I spent a fair amount of the morning in the reading chair this morning after the long morning walkie. Tobie mostly stayed in his bed, but occasionally came into the bedroom briefly to see if he could jazz up any action from the old man…
I have occasionally wondered if I shouldn’t feel kind of bad about having adopted him. I mean, by the time he’s scheduled to die of old age it’s gonna be kind of a race: I’ll be over eighty. Which means he has a lot of sitting and waiting in his future, and he’d clearly like more action than he already gets.
Still, he’s showing signs of maturing, and I like the way it’s going. In the very early days I was quick to let him off the leash and it didn’t work out well. As soon as he realized I physically couldn’t control him, he decided that meant I didn’t get a vote at all. And he’s been on the leash ever since.
But that was almost a year ago. Laddie was on the leash for the first year as well, until he showed signs of actually paying attention. Once he proved he’d stay close, the leash went away and we spent the next (final, alas) year being real buddies. Now I’ve been testing Tobie with short, routine things off the leash, mostly to and from the Jeep, and he’s behaving himself very well. Soon we’ll try to and from Ian’s place. He’s unlikely to find ways to get hurt so close to the cabin, and I’m very interested to see how he behaves when – inevitably – he has to chase a rabbit. If he comes straight back, or – the platonic ideal – stops when he’s called, then I’ll know we’re getting there.
But I’m not rushing it: ASDs are supposed to take longer to mature than he’s had so far and I don’t really trust him yet. How much of this is just my own overprotectiveness, I can’t say. But this isn’t a park, and it does seem like I’ve buried an awful lot of dogs since moving here, so how much protectiveness is too much?
I was playing with effects on my new camera the other evening, and think this is the prettiest Tobie picture to date…
D&L had doctor appointments in the big town about 50 miles away, so at mid-day we went to feed horses and dogs…
Tobie got to commune with the horses till they went in for food, which he seems to enjoy though they regard him with complete indifference when they bother to regard him at all.
That is a fine pic, good job.
He is a handsome critter indeed . I much prefer that 1st full face close up . Shows the incredible loyalty of that breed through those beautiful eyes . It takes the ASD a while to bond but once they do it’s permanent . You must never get shed of him . They can only bond once but it’s forever . He will be waiting for you when it’s your dirt nap time .
The photos you’re posting keep getting better and better. That second shot where Tobie is resting on the floor looking at the camera is one that you should get framed.
I’m glad that things are progressing well with Tobie. You two seem to make a good team, with the benefits far outweighing the drawbacks.
Sad looking dog. But most likely default setting. Good dogs are hard to find. Barring mishap this guy should be around a long time.
Yeah, he looks emo most of the time but that’s just the breed’s resting face. I sometimes wonder if somebody bred them for those eye markings.
@ Joel
If he could talk – that’s prob’ly what he’d say about you, too!
Fwiw – I don’t see sadness – I’m seeing intensity. If the eyes could talk, etc..