2.16.2012

February 16, 2012

White Dog sighed, hopped down, and went over to "talk" to Quinn. Seems somewhere in the night our gentle soul was bitten by the bully bug. He was spending the day so far throwing his weight around and being pushy. White Dog has no patience for any of the Army nosing another out of their kibble bowl or hip checking the others just to get in their way. She reminded TOWD of that.

The Other White Dog is usually the first to see the wisdom in backing away from confrontation. Quinn, normally the peacekeeper, was today agitating everyone he passed. Using momma instincts I checked to see if he was in pain...nope. Was he sick?...no temperature, clear eyes, pulse normal. Appetite was good. Our routine was normal and environment unchanged. And yet...

One of the favorite games of domination played at the White Dog Ranch is "Gatekeeping." Our old home is a warren of doorways and hallways. If a White One positions himself, or herself this is not just a boy game, just so across a doorway or lies to barricade the hall, he controls access to part of the house. The others cannot get by unless the gatekeeper lets them pass or that pup is brave enough to push through. YoYoMa is the master of this game, but today Quinn with position and his low-throated "I mean it" growls was convincing enough that no one would call his bluff. Several times one or another of the WDA pranced up to me with an urgent look...and I had to go roust TOWD from the passage to the dog door.

White Dog at first accepted the game and showed off her problem-solving skills...she simply lept over the prone boy. The others, not so nimble, could not follow her lead. She then tried reasoning with TOWD and called on his normal diplomacy but today he was a stubborn brat. YoYoMa started getting mad and the macho level quickly rose between the two; fortunately Yo was more motivated by treats than testosterone today or it might have gotten ugly.

In some ways it is comforting to see our always perfectly behaved gentleman get a bit fiesty, as long it does not become a habit. But White Dog has decreed that Quinn and dad on "boyz night" can no longer hang with YoYoMa to watch van Damme movies.

12 comments:

Dachshund Nola said...

Hope all is back to normal soon
Dachshund Nola

haopee said...

This was hilarious!

I had to figure out what TOWD meant for a couple of seconds.

I wish I could also do the "I mean it" growl so Peanuts can understand what I'm trying to tell her.

Hey WDA!

Huggies and Cheese,

Haopee

GOOSE said...

I guess we all get in our moods. Hope it's back to normal.
Blessings,
Goose

Brian's Home Blog said...

I sure hope that bully bug goes bye-bye soon and a calm weekend can be had by all!

The Daily Pip said...

Sometimes, we all just have bad days. Better to just let it be and let it pass.

Your pal, Pip

Angels Amber and Max DaWeenie and Mom said...

Hey...we all get our grumpy days! He was just having one of his! :o)

Have a great weekend!

Jo's World said...

Maybe its just Friday, after a very busy week. Sounds like a bad case of the crankies to me!

Keep the peace, Siku!

Cheers and hugs,
Stella

Remington said...

Somedays are like that....have a fun weekend!

STELLA and RORY from Down Under said...

Oh sounds like someone got out of bed on the wrong side hehehe. Hope everyone chills for the weekend. No worries, and love, Stella and Rory

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

Hmmm, so was today a Friday-Friday or a Friday-Saturday? Maybe that had something to do with it?

Loved the punch line at the end:)

Woos - Phantom, Thunder, Ciara, and Lightning

haopee said...

Hi WDA.

I know you're a bit busy but I'm hoping you could lend me a WDA picture for my features on the Eskies breed.

The picture will have a caption containing your website link and if you have further requests or specifications, I can put those too.

I hope you could respond to my request.

Huggies and Cheese,

Haopee

Isis said...

.... that sounds a bit strange... and sister is very worried. It is not normal for a dogs disposition to 'switch' from nice to mean. Makes us worry something is going on deeper that you can't see on the outside. ... :(

But, just wanted to let you know- the grapes were fake. The plant hanging on the top was the real one. but it's not a grape vine. our grapes are in the backyard!