or sleeping, alone in the greenhouse, and I had to manage as best I could when, after these intervals, I went back to them, not to be knocked over by their joyful welcome. Gradually, however, things settled down. The secret of peace with puppies, I discovered—up to then I had had only ready-made dogs (except Bijou, who doesn’t count), and had everything to learn,—is to give them a great deal of exercise, and a great deal of food. They should be gorged; regularly. Then they will sleep for hours—quite long enough, I found, in Ingo and Ivo’s case, for me to deal justly with Mr. Anstruther, against whom I had been feeling rather a grudge. 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