Thursday, March 18, 2021

Win-Win

One of Lucy's friends came over this evening. It's been raining all day, and both dogs needed a little stimulation. They've known each other for years, and in fact we refer to Lady as the nanny: with a few well-placed nips and a judicious little growl or two,  she helped socialize Lucy back when she was a cheeky puppy. 

These days Lucy has a bit of an upper hand; she's bigger and younger, but she still defers to Lady most of the time, with the occasional exception of guarding a toy. Tonight, though, Lucy snatched every single thing that Lady showed any interest in. In our house that kind of behavior means that the toy gets put away, and soon we had a pile of stuffies and balls on a shelf beyond the reach of either dog. 

Neither one seemed too upset, in fact Lady seemed to enjoy getting Lucy in a little bit of trouble. Their good-natured possessiveness reminded us of our last dog, Isabel, and her cousin (my brother's dog) Sonic. Whenever Sonic would stay over, he always wanted whatever Isabel had. No doubt he was motivated by love and admiration, but he used to stare at her as she chewed and the minute she dropped whatever it was, he dashed over and took it for himself. 

Isabel was a wise old girl, though, and it didn't take long for her to figure out that if she showed a little interest in something she didn't care about, when Sonic grabbed it, she would be free to get the good stuff for herself. 

And everybody was happy.

2 comments:

  1. So much personality here! The best part was Lady relishing getting the little upstart in a bit of trouble.

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  2. Dog friends and dog cousins make me smile. Very enjoyable slice.

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