Ghost is just not a player. With the exception of very brief moments when he forgets himself with me, he isn’t one of those dogs who’s constantly crouching into “play posture” and wanting a good wrestle. Which is too bad for him, because he’s surrounded with dogs who are.
Landlady came up Saturday afternoon with her perpetual puppy Dharma, the dog who always wants to play. And because Ghost sorta/kinda remembers that technically he’s Landlady’s dog, he followed her back to the Meadow House and wanted to stay there. Until he’d had enough of Dharma, and then he cross-countried it back to the Lair. Then yesterday morning he disappeared again – until the afternoon when Ian’s Mom came to the Meadow House with her dog Basie.
…and then he cross-countried it back to the Lair. Except this morning some mom time seemed like a good idea again, so off he went.
Point is Ghost can come and go as he pleases, and he does. Ghost gets plenty of exercise. Meanwhile poor Little Bear languishes, cabled to the Lair’s foundation. Little Bear can’t be trusted to do rational things if you leave him to his own resources, and so he needs constant supervision. Which, in practice, means he never gets to run around loose like Ghost.
It’s not as if there aren’t other dogs he could play with. D&L have two dogs…but LB got banned from their house for peeing on the wall posts. S&L have a Shih Tzu…but LB got banned for…well, he just can’t keep from marking territory when there’s another dog around.
J&H used to have a couple of elderly dogs, but there was an unfortunate incident involving an excessively territorial Boxer. LB is really a very friendly dog, as long as he’s comfortable with the situation. But don’t make LB feel threatened. You wouldn’t like LB when he feels threatened. He’s big, and powerful, is encouraged to take a very stiff line with intruders, and he lives with a socially maladept hermit. What do you want from the poor guy?
So anyway there he was, cabled to the Lair. And to be honest he’s getting kind of fat. Which at his size can’t be good for his hips. He’s still young, but he won’t always be. LB needs a playmate.
J&H got themselves a new dog with some of the same social problems. She’s biggish, energetic and full of fun, and none of the other neighborhood dogs want to play with her. She’s also got a fenced yard. Time for J&H to forgive LB his past sins? Let’s give it a try.
And so, Monday and today while Ghost hung out with Mom, LB has been accompanying me for shit-shoveling and wrestling with Mika the Hound. A wonderful time has been had by all, and hopefully it’ll become a regular thing.
