Lonely Lucky Gets a New Friend
Finally, Lucky has a fenced backyard where he can run around and feel free as a dog can be.
Only he hates it. He whines and cries. He has no one to play with or pester. What’s a dog to do by himself?
So I looked at my options. What kind of dog can I have that would work with Lucky? Another big dog I was not up to at this time. What other hair dogs would work? A Bijon Friese would work until I found out how expensive they were. More than a standard poodle. Oh well, back to the drawing boards.
Then, one day, my friend, Pat, was saying she had to give one of her dogs away because he was too noisy while she was at work. I asked what kind was he. A Bijon Friese.
I almost fell off the chair. “I’ll take him,” I shouted. It is the only dog that would work for me. Lucky needs a buddy.
So we decided to have the dogs meet at her house.
The day arrives and I have Lucky on his halti. We get into Pat’s house. Lucky is all excited. There are cats to talk with, two dogs to inspect and no fights took place. Lucky loved being with all the animals. He was just a social butterfly. Here, there, over here, over there. Sniffing away at everything.
Lucky’s new buddy was a 15 year young Bijon named Chardonnay. He had come up from Florida where his previous owner was too ill to take care of him.
Off we went with the crate, more food, Chardonnay, Lucky and lots to look forward to with these two dogs.
Right away Lucky shows his dominance, Chardonnay wouldn’t have anything to do with it. Growl and snap. Lucky moved off.
That was how it was going to be. Chardonnay only weighed 12 pounds at that time. Small but feisty.
Lucky was so happy to have a friend with him in the house and in the yard, his whining stopped and he became a training dog to Chardonnay.
You see Chardonnay hated being in the crate and howled when he had to be in it. When he wanted to be let out he yelped and screeched. “Let me out NOW!” screech. His sound was piercing. I can see why the neighbor wanted him out of the duplex.
Patrience and time were the two virtues that I had to learn. One, patience in ignoring the howls and praising the silence were slow as I thought Chardonnay was more deaf than he was. I think Lucky clued Chardonnay in to the procedure. “Keep your mouth shut, you get a reward,” said Lucky.
Two, it took a year.
That little dog was finally able to catch on and keep quiet when I put him in and took him out of his crate. He loved the treats that he got when he got into the crate. Yep, you got it, I bribed them. It works.
What was Chardonnay’s problem when he had breakfast with Lucky?
To Be Continued.
Patricia Lewis
http://www.bloggal.wordpress.com
