Jealous

I should know better by now. No sooner do I say that Ben is getting better when last afternoon he leaped out at a dog on leash, pulling the leash out of my hands as I felt the burn of the nylon. He jumped in the dogs face, barking at it. I managed to get him back under control.

We went for a walk in the farm last night. As usual, I left the 10 foot long rope trailing behind him when I let him run loose in the uncropped fields. He loves chasing birds and groundhogs.

Our angel Trickster joined us after this romp and was quite happy to see Ben but I don't know why. During a phone call last night, I was petting Trickster. Ben was lying out of site in the corner, barking and growling. He finally got up and confronted Trickster with barks and growls. Brother. He was jealous of the attention Trickster was getting. Trickster went upstairs and Ben moved into place beside me.

This morning, I brought out the broom again to get the leash. Handle through loop and then Ben barked and got up but it worked.

The new muzzle arrived. I don't know if it fits or not. Is it too close to his eyes? Too much nose room in the front? Can he open his mouth enough? I'm waiting to see what the trainer says. I've removed the photos of Ben with the muzzle. It just reminds me of how sad his story was.

Euthanasia keeps coming to mind for Ben. He isn't an easy dog. He's had 4 years of bad behaviour. I understand he was kept in a kennel in a garage three of those years and pretty much starved but it doesn't make him any easier to live with now, knowing that. We can't leave him with anyone to go on vacation nor can we leave him in a kennel because he goes ballistic in one. We want to take him with us but he isn't ready nor do I know if he'll ever be ready to go on a camping vacation or be able to stay in a rented cabin. I did not know what I was getting when I picked him up. I still love the big guy but when he growls at me when I pull a hair the wrong way, it upsets me because I have to stop what I'm doing. He controls the situation and he knows it. Hence, the muzzle, if I ever get one that fits.

Introducing the Trickster

I only had to go downstairs once, okay, maybe twice last night to settle Ben down from barking. Crazy but I wish people would stop making noise after Ben is settled in for the night. Trickster boy will arrive today. He will bring with him his calm, cool demeanor from which my big boy appears to observe and learn.

Trickster is a 5-year old rough coat collie whom we have been fortunate enough to have as a buddy on weekends or whenever his real person is away. He has been with us since he was a puppy and grew up with his aunty, Princess Clara. She was his mentor. She was the coolest Pyr around. Our beautiful Clara passed away last fall, 27. November, 2008. She was 13 years old and lived a good life of canoe/camping, cottaging and showed no mercy to groundhogs. I'll talk more about her later.
Trickster seems to like Ben even if Ben tries to boss him around in the car. Things were straightened out the first time they met. Ben tried three times to hump the little fella but Trickster put him in his place in short order.

The new muzzle arrived but is not yet in my hands. Muzzle desensitization will resume tonight. Don and I need to know that Ben will not bite when we go for his leash or take anything from him. Work with the trainer will begin once the muzzle can stay on for a length of time.

Overall, Ben appears to be settling in very well. He hasn't been leaping out at passing bikes, trucks or pedestrains recently. Nor has he been leaping onto the counter when we forget to tie him up while we prepare or eat food.

Ben and the Broom

Ben is our 4-year old Great Pyrenees whom we took out of a home who did not have time for him. It has been two months he has lived with us. He has since been neutered, put on about 18 pounds from his 98 pounds, the sores on his neck have healed and he has lost pounds of dead hair. His coat has filled in beautifully and he'll have a great winter coat.

He is left with many issues and we are working with a wonderful dog trainer who is helping us with those. His main issue is resource guarding as he has had two bites doing that. I am waiting for his muzzle to arrive before we get down to work.

In the meantime, there is an issue with his leash. We leave it on him all the time. He is better about us taking his collar but if he doesn't want to go out, we wouldn't be able to get near his neck. Leaving the leash on makes it easier but is still an issue because he growls and barks at us when he does not want to go out. We don't know if he'll bite and we don't want to find out. This morning, he growled/barked at me. I got the broom, stood the broom's length away and put the broom end through the leash handle and, voila, I managed to go in for the leash. Pathetic but it worked.

The photos here are ones taken the day we brought him home. I will post updated ones shortly.

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