Pyper Chronicles - Part 6
Another four-hour driving trip took us back to Windsor recently.
Pyper has no problem with such long trips at all, nor with the
pampering he receives after arrival. As before, Pyper entertained
the humans, and kept up his exercise schedule to entertain himself.
He also received a bonus body wash, with special focus on his rear
end. There was no sunshine that day, so we have no photographs to
catch the fluffy sparkle ball that becomes of the dog after a wash.
He played, he slept, and this time, he barked a lot. He must have
preferred for cars and pedestrians to disappear, so he could have
a quiet stare at the street... but no, his slumbering occasionally
interrupted, he complained to us all with his hearty woof woof.
He gave me one scare: I let him roam around in my parents' house's
backyard, thinking that he was properly enclosed. But alas, one of
the two doors was open, allowing the Pyper to run in circles around
the outside of the house (including the street he had spied on!!).
Luckily he was smart enough to bark at us from an unexpected
direction outside, so we noticed the problem and brought him back in.
Oops.
Fred, an old dog belonging to my brother, spent
two days with us, as Peter spent New Year's Eve away from Toronto. We
have had Fred visit here before, but he and Pyper did not get along
perfectly. Fred is an old, friendly beagle, and cuddles up with just
anyone. Pyper did not approve of Fred getting too cozy with me and
shared a few barks. That visit lasted only an hour or two. This
time, it was going to be 48 hours, and I was concerned. As it turned
out, we made a few mistakes but overall things went well.
After he was dropped off, Fred was more concerned about Peter leaving
him alone than about this relative giant dog trying to find out what's
up. Fred whined a bit and stared at the exit door a lot. Pyper was
rather nonchalant at the beginning, perhaps wondering how long this
other canine was supposed to visit. Then it was time for the first
problem: feeding. Fred eternally eats everything edible, so his
feeding times are like delta functions: a bunch of food twice a day,
which is all gone in thirty seconds. Pyper, on the other hand, is
used to snacking whenever he gets hungry. There is always some dog
food lying around the house, for his highness to sample throughout the
day. This makes for a little problem. We had to hide Pyper's food
from Fred. There was a second problem. Even a good natured dog like
Pyper gets a little territorial. When an intruder is allowed to eat
in Pyper's space, the insult is intolerable.
Knowing this in advance suggested to us that we should also keep
Fred's food away from Pyper. Easy, right? Just let Fred eat in a
separate room, lock them apart during the night, etc. Not so easy.
Fred's really old. He can barely waggle up the stairs to get
into Pyper's old room. We tried. It looked pathetic. Pyper does not
like being in his own room. We tried. It sounded pathetic. So they
were stuck together most of the time. We settled for this feeding
schedule: at 7 o'clock (AM & PM), Fred got his bowl of food. Then we
took both dogs for a walk. When Fred slept or was in a different
room, I snuck Pyper some food. Neither starved.
By the next day, both dogs felt comfortable around each other. A bit
of rivalry built up over the small variety of chewing toys lying
around the house. I gave Fred one and Pyper another one, but each
kept eyeing the other's. When Pyper got up to walk around, Fred went
and stole Pyper's bone. Pyper did not get too upset - he just stole
Fred's bone. They went back and forth for a while. They did a
similar routine with the living room sitting space: one dog
climbed up on our couch/futon; the other tried to follow and fit
somewhere; they pushed at each other for a while, then one gave up
flabbergasted and walked away. Repeat.
By the final afternoon, we relaxed the separate feeding regime. We
should not have done this, since Pyper got agitated over Fred eating
in Pyper's eating area (the kitchen). When Fred was just about done,
Pyper casually walked over, and up flew a rear leg, and out flew a
yellow liquid. Oops. I clearly explained to Pyper that this was a
bad thing to do, via the usual disciplinary techniques, and cleaned up
the mess. Thankfully the rest of the last day went without incident.
Pyper looked lonely after Fred was taken back to his home.
A blast of snow hit Toronto the first weekend of January 1999. It
must have been more snow than Pyper has seen before, for he was
bewildered by it all. The white powder reached easily to his belly.
Pyper could not walk in the stuff. He had to leap, and this he did.
He ran, leaping from spot to spot, trying not to stop. He loved it,
until he noticed that his feet were getting cold. The first day,
Pyper came back to the house with grapefruit-sized snowballs
literally hanging from his leg & belly fur. It must have hurt him.
He also noticed that the snow turns into liquid when licked: he found
a new source of drinking water. Many other dogs no longer showed up
at the regular walk times: he found a new source of peace.
We continued Pyper's walking schedule despite the onset of those
scourges of winter: cold wind and deep snow. Morning walks now
exclude toys (soccer ball and floopy frisbee); evening walks now are
strictly sidewalk affairs. This reduced-effort scheme still causes
grief to Pyper's feet. After a few minutes of running in the snow,
his toes collect ice blocks. His toes spread out when he tries to run
in snow, so there is a cavity, perhaps a cubic inch in size, where ice
can stay. When Pyper stops running, his toes come back together. The
ice does not fall out, so his feet start hurting. A few times, the
ice must have had some sharp edges, as little dabs of blood stained
the snow. Likewise, salt on sidewalks also have given Pyper some
grief. He quickly learned to stay off sidewalk sections where he can
see the road surface, wanting to avoid the salt. We will need to buy
some dog boots to give Pyper his mobility and endurance back.
During a morning walk, Pyper came across a smallish black retriever
type dog. Pyper behaved according to his aristocratic tendencies and
walked around, aloof from sundry distractions. This must have irked
the black dog since he started trying to bug Pyper. Nothing
aggressive, just some minor barking, bumping, the sort of sad
bossiness that a wannabe enjoys when trying to stir up some tussle.
Pyper put up with it for a minute or two, just walking away whenever
the black dog approached. At last, Pyper had enough, and gave a big
hearty woof right into the black dog's face. The black dog, shocked,
fell back and gave a funny high-pitched whelp! He must not have
learned his lesson as he came back a few more times, but Pyper would
bark instead of playing. I was so proud! With his noblesse
oblige, he suffered the peon as long as possible, then dispensed
convincing warnings. Nothing more was required.
Several knowledgeable visitors have remarked that Pyper's toe nails
have become quite long. When he runs around the house, one can hear
his nails scrape on the wood floor. When he greets someone with his
paw, the greetee must be careful not to be scratched. When he steps
on someone's foot while walking by, the victim remembers the
experience. It thus became time to set about shortening the collie
claws. Juimiin purchased an appropriate sharp cutting implement, and
we gave it a try. It's been too long since Pyper last got a nail
trim, since the sensitive "quick" tissue grew nearly to the nail tip.
Pyper kept rescuing his paws from the death-grip clutch of the nail
cutter human. But over a few days, several little trimmings are
gradually making progress.
After a heavy road salting that followed a heavy snowfall, Juimiin
took pity on Pyper and bought him a set of boots. This product, of
the brand "Muttluks", consists of four stretchy socks with leather at
the bottom and plastic above the toes, fastened with a reflective
velcro strip. Very nice. Pyper wears it without complaint. As long
as Pyper merely walks or trots, they work. They also confuse Pyper.
Before the boots, Pyper had learned that he should walk
around sections of road with salt piles. After the boots,
Pyper forgot about his previous salt problems, and walks right through
these piles. When he goes out without his boots, he now often fails
to retrieve his earlier knowledge, and walks carelessly, sometimes
hurting himself. Big dummy.
Another four-hour driving trip took us back to Windsor recently.
Pyper has no problem with such long trips at all, nor with the
pampering he receives after arrival. As before, Pyper entertained
the humans, and kept up his exercise schedule to entertain himself.
He also received a bonus body wash, with special focus on his rear
end. There was no sunshine that day, so we have no photographs to
catch the fluffy sparkle ball that becomes of the dog after a wash.
He played, he slept, and this time, he barked a lot. He must have
preferred for cars and pedestrians to disappear, so he could have
a quiet stare at the street... but no, his slumbering occasionally
interrupted, he complained to us all with his hearty woof woof.
He gave me one scare: I let him roam around in my parents' house's
backyard, thinking that he was properly enclosed. But alas, one of
the two doors was open, allowing the Pyper to run in circles around
the outside of the house (including the street he had spied on!!).
Luckily he was smart enough to bark at us from an unexpected
direction outside, so we noticed the problem and brought him back in.
Oops.
