Bell is a beautiful lab mix. She has been an addition that comes with mixed emotions! On the one hand, she is an amazing dog. On the other, Porter hates her. When she was in my dog classes, she seemed so willing to do what her family and I instructed that I thought she would pretty much submit to whatever torture Porter wanted to dish out. Nope!! I expected a few scuffles as they worked out their relationship. Instead, it's a constant battle to keep them from staring each other down, and when it has escalated, Bell lets Porter know SHE makes the rules!
The great thing is that their relationship has been a fantastic motivator for me to get more exercise! Not only does Bell not allow me to use the snooze button ("You're awake? Let's play!!! No, don't lay back down. Here, let me wash your face with my beard."), but I am pretty sure that if they didn't get a morning walk, one or the other would need to see a vet when I got home from work. The down side is that there is absolutely no way Porter can keep up with Bell. She has him beat in both speed and stamina. Luckily, we have dog parks!
I am pretty sure Bell hadn't ever been to an off-leash park, because she was very timid the first half hour and didn't want anyone to sniff her. She did, however, run interference for Mr. Leave-me-alone, which was amazing to see after only 24 hours together. Fortunetly, she opened up a little and sniffed butt quite a bit, but this pic was about the farthest she got from me in two hours.
Our second attempt had a much better result. Not sure if it was the previous experience or the fact that we tried a different park. Bell left my side to run with the pack, and even Porter found a not-so-secret admirer. Prior to having Bell in the house, Porter would have outright attacked any dog who mounted him, nevermind one that pestered him non-stop. Don't know if it was good or bad that he just stood and took it, but very nice to not have him attacking a 15lb delicate little Italian Greyhound!
In other news...
Today is pickle day. I have about three pounds of green beans that need dealt with, and cucumbers are just starting to get big enough to put them in jars. If I don't get started I am gonna lose some produce. Will keep you updated on the results
***Update: Turns out Bell was a much better educator than I first thought. I remember the two dogs having a scuffle, about the third day she was here, and Porter took on a very pathetic bark/scream as I separate them. After that, he'd yell at her, but wouldn't run up and try to bite her chest and neck. Turns out she just nicked him with her teeth (probably as I separated them). A week later, a scab came off in my fingers, leaving a quarter inch scar. Good job, Girlie! Too bad he hasn't been able to transfer the lesson to other large black females. Still hates Midnight with a passion.
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