Ours for a Year: dog manners

The other day, Cabana and I paid a visit to my wonderful friend Peg, who fosters golden retrievers. She's especially fond of elderly and special needs dogs, who likely won't ever get adopted. Or at least, they usually don't--but her previous foster, 10-year old Hunter, got adopted by a family with two young boys. They live right by a beach, so Hunter will get to spend the rest of his life racing through the waves of the Pacific Ocean. Not too shabby!

Hunter's adoption made room for Sally, 14 years young and still plenty sassy, despite some health problems that are typical for dogs of her age.

Peg is also fostering Harold, who is 10-years old and 40 pounds overweight. He was never taught anything, not even "sit". He has obsessive issues--for instance, he likes to try to fit as many balls in his mouth as possible. Two seem to be his limit, but that doesn't keep him from trying to squeeze in a few more. And if all these issues weren't enough for one dog, Harold also has cataracts and is blind.

The two senior citizens get along alright, except when Harold trips over Sally because he can't see her. Let's just say Sally doesn't respond favorably, and boy, does she let Harold have it! It's mysterious, though, because Harold gets around extremely well for being blind--he chases tennis balls as well as any dog. He compensates with his other senses, especially his sense of smell, so you'd think he could detect Sally laying in his path. At the same time, Sally likes to position herself right smack in the middle of everything, maybe hoping that she can make Harold trip and then have a reason to let Harold have it. I thought that kind of crotchety behavior was a human trait, but I guess canines are not above it either.

As if two very large golden retrievers weren't enough, Peg is also taking care of Zoe, a whippet/chihuahua mix, whose owner is in the hospital. Before Zoe was rescued by this owner, she was used as an ashtray, leaving her coat riddled with cigarette burns. It's no wonder that Zoe is fearful and ornery (although she did warm up to me after a while--but Cabana wanted nothing to do with her and kept her distance).

Taking care of three dogs, none of which belong to her--that's my friend Peg. She's got a heart the size of California, even though she lives in a one-room cottage and has a 10-square foot backyard. She takes them for several walks every day and tires them out with a bucket of tennis balls in between.

Cabana didn't quite know what to do with herself at Peg's house. So many dogs, so little space, and so much commotion! Even though Harold couldn't see her, she kept her head down in submission to him.

And look how far away she skirts from Sally to let her pass! While Cabana may be a bit timid and aloof, she's also very appropriate and respectful--I'm proud of her for that. I hope to take a page out of Cabana's book and show that same deference and respect to Peg for her loving devotion to these dogs...and likely, to many more dogs to come.

Thanks to everyone for making Tuesday Topics so well received. My little blog gets the most hits on Tuesdays, so keep the comments coming! I always learn a lot from the other puppy raisers, and hopefully, other folks out there are benefitting as well.

My bosses (who are married to each other) have three dogs. The office is at their house, so Cabana gets to see these dogs a couple times a week (I work from my own home the other days). Here's Lily, a French bulldog. She's a chubby little thing, but she's the unequivocal queen of the compound.

The other dogs are Leo, the English terrier, and Olive, the boxer. Leo is a jittery nervous fellow almost all the time, whether Cabana is around or not. But Olive and Cabana are great friends. Closer in size (more so every day), they love to romp around with each other.

Cabana knows it's their house and not hers, and especially because Lily tends to growl and get her hackles up (the little ones gotta show their superiority somehow), Cabana does a great job of being submissive. She calmly lets the other dogs sniff her, and if Lily is in a particularly ornery mood, Cabana goes and sits quietly in a corner (that's how the Still Life with Dog photo came about).

Here they are, out playing by the pool. In the top photo, you can actually see Cabana's jowls flying upward. They're all moving pretty fast!

Here's my question. How much do I control Cabana's play with these dogs? Should I just let Cabana be a dog, or do I need to keep her under control, as a PIT? In the photos above, I did let Cabana romp around the pool with the other dogs, but under very close supervision and only for a few minutes. I get nervous about letting her do too much.

Also, these dogs lack manners--they're not like career changed dogs who've been trained. My bosses' dogs bark a lot, jump all over you, sit on the couch, have food available in their dishes all day, and run around loose in their 5-acre "yard". Are puppies like kids, where you want to keep them away from dogs that might be bad influences on them? Not that I can keep Cabana away from them entirely, since that is where I work, and it is their (the other dogs') house. I can't very well tell my bosses to keep their dogs away from mine.

Since we don't have any other dogs at home, these are the only dogs that Cabana is allowed to play with. And I'd hate to take that away from her. She loves going to the office with me and can barely wait to get out of the car when we drive up. But I also wonder if it sets her up for confusion and disappointment when she can't play with the other dogs at our puppy training group, which is always a big challenge for her (she's just so happy to see the other guide dog puppies and can't contain herself). It's a quandary!