Growing Up Fast

Cap is still very much a baby dog at 21 weeks but he is going through a lot of changes lately.

I don't remember the fox terriers creating so much drama when they were teething, which is odd considering the stupendous dentition those small dogs have. But last Sunday, Cap lost one of his baby molars and I am still cleaning up blood. I had to throw away a few toys because they were too blood-soaked for me to clean. He was outside playing with Gracie when it happened--this is what she looked like when I called them back in the house!

Not what you think! All of this blood on Gracie is from Cap losing a baby molar.

He likes to gnaw on their hind legs.

Last night, he suddenly stopped playing. I looked up and he was in the doorway to the dog room looking back at me. Something about his expression...I jumped up, ran to the back door and threw it open, and he immediately ran out and peed. If he'd been a 3 year old kid standing in that doorway, he would have been grabbing his crotch and dancing from one foot to the other. This is pretty significant in the house training effort because it tells me he knows he is supposed to go outside. And he knows he can communicate with me when he needs to potty.


Cap and Mimi are inseparable. I am sort of surprised because Mimi is horribly aggressive around her sister and to a lesser degree the other terriers but she puts up with amazing amounts of abuse from Cap. Encourages him even.


Cap is most definitely not a fox terrier. He does not see the same world that they do. He places very different values on food and toys. He learns at a different pace. Oh, he quickly learns new skills in just a few repetitions but sometimes what he remembers from a training session can surprise me. He is affectionate and playful, and often rubs against my legs like a cat, but he doesn't have that need to be with me, on me, next to me, touching me at all times like all of my fox terriers do.

I love my fox terriers and probably will get another in the future. But having this non-terrier creature lets me look around at my world with fresh eyes.

Some of these differences are likely due to his checkered background as a rescue bounced through too many foster homes (nurture) but some of them are going to be the result of what he is--some weird amalgamation of herding breeds and who knows what else (nature).

And ponder this last thought. Don't you think it is sort of strange that I would begin searching for another dog only to find a border collie cross that is about the same size as a fox terrier?