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lederhosenIt's just over a year since we adopted Basil from the Lost Dog's Home. He seems to have decided he likes it here. Unfortunately he still has some stray dog instincts that are hard to lose, and he's bitten each of us a couple of times, but I think we're making progress with him.
I made the mistake of incorporating "feed my dogs" into my morning routine as the FIRST thing I do after getting up. So I had only myself to blame when Basil started waking me up earlier and earlier in the hope of getting breakfast NOW NOW NOW.
So there's been a change in the routine. If Basil wants a morning shower, he wakes me up before seven and I give him a shower (he needs them fairly often anyway for skin allergies). If he doesn't want a morning shower, he lets me sleep until my alarm goes off, and I feed him. He's a bright dog; it only took two showers before he figured out the new rule.
We've also discovered that he has a Magic Spot just above his tail. Rub it just right, and his hindquarters collapse and he starts doing Happy Growl Leg Thump. (Happy Growl sounds very slightly different from his "RHAAR I CUT YOU" growl.) Rub it a bit more and he falls over altogether onto his back.
Dog-Or is getting old, alas. He's 13 this year, and slowing down quite a lot. He's less steady on his feet, he sometimes passes when Ratboy offers him a walk, and once (but only once) I had difficulty waking him for food, which REALLY had me worried. But he's doing OK; I don't think he likes the hot weather, but other than that he seems happy. Still not wild about Basil, but they manage to get along without too much trouble.
I made the mistake of incorporating "feed my dogs" into my morning routine as the FIRST thing I do after getting up. So I had only myself to blame when Basil started waking me up earlier and earlier in the hope of getting breakfast NOW NOW NOW.
So there's been a change in the routine. If Basil wants a morning shower, he wakes me up before seven and I give him a shower (he needs them fairly often anyway for skin allergies). If he doesn't want a morning shower, he lets me sleep until my alarm goes off, and I feed him. He's a bright dog; it only took two showers before he figured out the new rule.
We've also discovered that he has a Magic Spot just above his tail. Rub it just right, and his hindquarters collapse and he starts doing Happy Growl Leg Thump. (Happy Growl sounds very slightly different from his "RHAAR I CUT YOU" growl.) Rub it a bit more and he falls over altogether onto his back.
Dog-Or is getting old, alas. He's 13 this year, and slowing down quite a lot. He's less steady on his feet, he sometimes passes when Ratboy offers him a walk, and once (but only once) I had difficulty waking him for food, which REALLY had me worried. But he's doing OK; I don't think he likes the hot weather, but other than that he seems happy. Still not wild about Basil, but they manage to get along without too much trouble.
