If I hadn't mentioned it before Sookie has issues. She is a timid creature who is for all intents and purposes a clingy animal. When I am home she follows me around she sleeps in bed with me and she is pretty much sitting on my lap unless she is eating. She is a 50 pound lap dog. She is a 50 pound lap dog who runs the show and makes the rules. This week I discovered a couple of ways to push her buttons.This dog can actually be driven more crazy than her normal neurotic self.
The first discovery was that Sookie absolutely positively does not like raspberries. I don't mean the fruit I mean when you blow on someone and make that obnoxious fart noise. This was an interesting discovery to say the least.I blew on her made the noise and she freaked. I mean I have never seen this dog so frightened in her life. Well at least until this morning. She literally ran and hid from me. The dog who is constantly on me suddenly was afraid to be in the same room as me because I made a fart noise on her head. Does this seem odd to anyone else. At first I thought it was a game I blew on her she jumped up and ran then came back and we did it again until literally she would not be in the same room with me. I wonder if this works at bedtime??
OK so this morning I decided I was going to try walking her. I hate walked her with her normal collar because my wrists are week from my surgeries in April and it's hard to take the control I need to show her who's boss. I have a training collar that I haven't used in months because I feel awful every time I put it on her. It's metal and has rivets so that if the dog tries to run or pull you the push into the skin so the dog will stop. I hate this collar but I want the dog to be able to go for walks. I pulled the collar out of the closet and mind you the last time this was on her was seriously at least a year ago, I looked at her and she looked at me with the collar in hand and she turned into a quivering mass of Sookie. She stood there and shook as I held it in my hands. She got very submissive and put her tail down, nose pointed to the ground and just shook. I felt absolutely horrible. I watched the dog go from carefree and happy to a pile of nerves in less than a second. It was horrific to watch. I felt so awful. I quickly hid the collar away and yet she still stood there a quivering mass. I hugged her and gave her kisses and apologized profusely for turning her into a hot mess. She didn't seem to care for my apologies so I attempted to walk her with her regular collar. We got to the corner and had to turn around. Walks are apparently out of the question. She tried to run after a car with me still attached to her.
I love this dog if it isn't evident from my stories. I hated the way she reacted to the collar and want to be able to walk her and have it be enjoyable for both of us. So if anyone has any suggestions please share them. I will also make a mental note Sookie hates her metal collar, and raspberries. I will add that to the list that includes the beast dog behind us and stupid greyhound lady.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Sookie and the retainer....
Ah I have to laugh as I start to right this. My sister may not see the humor in this post but I certainly do.
I went to Hawaii in September. I couldn't find anyone to house sit so I had to find someone to pawn my sweet little Sookie off on. Sookie is on a special diet and has to take anxiety medicine daily, as you can guess this may get in the way of potential dog sitters; however under duress my mother agreed to take in the wayward dog for the week I was away. Before I left I made a hug container of rice, ground beef and green beans so that my mother wouldn't have to cook for her. I packed up the crate gave all the possible instructions. Dropped the dog off and wished for the best.
My sister who had been contemplating getting a dog of her own also agreed to take part in the Sookie experiment. I personally thought this was a wonderful idea. Understanding the responsibility of a dog may deter a brand new nurse who works 12 hour days from getting one. So to my sis I feel like I was doing you a favor!
So anyway I was in Hawaii and it was to late for my family to renege on the deal. They were stuck with the puppy and I was Sookie free for an entire week. I did call for updates, and I kind of went like I thought it would to spite the many assurances from my mom and sister that they could handle this misguided bundle of fur. She missed me. The first couple of days they had the neurotic dog in full swing she wasn't eating sleeping and was pretty much making everyone wonder what they had gotten themselves into. The only person who seemed to "get" the dog was my Step-father who was entranced by the dogs need to lay at his feet. Sucker.
My sister, mother and little brother not so enamoured with her temperament. So my sister tried to let the dog sleep with her. I give her credit she made it through the week even though she had to get up a few nights at 3 and 4 am to take a dog out who really was just messing with her. I give my mom credit for tolerating the entitlement issues the dog has, and to my brother who slept with her the first night and listened to her cry and tolerated her pooping inches from his work boots. (Just so you all know the dog has never crapped in the house ever prior to her trip to grandma's!) So yes they had a rough week while I enjoyed the beach.
I got an update near the end of the week. My sister was adjusting the dog was sleeping through the night and things were seemingly going easier that is until the last day. My dog made it a week without destroying anything of value.....but then as my sister got ready for work something caught Sookies eye. So like any curious dog would do she jumped up on my sisters dresses throwing everything in her way from the top of it under she found my sisters retainer. Miss Sookie saw something she liked and went after it. Sookie ate the retainer. My sister was pissed. Sookie is now referred to as the soulless ginger, and has officially been banned from my mothers house.
My sister recounted the story. I asked "Why weren't you watching her?" She hung up on me. Oh well. Steph no longer wants the responsibility of a dog. I say my job there was done!
I went to Hawaii in September. I couldn't find anyone to house sit so I had to find someone to pawn my sweet little Sookie off on. Sookie is on a special diet and has to take anxiety medicine daily, as you can guess this may get in the way of potential dog sitters; however under duress my mother agreed to take in the wayward dog for the week I was away. Before I left I made a hug container of rice, ground beef and green beans so that my mother wouldn't have to cook for her. I packed up the crate gave all the possible instructions. Dropped the dog off and wished for the best.
My sister who had been contemplating getting a dog of her own also agreed to take part in the Sookie experiment. I personally thought this was a wonderful idea. Understanding the responsibility of a dog may deter a brand new nurse who works 12 hour days from getting one. So to my sis I feel like I was doing you a favor!
So anyway I was in Hawaii and it was to late for my family to renege on the deal. They were stuck with the puppy and I was Sookie free for an entire week. I did call for updates, and I kind of went like I thought it would to spite the many assurances from my mom and sister that they could handle this misguided bundle of fur. She missed me. The first couple of days they had the neurotic dog in full swing she wasn't eating sleeping and was pretty much making everyone wonder what they had gotten themselves into. The only person who seemed to "get" the dog was my Step-father who was entranced by the dogs need to lay at his feet. Sucker.
My sister, mother and little brother not so enamoured with her temperament. So my sister tried to let the dog sleep with her. I give her credit she made it through the week even though she had to get up a few nights at 3 and 4 am to take a dog out who really was just messing with her. I give my mom credit for tolerating the entitlement issues the dog has, and to my brother who slept with her the first night and listened to her cry and tolerated her pooping inches from his work boots. (Just so you all know the dog has never crapped in the house ever prior to her trip to grandma's!) So yes they had a rough week while I enjoyed the beach.
I got an update near the end of the week. My sister was adjusting the dog was sleeping through the night and things were seemingly going easier that is until the last day. My dog made it a week without destroying anything of value.....but then as my sister got ready for work something caught Sookies eye. So like any curious dog would do she jumped up on my sisters dresses throwing everything in her way from the top of it under she found my sisters retainer. Miss Sookie saw something she liked and went after it. Sookie ate the retainer. My sister was pissed. Sookie is now referred to as the soulless ginger, and has officially been banned from my mothers house.
My sister recounted the story. I asked "Why weren't you watching her?" She hung up on me. Oh well. Steph no longer wants the responsibility of a dog. I say my job there was done!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Sookie versus the Neighbor...
As I may have mentioned before Sookie is all Bark and no bite. Literally this dog is a wimp. She is the the most timid dog I have ever met and a doberman to boot. Most people look at her and can tell she is a wimp although there is the occasional person who just assumes she is a vicious beast because of her breed. Vicious is a hilariously way to describe the dog who is more likely to annoy or lick you to death then maul you. Sookie however does have a couple of arch nemesis' in the neighborhood. Thankfully for Sookies sake she has always been separated by a fence or window otherwise she is likely to get her little red behind handed to her by the collie next door.
Sookies first enemy is the greyhound lady. The greyhound lady is a pompous old woman who walks around the neighborhood with her two rescue greyhounds which act equally as pompous. The woman has the mistaken idea that her arrogant dogs would be afraid of Sookie who is literally half their size. The woman looked at Sookie once when she was no bigger than one of the cats and said "Oh you keep that dog away from my greyhounds they are rescues and they are scared." Seriously I swear she said this. Sookie has never gotten out and never come close to the lunatics dogs but to this day the ignorant old bag literally crosses the street to stay away from our house. While we often discourage Sookie from barking at the neighbors she is the one exception. When ever greyhound lady and her dogs come around I purposely get the dog worked up and to the window to bark at the psychotic bitch and her dogs. It makes my day every time to see the woman scurry with the dogs in toe as fast as she can to the next street. So maybe greyhound lady is less Sookies arch nemesis and more mine. So what? We both get satisfaction out watching her frighten the woman by her mere presence in this world!
Sookies next enemy are the two dogs behind us. They are her true arch enemies. One is some sort of boxer, pit mix and the other is a St. Bernard mix. The dog is a beast and is huge. He literally could swallow Sookie whole. No lie the dog must be at least 200 pounds my dog weighs 50. Its not even a match. Yet Sookie in all her wisdom thinks that is the dog to F with in the neighborhood. No she can't go after the little Collie she wants a piece of the St Bernard. Seriously she only barks at the greyhounds when I push her to but if the beast is outside she senses him immediately and goes crazy. Needless to say having both dogs out in the yards at the same time is a nightmare of astronomical proportions. While the beast lumbers back and forth guarding his territory Sookie squeezes her little body into a corner of the shared fence and lets loose with her most vicious bark she can muster. Granted it sounds frightening but again if she was face to face with the beast she would drop her stub of a tail and cower. The major issue with the match up between the beast and miss red devil herself is the fact that our fence is old. It's warped and its slowly rotting and one of these days miss all bark is really going to find herself face to face with a dog that weighs more than almost every member of this household, and honestly she is on her own in that show down. If it happens I am in the house and leaving her by herself. I am not throwing down with a 200 pound plus dog with a jaw as large as my head. F that. Sorry Sookie you will be out classed, out weighed and out barked and I will be enjoying a latte from the couch, but on the bright side I have been taking her to the bark park to try to improve her social skills.....It's not working.
Sookies first enemy is the greyhound lady. The greyhound lady is a pompous old woman who walks around the neighborhood with her two rescue greyhounds which act equally as pompous. The woman has the mistaken idea that her arrogant dogs would be afraid of Sookie who is literally half their size. The woman looked at Sookie once when she was no bigger than one of the cats and said "Oh you keep that dog away from my greyhounds they are rescues and they are scared." Seriously I swear she said this. Sookie has never gotten out and never come close to the lunatics dogs but to this day the ignorant old bag literally crosses the street to stay away from our house. While we often discourage Sookie from barking at the neighbors she is the one exception. When ever greyhound lady and her dogs come around I purposely get the dog worked up and to the window to bark at the psychotic bitch and her dogs. It makes my day every time to see the woman scurry with the dogs in toe as fast as she can to the next street. So maybe greyhound lady is less Sookies arch nemesis and more mine. So what? We both get satisfaction out watching her frighten the woman by her mere presence in this world!
Sookies next enemy are the two dogs behind us. They are her true arch enemies. One is some sort of boxer, pit mix and the other is a St. Bernard mix. The dog is a beast and is huge. He literally could swallow Sookie whole. No lie the dog must be at least 200 pounds my dog weighs 50. Its not even a match. Yet Sookie in all her wisdom thinks that is the dog to F with in the neighborhood. No she can't go after the little Collie she wants a piece of the St Bernard. Seriously she only barks at the greyhounds when I push her to but if the beast is outside she senses him immediately and goes crazy. Needless to say having both dogs out in the yards at the same time is a nightmare of astronomical proportions. While the beast lumbers back and forth guarding his territory Sookie squeezes her little body into a corner of the shared fence and lets loose with her most vicious bark she can muster. Granted it sounds frightening but again if she was face to face with the beast she would drop her stub of a tail and cower. The major issue with the match up between the beast and miss red devil herself is the fact that our fence is old. It's warped and its slowly rotting and one of these days miss all bark is really going to find herself face to face with a dog that weighs more than almost every member of this household, and honestly she is on her own in that show down. If it happens I am in the house and leaving her by herself. I am not throwing down with a 200 pound plus dog with a jaw as large as my head. F that. Sorry Sookie you will be out classed, out weighed and out barked and I will be enjoying a latte from the couch, but on the bright side I have been taking her to the bark park to try to improve her social skills.....It's not working.
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