Big Puppy Needs To Learn Lessons
Yesterday I wrote about a foster dog, Tiny, who is to stay with me for few days. I agreed to take her, even though I'm packing for a move. Expecting a small dog, nothing prepared me for a huge two year old female St. Bernard cross Old English Sheepdog. In seconds my home was almost destroyed. My Maltese liked her, however the only safe place for him was in a snuggle that I carry him around in outside when the weather is miserable.
I'm trying to pack, while having my dog strapped to my chest, tripping over an overgrown puppy who wants nothing more that to stick like a burr to my legs. I tried taking her out for a walk, leaving Jasper at home. It didn't work out well. She has no idea of her own strength. Having lived her life cooped up in a shed, everything is as new to her as it would be to a puppy. Tiny shows no fear. Only curiosity. When she barks, it booms. A deep roar akin to something you would hear at a zoo, not in a home.
After supper, I put her in the van to drive to a park where there is a skateboard set up. She went wild, tearing across the park headed right for a man who was on his skateboard. She plowed right into him. I was thinking, I'm going to get sued! Tiny was rolling the man around on the ground like a favorite toy. He was laughing his head off. Okay, I won't get sued, but I yelled at all the kids to stand still if she came up to them. They loved her. She spent two hours chasing everyone on a board. It didn't make a dent in her energy level.
By bedtime she had learned to sit on command. She was also leaving the partition alone where my Maltese was. I had taught her that my kitchen cupboards are my business, not hers. The pots and pans, and canned goods are all mine. She can't have a can of soup to play with. She taught me, how fast she could shred a feather pillow when my back was turned. When I got the vacuum cleaner out, she cranked up her excitement level to near insane. Nothing bothers Tiny. There isn't a cautious bone in this dog. If she wants to see or get close to something, she just goes for it.
Bedtime started off bad. Into her kennel she went. Jasper onto my bed. Tiny started barking and howling. My neighbor phoned me asking me to please turn down the volume on my television. I let her out of the kennel, fixed a huge pad on the floor, praying she would be quiet. She came to the bed, Jasper growled at her, that is his place. She flopped down on her pad, within minutes she was asleep.
I have a special mattress, to help ease the pain of arthritis. It's rather like sleeping on a cloud. Around 3:00 AM Tiny jumped onto the bed. It bounced both Jasper and I over the side, smashing into the wall. Damn but that hurt! Tiny loved my mattress, she sank almost out of sight. I pulled, yanked, shoved, pleaded, offered treats, nothing would budge that dog. I was so darn tired, I just took what space she had left and crawled in beside her. Jasper wisely stayed on the floor. During what was left of the night, she shoved me off twice. I was getting used to having dog arms wrapped around me, fighting for my pillow, and feeling the bed rock as she panted. This is going to stop!
Her lessons will begin right after she has had her morning visit outside. Despite her size I'll have to let her know that I am the alpha dog. The bed is mine, the house is mine, even the flippin' phone that I've had to tape to the wall, is mine. At two years old, she hasn't learned anything, other than living in a small shed. Tiny really is like a puppy who needs to learn basic lessons. She is so gloriously happy to be alive, to have freedom beyond four walls, a food dish that never empties plus a human to lavish love on. Everything is like one huge party to her. It's her size that has me going in circles talking to myself. Actually, that isn't anything new for me. No doubt I'll work things out. Either that or I'll end up sleeping on the floor just to get some rest, while that mammoth gets my bed. Things are going to change!
