Over the Christmas break, Diana and I dog/house sat for two mixed labs, a 5-year-old black, 'Clarence,' and a much older white, 'Bruce'.
"Feed them twice a day; Bruce has the run of the house, but if you go out Clarence has to go in his crate' - a pretty large thingie in the kitchen corner. 'Just say "Kennel up" and he'll go in. Let them outside twice a day - the yard is fenced- and they'll come to the door when they're ready.'
Perfecto. Two of the nicest dogs EVER, plenty of personality, friendly... they knew what was expected of them and they gave it, but they each pushed the envelope just enough to let you know they knew what they were doing - Clarence would stay out a little longer, every once in a while grabbing a toy and coming to the door with a 'Play with me' look (I gave in twice); Bruce wouldn't go out right with Clarence, he'd hang back for 10 or 15 seconds and give a look like, 'Hey, I'm the Boss. I go out when I damn well please!'
Clarence would suck up for a pet or a scratch, but Bruce? He'd sit on his bed in the corner and stare you down; when you got up, walked over and gave him a couple of hugs you got a couple - just a couple - of tail wags, like 'That's good...yeah, that's good.'
 |
| Clarence & Bruce |
"Feed them twice a day; Bruce has the run of the house, but if you go out Clarence has to go in his crate' - a pretty large thingie in the kitchen corner. 'Just say "Kennel up" and he'll go in. Let them outside twice a day - the yard is fenced- and they'll come to the door when they're ready.'
Perfecto. Two of the nicest dogs EVER, plenty of personality, friendly... they knew what was expected of them and they gave it, but they each pushed the envelope just enough to let you know they knew what they were doing - Clarence would stay out a little longer, every once in a while grabbing a toy and coming to the door with a 'Play with me' look (I gave in twice); Bruce wouldn't go out right with Clarence, he'd hang back for 10 or 15 seconds and give a look like, 'Hey, I'm the Boss. I go out when I damn well please!'
Clarence would suck up for a pet or a scratch, but Bruce? He'd sit on his bed in the corner and stare you down; when you got up, walked over and gave him a couple of hugs you got a couple - just a couple - of tail wags, like 'That's good...yeah, that's good.'
Those two dogs had more personality than half my friends!
(30)
(30)
No comments:
Post a Comment