Recently someone asked me if I chose to bring Mimi and Harry with me because they got along better than the other dogs. I've discussed in other posts the reasons I selected these two dogs--and it wasn't because of how well (or not) they got along. But the question prompted me to start thinking about this and to start watching them a bit more closely.
I've discovered that they actually do get along better than any two fox terriers I've had.
One of Harry's many nicknames is Mr. Crankypants. If he was laying on the couch next to me, he'd start growling if another animal even walked into the room, much less approached the couch. He wouldn't tolerate having any cat or dog (except sometimes Iz) touch him while he was sleeping. Sometimes he'd even growl at me if I tried to shift him around.
Mimi is generally so frenetic that I've never been sure that she even notices other dogs much except when they have a treat or a toy that she wants.
Harry has either mellowed in his old age or he kind of, sort of, might like to hang out with Meems. I noticed that at night they often end up sleeping back to back, or his head will be on her flank, or they will be facing each other with their legs all tangled up.
When I put a dog bed out on the porch for them to get some sun, Mimi will almost always lay down next to Harry. Even when one of them flops down and stretches, it won't dislodge the other.
I can even have toys in both hands getting ready to play a rousing game of fetch and the dogs will be bouncing up and down side by side.
With the "honor" training that I've been doing, I can now get both of them to spin at the same time--this done while I am holding treats, a prize that would have led to bloodshed with any other pair of terriers. Well, except maybe Dyna but I learned never to underestimate her. She's pretty feisty.
Add to this the two baked goods incidents--I came home both times to clean pans and no blood. It may not have been pretty at the time but they clearly worked out some sort of arrangement for gobbling the goodies.
I had to choose two of my dogs and maybe I made the choices for the wrong reasons but it seems like it is turning out okay.
3 comments:
and Mr Crankypants never got mad at Grommit either.
Hey, that's true! But would you have predicted that he'd tolerate Mimi?
I think the dynamic is totally different when its only 2 dogs. Meggie is like a whole different dog now that Bullet is gone. Even today around a ton of dog treats and dog craziness (Pet Expo) she was so nice and friendly and never snarked once!
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