May 5, 2018

White Dog was impressed. "Wow, Momma! I would have never guessed you had THAT kind of upper body strength. You are so old and she is so young!" I looked at the Little White Dog of My Heart. "Old? And surprised? Write this down Baby Girl, THIS momma can still Alpha if she has to."

Bailey's toes were in dire need of some grooming attention. Owlie furs and tufts between her pads hid nails that were too long. It was easy to coax her up...a bowl full of treats and an invitation to cuddle brought her up to my side in an instant.

In fact, it brought a whole Army swarm, including Zsofia who stood at the edge of the bed singing piteously that SHE should be up where her sister was.

And then Steve sat down with the clippers and dremel. Zso was out of the dog door in a heartbeat. Unlike some of her siblings that left but spent the time peering through the door, our Darkest White Dog went to the way back of the yard and tried to hide in the bamboo stand.

To say Bailey was cooperative would be considered an alternative reality worthy of the highest level of government. She bucked. She rolled. She twisted. She kicked. The only time she paused was to take another bite of cookie that I was trying to bribe her with.

I had an arm around her and between her front paws. I held her collar so that her head and neck were gently restrained against my body. I shifted to wrap both arms around her belly with her back against my front. I leaned back against her torso to pin down her backside. It was quite a workout.

Bai is our biggest girl, at her prime and 60 pounds of muscle. She is lean...and stubborn. It was quite a wrestling match for me; HER panting came more from irritation than exertion.

FINALLY, Steve finished the groom...the last paw and dew claw a bit hurried as he worried about my stamina. "See, that wasn't so bad was it?" He asked her. She plunged her snout into the bowl of cookies and inhaled what was left before smoothly sliding off of the bed to join Zso who loudly protested her sister's ordeal.