4 weeks and still changing!

Wow!

Rusty is herding. But, there is unrest on the homefront. Skally has decided he needs to leave. She's not very thrilled with his presence. Apparently, she has been enjoying her ability to free-feed, and Rusty has taken it upon himself, of late, to take advantage of that.

This morning, he was caught eating her food - which is quite different from hers. This was my suspicion, yesterday, when he suddenly was pooping up a storm - and I don't mean small ones - I mean gargantuan ones - and his body seemed to have grown a little. Hmmmmmmmmm.

This morning, after he was caught, I re-fed Skally, and he had nothing (it was all left over from last night, and she had barely touched her food - about 2 cups worth). He is currently lying, repentant, next to me as I write this.

This week, I went back to the old grind. Upon my return, Rusty went straight outside and did his deed. It was rather warm, and neither of the pups wanted to go outside much - they preferred the A/C in the house, which was nearly 20 degrees cooler. I couldn't blame them.

We walked, though, and day-by-day, Rusty has grown stronger. Our walks are longer, and faster. Skally appreciates this, and Rusty has begun to demonstrate some interesting personality traits.

Rusty now barks at me if he feels I'm not doing what he wants. This was a shock, from a dog who, I was told, doesn't bark. When I give him a direction, he seems to understand and then does it - as in, "Go chase those dogs!" We spent nearly 3 hours at the park yesterday, before the temperatures got above 85, and then home before noon, so they could rest, and cool off.

On Friday evening, I played with Skally in the backyard, and Rusty joined in. Skally liked ME playing with her, but when Rusty came into the picture, she glared at me, barked, and then turned and went inside. Obviously, she believes him to be the alpha now, and after 13 years, this doesn't sit right with her. I don't blame her. Yet, at the park, they go their separate ways, and she is somewhat content.

However, I did take Rusty to meet my neighbor's dogs, and when I opened the gate, Frenchie rushed Rusty, and began to attack him. Rusty just sat there. Luckily he has thick fur around his neck, and Frenchie is a boxer, so no damage was done. So, this didn't work out well.

He is still my shadow. He is still galumphing around the yard and the park. He rolls around on his back and has fits of energy that are truly delightful. He loves bones. He loves lying in the doorways and hallways blocking any and all traffic. He is becoming a little more comfortable. Whew!

This morning it's to the park, walk, and then yard work. The pups should be spending some time outside despite the temperature of 95. They prefer to be with me in Hell, rather than sit around luxuriating in the cool of the house...at least for a few minutes.

Rusty avoids water like the plague, so while Skally splashes around in the kiddie pool, or the pond, Rusty simply sips water from the pool, and walks away. Water is not his friend, I believe. It's supposed to rain a little next week, which may prove to be rather interesting to deal with.

I think I can wait.