I'm listening to the sounds of
fireworks and gunshots going off all around us. It has been going on
since before it got dark. I'm all for celebrating our nation's
birthday, but it is now almost 10:30 in the evening and the first sounds
were heard around 7:30.. yes.. before it was even dark.
I
have two dogs. I have Buddy who has a bit of age on him but doesn't
really act it. I have said in the past that I believe he has every bit
of hunting dog that the Good Lord made in his DNA. As much as I hate it
when he is outside he must be on a chain because of his escape artist
tendencies. He can jump the fence better than any squirrel, he can find
any gaps or holes quicker than anything I've even seen. If there is a
way out, he will find it and he will be off and running. That's what he
wants to do, run. If he would only remain down in the woods it wouldn't
be so bad. Instead he wants to run around the main highway and that is
not safe. That means if he escapes, someone must chase him and he loves
that almost as much as running. He will allow you to get just so close
before he takes off running again. Once he gets tired out, you can
capture him and return him to the yard, but not before.
Bella
is still a puppy. She pays absolutely no attention to the sounds of
fireworks, gunshots or thunder. She might, if its loud enough look up,
but then she goes back to what ever she was doing. The only time she
acts anywhere in the least upset, is if she is outside after dark. She
does not like that. She thinks once its dark, she is supposed to be
inside curled up behind my chair. Which, to be honest, I don't mind in
the least.
We
did have a Border Collie mix by the name of Rambo. Poor thing was
terrified of loud noises...any loud noises. He would panic and try
desperately to get inside the house. He actually tore the siding off
from around the front door trying to get inside. Once inside, he was
fine. He would find somewhere to stretch out and lay until the threat
was over. You wouldn't even know he was around, he was that quiet. The
cats didn't even pay him any real attention. Unlike Bella. Being a puppy
she has what seems to be unlimited energy levels. She doesn't try to
hurt the cats, she only wants to play, but my cats are adults who left
the playful stage behind a long time ago. Rambo wouldn't bother a thing
when he was inside. Bella thinks that everything is hers, and everything
is edible. Rambo- being older- while he had a decent appetite, he would
at least get full..Bella doesn't seem to ever get full. Rambo never dug
much, Bella is digging up my flowers. Rambo was a very loving dog. He
knew that we (I) had given him another chance and he didn't hesitate to
show it. When I was outside, he was as close to me as he could get. If I
was on the outside of the fence, he lay as close as he could to where I
was. Bella is doing much the same thing. She does not like my going to
work in the garden and closing the fence so that she cannot go with me.
Her manner of gardening is a bit too destructive. When I'm in the yard
she is following right along behind me. At night she sleeps at the foot
of the bed. She learned not to sleep on my side of the bed as I tend to
have leg cramps at night and standing up stretching my leg eases
that....Bella didn't care for getting stepped on so she moved her
sleeping place.
I
do miss Rambo since he crossed the Rainbow Bridge, his calm demeanor is
missed. Of course he was an older dog when we adopted him from the
rescue group. He was never in a hurry. Bella is always in a hurry. But
she's smart and she learns quickly. She was housebroken in a short time,
and I'm making headway in breaking her from jumping up on people. The
last thing I need is her as a full grown dog jumping up on my mom trying
to be friendly. Rambo walked on a leash well and would sit and shake
but that was about it. He hated riding in a car and it was a real ordeal
getting him in the car to go to the vets and back in to come home.
Bella seems to enjoy riding, and her youth and not grown yet size helps
in getting her in and out of the cars. Bella is walking fairly well on
the leash even as she tries to eat the thing. I'm working on getting her
to sit and be still when I stop so that I can take photographs. But
being my ADHD dog, her attention span doesn't suit well with sitting for
too long, especially if there are things and places to explore. She's
learning though. She does understand, 'sit', 'stay', 'shake', 'high
five' and she's learning 'down' where she lays down...
She
has picked up one bad habit though. She suddenly wants to chase cars.
She's on the inside of the fence running along as the cars go up or down
the dirt road. I'll have to find a way to stop that, as I really don't
want her doing that. I liked it better when she was afraid of them. As I
said, she also has taken to digging, which I wouldn't care, but she
digs in my flower bed. My poor flowers must cringe inwardly when they
see her coming.
It
isn't really fair to compare Bella to Buddy or even Rambo, as they like
human children are each individuals with individual personalities. The
important thing is training and time spent shared. I think we can do
this. in fact, I know we can.
No comments:
Post a Comment