Senor Stinker Pants, AKA Sammy was being a little trouble maker yesterday. All 10 months we have had him, he has these jealousy and possessive issues. He overall is better than he was 6 months ago, but...for some reason, he has taken a leap back the last week or so.
Sammy has made it very clear, HE is the ONLY one allowed to get hugs from me. I'll start by the dogpark fun. Sometimes there are dogs that are just happy to have people pet them, and I love doggies, so I enjoy petting them. Sammy keeps an eye on this. If a dog over stays his welcome, or comes to me too often, he will make his presence known. If just a friendly reminder, "Hey, that's MY mom! Just remember, she belongs to ME!" isn't enough, he might come over and push his way to my hands. If the dog continues to wear out Sammy's generosity, he will come by teeth showing with a light little snarl. Seriously. Then he will sit to show his realm it's his throne!
Also, no dog is allowed to jump to say hi to me until he has throughly sniffed them. This was causing some probelms, so he has been disciplined to the point where it is a rare instance now. Mostly, he just runs from dog to dog real fast before they can get to me, I think. But this even happened with family dogs. When Erik's sister and her fiancee got a dog, that dog came to say hello to us right away. Sammy jumped up and put him in his place. Yep. Little corgi to Austrialian shepard. Now they are A-Ok, because Sammy now knows him.
All of the other dog stuff even makes some sense. And at the end of the day I can see the the silver lining without having to look too hard. But his issues don't end there. Sammy has a couple wild hairs about Erik & I being too close. We can sit next to each other, that is just fine. But oh man, if we play fight (pushing each other, jumping from behind walls, try to block each other from the bathroom, etc), start to dance to music, or, get this, HUG Sammy just loses it.
He was at his worst around 6 months old, and it has slow but steadily gotten better since then. Til yesterday. He would bark at us, jump up on our legs, pace, run around us in a circle, whine and whimper! Then immediately moving away from each other, he would jump up on my legs with his ears back for me to pick him up.
We have tried telling him NO! We have tried just ignoring him. The only thing that helps is picking him up and getting a family hug or family dance, which really defeats the whole purpose to be quite honest!
Anyway, so that isn't even where it ended last night. When we went to bed, first we watched some Friends in bed and Sammy chomped on his bone at the foot of the bed. Then it was time to go to sleep and Sammy climbed up, rolled on his back with his upper body on my tummy and head rolled back on my shoulder, feet upright next to my hips. It took about 10 minutes for him to find the exactly comfortable spot, but once he did (on his side with head on my shoulder, rest of body against my side) he stayed like that for a few hours! This is quite shocking for him, because he usually gets too warm and can't have anything in his bubble while sleeping. So he usually gets some bed above my pillow (I slink down so he has room) and we share my pillow. That way we are close together, but not overheating. Last night though, not an issue. I wonder what is up with him! He seems especially needy for some reason. Hopefully it doesn't last too long! I love him being all cuddly and lovey, but some how he has to know that I am NOT just HIS!
Sadie is the same way. I understand why she is, since it has only been the two of us since I got her. But I know I definitely will never be able to get another dog. She would not allow that! She watches me very intently at the dog park and definitely will come over if she sees me petting another dog. She does the same thing as Sammy, where she'll just sit in between me and the other dog. And if I even hug my mom, she tries to get in between us. She is very protective of me, and possessive. Sometimes I think it's kind of cute. But most of the time it's scary, just cause I don't know what she would do if someone got too close. I guess it's good in the other sense, that if I was in danger, she would protect me!
ReplyDeletehahha aww how sweet. ummmm sadly, bailey is the opposite!!! unless i have treats, he doesnt care who i pet.,.. ok well its not all the time, but 80% of the time he doesnt care. and ive hugged people in front of him and he just thinks its fabulous. hahhahaa maybe its cause bailey really doesnt sleep on my bed - we dont have that connection???? :( bailey does go kinda nuts when i try to do some exercising or dancing at home, but its kinda more like that "i-wanna-dance-too" excitement (hell weave through my legs, etc). hahah
ReplyDeletehaha, aww :) Gibson used to be really bad about that, but he has gotten better.. It does make you feel loved though, doesn't it?
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