Noticeable Improvement

Guinness is still bouncing off the walls, but he is becoming better in so many ways. In fact, I think he is becoming a Hershey clone. When I tell him to drop something, he doesn’t drop it, but loosens his grip so that I can take it easily. He is tolerating being toweled off on rainy days. He is behaving himself out of the crate more and more every day. When someone appears while he is off leash outside, he listens to me as he races toward the person while I am yelling, “No jump! No jump!”

I have Christmas-themed stuffed animals lining the stairway. He loves to grab the Garfield angel and the small reindeer. At his welcoming party last summer, Sasha gave him a blue stuffed teddy bear. He is an aggressive chewer, so we have not allowed him to have that toy. This evening, I tried letting him have that instead of the Christmas animals. He KNEW it was his! When he has something in his mouth which he should not, he can be caught. I was not trying to take the teddy bear from him, but he thought I was. There was no way he would allow me near him! He ran like a maniac whenever I came close. I could not have caught him if I had tried.

I think back to Hershey’s haunting eyes as he would stand on the deck, peeking between the slats, watching me play with Guinness in the yard. I wonder what he was thinking. Was he jealous of the new puppy? I don’t think so. Did he realize that Guinness would take his place in the family when he expired? I think perhaps. Was he just too tired to join in our game but wanted to watch what we were doing? Definitely that! Within the past month while playing outside, there were two incidents where Guinness tried to hump Hershey, declaring dominance. But Hershey, who has never minded being humped, did not allow it and humped Guinness instead. He may have been ailing, but he was not going to relinquish his authority.