A friend of mine’s dogs had puppies. The dad is a full blood black lab named Repo Jr. (He owns a used car dealership). Repo senior having gotten old and passed away. The mother is a shepherd/huskie mix. She looks like a bright white German shepherd with blue eyes and is probably one of the sweetest dogs I’ve met.
So awhile back, he texted me a video of the new puppies. I figured they’d be cool dogs, but he said they were spoken for and I really wasn’t looking for another dog.
But in a turn of events, we went over to size up the puppies. They were awesome. And apparently, every one that wanted one got cold feet, except the dude that wanted the male. So what did we do? Well. let’s bring the biggest – a female – to see if our two like her.
They really didn’t. Jet was ambivalent. Aria hated her guts. Aria doesn’t like other females, other than her mother. So back she went. Then, the sole male became available and we went through the drill again. We never brought him back. It was important to my friend that these dogs are adopted by people he knows, so he can watch them grow up.
Enter Jasper.
Both dogs liked him. They started off slow, but slowly accepted him into the pack. Now, I can’t imagine him not here.
But man, oh, man, I forgot about how much work puppies can be. I was commiserating with a friend, and he said “What the hell did you get another big dog for? You already have two, and they know what to do.”
So they do.
They know where to do their business. When it’s time for bed, we say “Night-Night time” and they walk into their crates, and sleep all night long. They know about a half dozen commands, like “inside”, which we holler when they are barking too much in the yard. They walk next to us like champions. So much so, as I passed a neighbor, and a dog walking on the other side of the street cut loose, quipped to me “Best behaved dogs in the neighborhood!”
They really are. When out and about, they are a dream to walk. They only go def-con 1 when someone invades our personal space. And they appear to be showing Jasper the ropes. The first night here, he whined when he was put in a crate. He’s grown up mostly outdoors on a large property. The other two cut loose, telling him to shuddup. He shuddup until 5AM the next morning, and has since. He’ll walk into the crate at night for my wife, but not me. He’s about 90% house trained. I think this has to do more with him being a puppy, rather than not knowing where to go. If the dog door is open, he’ll go out and do his business. If it’s closed, and he has to go, he has to go. Only has happened lately when I shut the door in the wee hours, because the other two were barking at joggers, and I fell asleep.
He has the sweetest personality. Very similar to Jethro, only more playful. Very much like his mom.
I really enjoy having the two dudes – the big one and the small one, as my shadows during the day. They want to be wherever I am. We’ve had him maybe three weeks, and he’s clearly doubled in size. He’s 30 lbs, and he’s still a baby. Gonna be wild. It’s good to be the king, the pack leader. Then again, he hasn’t figured out he’s not a lapdog yet.
So it’s time to start training him. He appears very smart. We’ll see how it goes. He knows sit. He knows Night-Night. He’s getting there with “off”, the command I use to tell him not to jump on me. I’ve started walking him, but have created a monster. He knows where the other two are going every morning, and it makes him nuts not to go with his pack. But he can’t. Our normal walk is two miles. We’ll get to the park a mile away, and he’ll be toast. Soon. Sooner than later, I think.
Going to be cool. Watching the other two teaching him is one of the more fascinating things I’ve seen. He gets over excited (because he’s a youngster), and the two big dogs are merciless. Soon as he straightens out, it’s all over and they are pals again. When he’s totally out of control, Jet will grab Jasper’s head in his massive jaws, and little dude immediately submits. Wild. Wish that happened with humans. Used to happen. The world would be better for it if things still worked that way. But I digress.
Our parish had a back the blue day, and a number of Dallas PD posted to hobnob with us locals. One of them was a K9 unit, a woman and a very cool, very buff, black Shepherd. I chatted with her, telling her she had to have the coolest job in the world. She smiled and said she did. There is nothing funnier than seeing a K9 take care of business. But I digress…
Dogs are amazing creatures. They edify and enhance our lives. I’ve known and known of dudes that have had that one dog that was the best ever, that changed their lives. I have three. I’m truly blessed.
Inspected By Pat 