Doggie Truce, at Last

Suzie has finally decided that she can put up with Freckles, so now she'll sit still for those kisses that Freckles has been trying to bestow upon her ever since Terry adopted her a year ago.

What upsets me is that I think I could have put a stop to the nonsense a long time ago, but just didn't think of the right words to say.

A couple of weeks ago when Freckles came to visit and Suzie gave her an unfriendly welcome, I hollered "Leave it!" And she did.

Now, why didn't I do that before. It's what I say when they chase the cat or get into anything else they shouldn't.

Oh well - the problem is solved now, but makes me feel silly that I didn't think of it before.

Doggie Christmas Gifts

Just so the 3 canines wouldn't feel left out on Christmas morning, I got them each a rawhide chew... forgetting entirely that it wasn't a good idea.

Ralph loves them, but he was funny. He was being lazy, so stayed laying flat on his side while he chewed. It looked a bit awkward, but he managed to consume the whole thing.

Pepper wasn't too sure he wanted his, but he carried it around and gave it an occasional chew.

Then there was Suzie. She doesn't even like the things, but somehow feels that she needs to hang on to them. So she wandered around the house with the chew in her mouth, looking like she simply didn't know what to do about it.

Then later, after Pepper had abandoned his, she took it too. She then alternated between carrying both of them in her mouth and laying with both between her feet, guarding them. The poor girl couldn't do anything else all day!

Finally, when I heard company arriving for dinner and knew that meant an extra dog in the house, and there could be a battle,I took them away from her.

I think she was relieved.

Dogs Have Sensitive Noses!

My Suzie dog is what I call a social butterfly. She loves everyone, and wants to make friends with everyone. She's especially fond of our neighbor Byron.

He stops by out at the shop to visit most evenings, and always has a pet and kind word for her - telling her she's beautiful and smart and wonderful. She eats it up.

That is, unless his boots or gloves smell wrong.

Earlier this year it was the gloves. We couldn't figure out why she wouldn't go near him until I picked up the gloves and she wouldn't come near me! We finally figured out that it was the mink oil he had recently used to keep the leather soft and water-resistant.

But the last couple of days, it appears to be his boots. She gets the darndest expression on her face. She starts to run over to him, the stops and backs away and looks so confused. He LOOKS like her friend, and he SOUNDS like her friend, but... she's afraid to go near him.

Last night he swore to her that he had bathed recently - that was an interesting conversation.

This time we think it may be the fact that his barnyard has been over-run with wild turkeys, and he's walking in their droppings. It isn't mink oil, because those are rubber boots.

I sure wish we humans could understand dog as well as dogs can understand English!

Adversary turns puppy protector

You heard about my neighbor getting a puppy, and our 3 dogs being less than thrilled at having some darned kid jumping all over them...

Well, my husband and his dog Ralph go visit them every few days, and Ralph has decided that the puppy is OK. Sometimes he even runs around and plays with her, and let's her flop across his back for a nap. When she gets too enthusiastic with her puppy kisses he simply pulls his teeth back and stares at her and she lays down.

But then there's Pepper and Suzie. Their last meeting a couple of weeks ago went OK, but they still weren't happy about the bouncing she does all over them.

This week they met again - and she could hardly wait to run to them - jumping and wiggling all over. We warned them to be nice, so Pepper got a really worried look and kept trying to get away from her. He hid behind chairs, got in people's laps - whatever it took to keep away from the kid.

Suzie, on the other hand, looked like she wanted to beat up on her. Snarling, barking, snapping - but I soon noticed that she wasn't trying to connect, merely giving a warning to back off. And the puppy was getting the message - slowly.

That part was all pretty much to be expected, but Ralph surprised all of us.

As soon as Suzie started sounding mean, he got up and let her know that she was NOT to hurt that baby! He started growling at Suzie, and the puppy ran behind him and hid! Suzie listened, reluctantly, because Ralph is the boss dog.

Puppies being puppies, that scene played several times in the space of an hour. It kept the 4 of us humans laughing, considering that at first Ralph didn't want anything to do with her either!

Next time I know my neighbor and his pup are at the shop visiting, I'm putting the camera in my pocket before we go out - I just might get a good shot of Ralph in his "You'd better mind me right now" face.

Introducing a new dog to the pack

This time I'm writing in hopes that someone has some good advice.

I wrote you about our new "family member" Freckles. She lives with my neighbor a mile down the road. He'd love to bring her along when he comes to visit, and I've always taken my dogs along when I stop by to see him - but one of my dogs is being a complete pill.

She takes serious offense at that puppy rushing up to say hello, and the other day I was actually afraid that she'd hurt the pup, so I hurried and got her back in the truck.

I don't know if this is a jealousy thing, because she always got lots of attention from this neighbor, or if it's just because the puppy is so enthusiastic. When we did obedience classes there were only 2 dogs out of about 50 that she didn't like - so her normal behavior is to be friendly.

Any good ideas?

Dogs aren't fuzzy humans

I'm still thinking about that dog who was beaten with the chicken. It bothers me that the dog's owner was foolish enough to leave the dog with the chickens in the first place.

After all, dogs are canines - hunting is bred into them at the deepest levels of their being. Just because they now live in a household with humans who provide the food doesn't change their basic instincts.

How can people be so ignorant as to ignore that?

I know, many dogs have lived in harmony with chickens, but they had to be patiently taught that the chickens were not "prey."

It reminded me of a time when I was working in rescue and someone wanted to have a mama with new puppies put to sleep because she had killed a ferret.

First of all, the people shouldn't have let the ferret intrude into her space when she had new babies. But second, most dogs will kill a rodent - and what is a ferret except a rodent? If the dog had killed a rat they'd have been singing her praises. She's supposed to know the difference?

Fortunately, the veterinarian refused to kill the dog and she got a new home with a more sensible person.

I just wish that people would realize that dogs have instincts we don't understand - and that dogs are not just furry humans.

Yes, they understand us and are sometimes far more perceptive than humans. But they're still dogs. Why can't we just love them for all the wonderful things they are and not expect something different?