Our two mighty slayers turned one year old today. We haven’t had them a whole year, of course. We got them in mid-May. But there is definite maturing happening with them both.
Buffy is the bigger of the two. She towers over Maggie at this point. She’s not quite as adept at climbing fences as her sister. She’s a little clumsier at most things, actually. She reminds me of a gangly teenager, tripping over her huge feet. She is mostly safe around all of the birds at this point, something I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to say. Her one weak spot is if there is a lone bird for some reason, she is so tempted to chase it. Not to kill it — those days are finally behind us, but man chasing a single bird is so hard for her to resist. I can see that look she’ll get and I’m getting really good at nipping it in the bud. She’s very very food motivated, so I walk around with treats in my pocket for her for quick distraction. She hangs out with Maggie quite a bit these days, often goes on patrol with her, without Faith, which I find interesting. She’s as much of a snuggler as the other Pyrs. We spend a lot of time cuddling big white fluffy dogs every day. Her favorite spot to hang out lately is on the top of one of the snowplow piles. She loves to bury everything. She is still horribly afraid of the chainsaw. Her whole body shakes, and she’ll go hide as soon as it is turned on, poor baby. I keep hoping that she’ll get used to it, but not so far.
Faith is the biggest snuggler of them all. She’s also more of a homebody. I often find her hanging out around the house with Maggie and Buffy out on patrol. She’s a little more fearful than Buffy. She’s a fence-climber extraordinaire. I haven’t seen her chase a bird in months. She’s really adopted the turkeys as her special flock. She’s very, very food aggressive. She loves to bury her food, especially in the snow these days, then growl and bark if anyone or anything comes near it. She’s pretty sure everyone wants it and it is HER’S and she makes sure everyone knows it. Interestingly, food treats don’t distract her the way they do Buffy. She’s more motivated by praise and cuddles. She too is afraid of the chainsaw. She’s not people aggressive at all.
We’ve made lots of progress with both girls, and they are really coming along well. (Please don’t let saying that jinx anything, thanks!)
what do you think makes dogs food aggressive? i have had my dog since she was 2 months old. so i know she has always gotten food. but she is a nightmare about food.
I’m with Buffy regarding the chain saw!