Needless to say, a whole day at the vet on IV’s, and $600 later, we came home with a little ball of fur with two shaved front legs and a lesson learned—small dogs can get into places you’ve never even thought of. Looking at this positively, the floor under the tub has never been so clean.
Even though Pippen is the smallest dog in the house (only 11 pounds)—we still have a 90-pound male lab, and an old girl who weighs about 65 pounds—she is the dominant dog—most of the time. Our old girl will still put her in her place occasionally, but our male dog lets her boss him around something fierce. It’s comical most of the time, but sometimes momma has to step in, like when the other dogs want to wake me up in the morning. As soon as they approach the side of the bed Pippen starts to guard me. While I appreciate the fact that she wants to let me sleep, the fact that she’s standing on my head growling at the other dogs doesn’t really help all that much.
Pippen can also be very demanding.
I trained her to ring a bell when she has to go potty. I was so proud of how smart she was! She learned this little trick in about four days, and even trained the other dogs to know that when the bell rings, everyone can go outside. But now I wonder if I trained her or if she trained me? She now rings the bell when she wants to go out to potty, but she also rings it if she wants to distract the big dogs, if she wants to sit on the porch steps in the sun, or wants to go for a walk. If I don’t get up right away she walks into the room I’m in and cocks her head as if to say, “What are you doing hooman? I rang the bells! Are you deaf?” The look on her face is priceless and always makes me laugh (and groan at the same time because I’ve been interrupted for about the tenth time that afternoon).
Pippen can also be very insecure.
When I put my shoes on, she starts to lose her mind. She steals and runs away with the shoe I haven’t gotten on yet and she attacks my fingers when I’m trying to tie my laces. I’ve started kenneling her up when I have to leave without her before I put my shoes on or putting her harness on first if I am going to take her with me—that way she knows she’s going. Thankfully, she has also developed a bond with the boys who still live at home, so if I do have to leave her, I feel better about it—but she definitely prefers to be with mom.
Okay—so having a puppy has always been like having an infant—I knew that going into this, but I didn’t think I was getting a new mafia boss in the house. I’m hoping that she’ll calm down a little as she gets older—and for right now, I’ll just remember that it feels good to be so loved, even if she does try to boss me around.
My first real conversation was when I started talking to a squirrel one day to practice my new skills. He interrupted with, “Don’t just waltz in here and start talking, that’s rude! Be. Become. Then ask if someone wants to talk.” He flicked his tail and departed, and I saw the name Tuu-Liss in my mind.