N provides the bait
Z goes in for the bite
and as the boy does, so does the dog!
Luci was somewhat baffled by the bubbles and preferred to keep her distance.In other news, Blue and Luci continue to be the best of dog buddies, though Blue takes very seriously her responsibility of teaching Luci the rules. If Luci jumps up on something and we scold her, Blue will grab Luci by the leg and pull her down, which is pretty entertaining and generally leads to some serious wrestling on their part.
However last week Blue demonstrated some rather impressive corrective behavior. The farm crew was in the garlic patch, weeding. The dogs had been keeping a supervisory eye on our activities while playing around the perimeter of the garden. Luci has been struggling a little with the idea that the white electrical tape the surrounds the garden is a "barrier" that she must not cross, after all it is several inches over her head and the gate opening is just that...wide open. So as we were working, Luci walked through that gate opening and was standing several feet inside the garden (strictly forbidden here), when I looked up and noticed her. I pointed outside the garden and said firmly, "Luci, OUT!" As is common when receiving a command, Luci froze and stood there staring at me. Blue however had no hesitation, she ran through the gate into the garden, grabbed Luci by the neck and dragged her outside of the garden. When they had cleared the fenceline, she dropped the puppy and laid down as though nothing had happened. Upon being released, Luci hopped up, tackled Blue and a full-out wrestling match ensued.
The farm crew saw the whole thing and just stood there staring at the dogs. One of our crew members said, in an incredulous voice, "Did I just see what I saw?" That was a pretty good summation of the scene.
However last week Blue demonstrated some rather impressive corrective behavior. The farm crew was in the garlic patch, weeding. The dogs had been keeping a supervisory eye on our activities while playing around the perimeter of the garden. Luci has been struggling a little with the idea that the white electrical tape the surrounds the garden is a "barrier" that she must not cross, after all it is several inches over her head and the gate opening is just that...wide open. So as we were working, Luci walked through that gate opening and was standing several feet inside the garden (strictly forbidden here), when I looked up and noticed her. I pointed outside the garden and said firmly, "Luci, OUT!" As is common when receiving a command, Luci froze and stood there staring at me. Blue however had no hesitation, she ran through the gate into the garden, grabbed Luci by the neck and dragged her outside of the garden. When they had cleared the fenceline, she dropped the puppy and laid down as though nothing had happened. Upon being released, Luci hopped up, tackled Blue and a full-out wrestling match ensued.
The farm crew saw the whole thing and just stood there staring at the dogs. One of our crew members said, in an incredulous voice, "Did I just see what I saw?" That was a pretty good summation of the scene.
5 comments:
I would like to borrow Blue for awhile. If she can train another dog, certainly she can train my 6yo boy. He will even wrestle with Blue to make her feel at home.
Let me know how much Blue charges for her time. And, what her favorite food is. And, how she likes her bedding prepared before a nap. And, what kind of chewy toy she nibbles. Don't worry, I'll only need her through the summer ;)
Really! You need to rent Blue out!
I have just the opposite. I have one that teaches all the others what not to do. Like the easy places to get through the fence, how to open the trash cabinet (without anyone hearing)and which doors to lurk by for an all out escape attempt....
Great post!
Sandy
Too funny! Amy, that would be a great blog post all on its own!
We are so lucky that she has turned out so well, the first couple of years weren't quite so charming!
Blue is quite the dog. My Mushu used to do that to his sister when she would visit. He'd grab her collar and lead her everywhere and try and keep her from going places they weren't supposed to be. Isn't it funny how they can take on that teacher role!
How fun! I can just see our Gigi doing something similar. Her "cousin" Lucy is coming to stay while her human goes out of town. They always play well together, but usually at Lucy's farm, and only for part of a day. It will be fun to see how alpha dog Gigi shows Lucy the Dancing Heart Farm ropes for her mutli day stay!
Thanks for sharing.
Pam
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