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| Finn, left front with siblings in playpen, Joey is in the black bed. |
Joey,
Finn’s brother, visited today. (I’m sure
you’ve heard me mention Joey before, but just in case…)
His
parents (Joey’s) had some appointments that took them into “town” and called to
see if Joey could stay with us while they took care of ‘bidness’.
Finn loves Joey so much and the two of them have
such a great time together that, if I can, I always welcome Joey here. They generally spend the first two-three
hours, I kid you not, running, chasing each other, wrestling and playing (Finn
and Joey, not Joey’s parents) They’re only a year old so they got that puppy
energy thing going.
I always
mean to do things I don’t get usually get done during the time Joey is visiting
us. Finn tends to follow me around,
likes lots of attention, is active and insistent on my involvement with him and
his activities.
Being an
eternal and perhaps unrealistic optimistic, I imagine myself writing my first
novel while they’re busy with each other.
However,
I find I go into a kind of stupor when they’re together. I watch and laugh. It’s hard to stop watching, they are so funny
together.
Today, I
observed yet another interesting thing about my dog. I’ve been teaching Finnegan how to use a
doggie door. I bought the Endura pet
flap sliding patio door, with low E and dual pane glass after researching for
about two weeks. Why is nothing simple
anymore?
Anyway, I’ve
been training him for days to use it. Sometimes
he gets it, sometimes not. Yesterday,
when I went in the yard to hose areas down, without him, he remembered how to
use the dog door. Later, when I was in
the family room and he was on the part of the patio I have gated, he had a quasi-heart
attack when he saw me open the refrigerator, remove something and put it on the
counter.
He hates
missing any opportunity that he might be able to get people food and knowing
what a slob (I mean how clumsy I am) I can be, he always checks to see if I’ve
dropped crumbs.
He flew
in through the puppy door with no problem.
Last
night, when daddy was home, he pretended ignorance of how to use this same
entrance.
Today,
when Joey was over; Finn decided he must have the bully stick from the
patio. He strolled through the door like
it was nothing, much to Joey’s shock. He
stayed outside until he saw me give Joey something and then came flying back through
the dog door.
Just as I
suspected, if it suits him, he remembers how
to use it. Otherwise, he prefers I open
the people door and then he will go out with me.
It’s the
same thing every morning.
I let him
out with me to do his bidness and play
with his toys on his grass patch.
We do
runs around the yard; he likes me to
chase him and whatever toy he’s decided to put in his mouth for me to attempt
to capture.
After
this is over, he sits on grass and chews a bully stick or plays with one of his
toys or inspects one thing or another and becomes completely absorbed.
I sit in a
lounger and try to do the daily Cryptoquip, crossword, or read the paper…maybe
three feet from him. Within five
minutes, when he notices I am not looking at him, he runs to me, tries to jump
in my lap, and/or swats the paper or complains (puppy whining) until I put what
I am doing down.
He is so
much smarter than I’ve given him credit for and he has me more trained than I
have him. But, slowly, and surely, I am
catching on.
Havanese little
one……..you are quite some breed.