Wonderful Wednesday Personal Blog
Freki came into our lives a little over 6 weeks ago. She was short- just Ben's height. Cuddly- except for her razor-sharp baby teeth. Had to be coaxed to eat instead of grabbing a bite and dashing off to see what else was happening in the house. Couldn't climb steps- or go down them. Was stand-offish to Ben and Dixie. Ran from the vacuum cleaner. What a difference those six weeks have made! Yesterday, she walked over Ben. Granted he was lying down, but his legs aren't that long, and, well it just doesn't make that much difference. (Sorry, Ben). She used to teeter-totter across his back and finally lurch over him. Now she steps right over. The other day, I caught her on the dryer. It sits next to the 3 steps down into the garage, and she had her back feet on the second step, the rest of her body on top of the dryer. She also steals items off the patio table in the same manner. She steps her front feet from the porch to the top of the table, takes what she wants, and leaps back to the porch. Or the patio. Or the yard. Steps are definitely not a problem. She wrestles the water hose, drags it across the yard, shaking it as though it were a monster to be killed. Once skeptical of its power, it is now fully in her control. The vacuum, mop and broom are no longer fearful beasts. They are foes to be conquered, scolded, postured before. She drags the wooden-handled enemies across the floor, ears pinned back, front feet prancing proudly as she once again defies the odds and bests the foul things. We do need those things, however, as evidenced by this scene that greeted me too early on a Saturday morning. Yet another potted plant massacred and presented as spoils of war. In the past week or so, she has changed the landscape of the back yard. Salvaged plants have been relocated and end of summer for the annuals arrived a bit early this year. The swimming pool is a great joy. Though greeted with much enthusiasm the first day it arrived, she completely lost interest in it for a couple of weeks. She has since made up for that lapse in behavior and we have towels at the back door for wiping wet feet and bellies and faces. Her color is also changing. We knew it would. Take a look at the photos below and you can see how her face is turning brown. There is also a definite sprinkling of brown hairs along her back, and her belly is almost completely brown. So, here is a short gallery of photos of Freki on day one, and six weeks later. Enjoy!
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Freki's new moniker is 'Ninja Dog'. Two names for the two sides of this rambunctious puppy. Imagine, if you will, a sweet, loveable puppy (ignore for the moment the wet paws that just came out of the water bowl and left prints on my slacks, necessitating another change of clothes, and the kitchen floor that will have to be mopped again). She is so helpful, so willing to please. And, believe it or not, devious. Are you aware a person should not use the bathroom without close supervision by a GSD? Clearly, I have been sadly neglected in the past. But Freki is correcting this lack in my life. Such a sweet girl. And, did you know vacuuming and mopping must be attended by a brave, selfless puppy who will throw herself bodily at the dangerous objects, threatening them with instant destruction if they attempt to harm her owner? (Yes, hiding in the tub is a thing of the past) I had no idea these every day cleaning tools were so dangerous. Many thanks to my brave girl. She is also quite the antidote for memory loss. I must confess to the occasional 'why am I in this room?' lapse, but I am quickly tightening those brain muscles and powers of observation, complements of Freki, the Ninja Dog. At any given moment, Freki will be at the very least in my peripheral vision, playing with an approved toy (meaning, one we gave her, not one she chose for herself), pouncing on Ben, or attempting to annoy Dixie. Then, without warning, she becomes- Ninja Dog. On silent, padded feet, she slips away- never mind she sounded like 10 puppies only moments earlier. Ears now tuned to the sudden absence of sound, I whirl, confirming my suspicion. Ninja Dog has left the room. In an instant I catalogue the contents of the room and discover-- something is missing. Is it a house shoe (memo- check closet doors) or a towel from the stack of laundry on its way to the washer? A quick check finds Freki's bed piled with goodies. One of dad's house shoes (though she can carry both at once), a hand towel, one of my gardening shoes and a pine cone. When did that come into the house???? Ninja Dog has struck again. 10/1/2014 2 Comments Wonderful WednesdayThis past weekend we joined a group of friends at the lake for a bit of pickin', a bit of fun, and a lot of food. It took some packing to get Ben and Freki ready- water, bucket, towels, blanket, crate, treats, poop bags, chew toys, spare leash- but it was worth it. Poor puppy was worn out by the end of the day, but had fun meeting a lot of people who petted her, and barking at several dogs which ignored her. We continue to encourage Freki's interaction with everyone. She enjoys being around people, but is still unsure about strange dogs. Her 'alert' and 'let's play' wind up being a lot alike, and even dogs that want to play are a bit tentative. Of course, a barking puppy coming at you with front feet flying is a bit disconcerting even if her tail is wagging. She also swam in the lake. Twice. Yes, she is a water-baby, and the waves only bothered her for a short time before she plunged into the water. She was on leash and didn't get very far, but loved every minute, paddling like a pro. Ben waded chest-deep in the water and enjoyed it, too, but I am still unsure of the physics of those short legs in deep water, though I have seen other corgis swim. Cleaning out the cooler was also a lot of fun. The sound of the freezer door opening sends her hightailing it to the kitchen for an ice cube, so how much more fun to play in a whole cooler of ice? She is a busy girl. Plays hard, naps hard. And gets into mischief. Today she found the toilet paper roll. (Permit me an eye roll, here) She has learned to climb onto the couch unassisted. (Sorry, Ben, your safe place isn't so safe anymore) Housebreaking is going better since she learned she gets to go outside when she rings the bell on the back door. She does a hilarious dance at meal-time, complete with running commentary. She has also learned to look out the front window. She watches for dad coming home, me watering the flowers, and talks about it. The dishwasher seems to be a wonderful way for Freki to taste-test our meals and she is not convinced she should not climb in if the door is open. And she rides well in the car- front seat or back. She naturally prefers the front. For those of you who were waiting for the weekly 'Freki Fix', let's ruminate on Freki's list of accomplishments this week Learned to get in and out of the bathtub by herself- just for fun. And to make tub cleaning an every day event. Started a collection of house shoes behind the toilet. Because, who wouldn't??? Tried two or three more times to make friends with Dixie- by circling her closely and repeatedly while she walked across the yard. No score for this one. But isn't about to give up. Barked and leaped at the mop the entire time it was performing its duty- decided housekeeping was exhausting and took a much-needed nap. Hid in the bath tub from the vacuum cleaner and enjoyed splashing in the little bits of water left from an earlier shower. Clearly, playing in water trumps vacuum angst. Discovered the delights, short-lived though they were- of an empty water bottle. Once it began to fray, it got tossed. Has her bedtime routine mapped out with no problems going to her crate at night. Wish same could be said for the housebreaking. Got stuck behind the tv and pulled the sound bar off the shelf. It was clearly time to rearrange the furniture. Discovered a squirrel skull in the shrubbery along the fence and tossed it around until mom realized what she had. Mom is such a spoil sport. Went to the city park where a hundred- ok, six- children were playing. Decided to make friends with the one who came to visit, but only after studiously examining the situation. Oh, and getting treats. Started tracking exercises with treats in a nearby field. Learned the word 'track' very quickly and immediately drops her nose to the ground to see what she missed. Decided dunking the tennis ball in the water bowl before bouncing it around the house was huge fun. Cannot understand why this upset mom. She obviously likes the mop. Learned that ringing the bell hanging from the back door gets someone to open it for her. Very quickly learned to abuse this new knowledge. Enjoyed a Saturday morning at the town festival. No problems with the noisy train or live bands. Strollers gave her a bit of a scare, but as there were oodles of them there, she soon got over it. Learned lots of people means lots of petting, and this is great. Is not fond of strange dogs. Need to work on this. Nearly turned the side table over as she careened underneath it in one of her sporadic 'come-aparts'. Too much energy, too much speed, not a good enough turning radius. It was time to clean the table off, anyway. Knows 'sit'. Is learning 'wait' and 'down'. 'Wait' is hard. Spends most of her naps sprawled on an air conditioner vent. Loves the cooler weather. Adores playing in water. The inside water bowl is on restriction after a digging spree left an inch of water on the kitchen floor. Again. Both outside bowls are full and the water always tastes better if it is waded in first. And scooping water with your face is sheer joy. Did you know Ben does not have a tail? Neither does Dixie, because they are Pembroke Welsh Corgis. The Cardigan Corgi does have a tail, but the Pembroke does not. Not a great revelation to most of us, but to a little girl we met this weekend, this was a huge deal. Rumor has it, the people who bred the corgi in the Welsh countryside hundreds of years ago were too poor to feed a large dog, so the corgi is necessarily a very tough dog in a small package. Also, dogs were often taxed unless they were needed to work the farm, so to avoid paying a tax on their family dog, their tails were docked to prove their working status. Or so the story goes. This past weekend, we took Ben and Freki to our local town festival and walked the streets, socializing our puppy, listening to live bands, and just having fun. Ben is an old hat at this, but seemed a bit surprised to find he was not the center of attention. Freki hogged more than her fair share. However, that was after she realized Ben was enjoying being petted by innumerable strange people. And since she always wants whatever Ben has, once she realized it really was fun, she was quite the ham. One little girl petted Ben, her hand in his thick coat.. I pointed out the differences between the two dogs- never miss a chance to educate- and she peered at his short, stubby legs and dense, red hair. Then I mentioned he had no tail. With a jerk of her head, she threw a questioning look to her mom, then took a step behind Ben, squatted down, her hands on her knees, and stared straight up his, er, rear. With astonishment, she announced, "His butt has no tail!" Quite right, my dear. His butt has no tail. But he wags it just the same. |
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December 2019
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