This is the big day... Pappy's third birthday. We celebrated last night by having over my brother's family including Pappy's dog-cousin, Ruby. The two dogs had a lovely celebratory dinner of a cake made out of chicken and rice, with a frosting made of peanut butter and chicken stock-- nobody threw up. Ruby gave Pappy some lovely stuffed animals, then she proceeded to take them into the other room and tear them to shreds in the spirit of giving.
My wife arranged to leave for work a little late yesterday because some workers were coming to install crown molding. When they got delayed, my wife asked them if it was okay if she just left a key and went on to work. Pappy has been around construction workers a fair amount over his years with us, so she figured all would be well. She didn't realize that the dog-loving guy who had visited us for the estimate wasn't going to be there.
When my wife got to work she got a call from the workers. They couldn't get in the house. Pappy was at the front door like the Spartans at Thermopylae blocking the way to Xerxes massing armies. Except that these were just a couple of workers, and Pappy was growling and barking at them rather than lopping off heads and arms. Fortunately neighbor-dog Molly's mom was home, and we called her to come dognap our stalwart warrior while the workers went about their business.
When we got home Pappy was back to normal-- still scared of the slippery kitchen floor, and he shied away from a black trashbag that blew across the street during our evening walk. Our mighty protector.
Neighbor dog Molly is about as sweet as they come, and it's easy-as-can-be for Pappy and me to pick her up on the way to the dog park. Her owners say she gets so excited anticipating weekend mornings. With other dogs she's not at all aggressive, and wouldn't hurt a fly-- except for her aim to collide with other dogs like a sandbag fired out of a cannon, but that's not out of meanness. She's great to have along, but for one thing...
Above all other things she craves someone chasing her. I've worked around her stealing Pappy's fetching ball and running away by just bringing a second ball. But then when it's time to go, she's got the ball in her mouth, her tail is wagging away, and she won't come or let anybody corral her. We used to have Molly over in the mornings before work, but had to discontinue that because it took fifteen minutes to get a leash on her. She has always been good at the dog park about coming when it was time to go, but this weekend she played her funny chase-me game both visits. If I take Pappy out to the car she looks a little forlorn for a second, but as soon as I come back she's ready to play. The only way I have had to get her to stop is to give her the hairy eyeball and repeat "bad dog"; she reacts to faces and disapproval more than Pappy. Unfortunately that wasn't working, and I don't enjoy browbeating a dog at the park.
So now I'm reduced to bribery, or training as some would call it. I'll try bringing along a little cheese (aka "Canine Kryptonite") to see if that is a stronger draw, but I have a bad feeling that she's more interested in the game. If it doesn't work, old Molly's going to be mighty sad come weekend mornings when she's staying home.
