li'l boo update

yes we kept him!! took him to the vet to get a more accurate age and breed. he's about 6-8months, terrier mix. my brother adopted him....which doesn't mean very much except i make him clean up the puddles!! he also sleeps with him, which is good coz the big dog sleeps under our bed and doesn't let the other two in, the dog with no brain sleeps with my son and he refused to have the puppy too, so the poor puppy would cry all night until johnny would get up and let him into his room.

its interesting to watch the interaction between the three of them. lil boo bullies shadow (the dog with no brain) mercilessly. he is a bit more wary of boyzy, but boyzy tries to make him play 'nicely'. (no jumping on the furniture, no barking, and only tug of war toys not cushions or shoes). the big dog is largely responsible for the little training shadow has. he taught him to sit, to stay, how to play, and goes and gets him when he escapes. we always thought that it was because shadow is 'brain damaged' and boyzy somehow knows this, but he is doing the same with the puppy. some of it is a gentle way of asserting his authority. he will play tug of war for as long as the other two want, (he now plays 'two against one'), can pull gently enough to play with the tiniest of dogs, but never actually 'loses'. he never growls, but just standing and puffing himself up to his greatest hight, and sort of glaring will make another dog back off. he will herd the puppy into a corner and stand over him until he quietens, which he used to do with shadow who would literally bounce off the walls.

lil boo is a smart dog, and is now house trained, knows his name, comes when hes called, can 'sit', hold out his paw to 'shake', and knows what 'leave' means. there are only the six commands; come, sit, down, heal, stay and leave, so he already knows three. (shadow still doesn't even know his name!! and will only sit if boyzy stands in front of him and sort of makes him, or if you have food in your hand).

they make a great trio. small, medium, and large.

 

LOL... I know what you mean. our 4 go from the Chihuahua to the mini poodle to the golden retriever to the German SHepard

Glad to hear he's doing well and has a loving home

~C

 

let me guess....the alsation is the smart one, the retriever is the patient one, the poodle is the schitzy one, and the chi is the baby.

 

Leave heh, my version is "Move on".

Come is well understood, if iffy for all that. Depends whether he knows I can see him or not.

 

Actually, all 4 are highly intelligent. THe Shepard is the protector if someone is threatening, otherwise he is like the babysitter, cleans up after everyone else and lets them run him all over. The Golden Retriever is the puppy, always getting into what he shouldn't and cheesing when he gets yelled at (yeah, he really does CHeese when we yell at him). The Chihuahua is the boss and expects everyone to bow to his will. THe Mini poodle on the other hand is the playa. He figured that everyone has to love him.... and I do mean 'love' him. He is a bit of a freak. They all get along great though.


~C

Oh yeah, they all know Sit, stay, come, thier own name, scootch (get the heck out of the way), Excuse me (nicer version of scootch), Go lie down (more than 10 feet away), Off, Leave it, and NO!!

 

dogs have a much higher vocabulary than six words, but according to a army dog trainer friend of mine those six commands, or versions thereof, are the only ones needed to have a 'well trained' dog. personally i include a word for 'go away from me' and 'get off the furniture'. my big dog can understand all his commands in hawaiian as well as english. in addition 'aloha' (he stands up and puts his arms on your shoulders and 'kisses' your face). we did not 'teach' him this....he has simply copied it from the humans. boyzy is so good that we were fooled into thinking that we were really good at training dogs....then shadow came along!! i am however determined to train the small dog to behave. often smaller dogs are not taught even basic commands because untrained they still dont cause the chaos and problems a larger dog does. i think it makes the dogs happier and more secure (as with children) if they have firm limitations.

i would like to thank you all for the support and encouragement and doggy stories. it kinda restores my faith in humanity a bit when its so obvious that there are other 'softies' out there. much aloha

 

OK... you got me... big softie here...LOL


~C

 

Oh good I kinda thought you would keep him. His name is Boo? Thats what I call my youngest daughter, in her 30's. She started out Boo Boo, when in her teens it was Miss Boo, now it's just Boo, her kids love it.

 

Could see that coming Knew by the tone in your notes that you'ld be adding to your family. Bravo:clap Wish there were more people of your calibre out there....Bless ya:wave

LS

 

Glad you're keeping Li'l Boo, and he's settled in well. I kind of thought you might . Now they are one big, happy doggie family as well as your literal family, eh.

Funny how when there are more than one dog, if one is weaker, or has a disability of some sort, often one of the stronger takes on a nurturing and protective role, teaching them the rules and making allowances for them. A lot like humans, I guess. Enjoy your, now one member larger family, Laurie.