dalthauser

George is a male Boxer mix about 2 years old, and Peggie Sue is a Chihuahua Mix about 8 years old.

George and Peggie Sue's owners came down from the Dallas area for a sporting event one of their grand children were participating in.  From the minute they let the dogs out of the truck I knew I was in for a challenging two days.

I brought HIlda out in her harness to greet them when they arrived.  George immediately went at her when he approached to greet him.  The owners were surprised; they said he'd never done anything like that before.  It's possible the long drive and new surroundings made him anxious.  I do what I always do in a situation like this; I told the owner we will go for a short walk together.  Sure enough - it diffused the situation. On the way back to the house George slips out of his collar and runs off.  Naturally he had no recall, and the owners were beside themselves. Luckily for everyone he ran onto our property, and he followed me as I ran into the back gate (and shut it). Whew!

What followed was two days and nights of intervening in minor spats between our dog and their dogs.  It's possible that it's Hilda because she was on allergy medication and wasn't feeling great, but she definitely doesn't have a history of any kind of aggression with other animals (or humans for that matter).  Neither dog was "bad" - Peggy kept to herself mostly and stayed inside.  George meant well, but I think he's just really spoiled and used to a lot of solo attention.  Bottom line - it was a draining stay, but we made it.  

It was a relief to see the owners arrive to pick them up.  Not the worst experience in the world but not the best either.  
Looking on the bright side - I'm grateful that we rarely have this type of experience.  :-)

Murphy's owner went away for business.  

Murphy missed his owner A LOT the first night.  There was a lot of crying and whimpering at the door.  I knew he would be okay though, and by the next day he was.  I put his dog bed in the bedroom by my bed.  He slept everywhere but in his bed. lol  

Murphy is an older dude, and seemed like he might be a little cranky - well, that was only true when it came to Hilda lol.  He actually was pretty patient with her puppy ways, but he had his limits.  Eventually Hilda respected his space and the two got on just great.  He was definitely a no drama kind of dog.  When I work in the office on the computer he hung out under the desk.  When Hilda lay down by my chair (like she often does)I could tell because Murphy would growl softly.  Then I knew what was going to come...... Hilda would growl softly.....then Murphy would growl a little louder.....then Hilda would think "he must want to play!" and start batting at him (which didn't go over well at all).  This happened multiple times over the days.  Once I figured out what was going on it was fine - I just redirected Hilda to another room and off she went.

He wasn't eating at first, and I thought it was because he was upset with his situation.  He would eat a treat though.  I thought "hmmmmm".  So on the third day without a proper meal I put his food bowl in the office with him and closed the door.  10 minutes later I came back and the bowl was empty.  It seems like he just wanted his privacy to eat in peace (probably because he was intimidated by Hilda?).  From then on I fed him in that room by himself.

All in all a super terrific stay!


 

Hazel & Abby's owner went on a business trip, and they came to stay with us.  The meetup prior went very well, and I knew that they would be comfortable here at the Bauernhof.  I could tell that their owner was a real dog person because these dogs were so well-adjusted and well behaved.

Abby is a Red Doberman.  When I have two dogs sometimes I get confused about who is who.  How I remembered Abby is that she sorta-kinda reminds me of the Flying Nun with her markings and her ears.  Nuns live in Abbeys..... lol  seriously

Hazel is a German Shorthaired Pointer.  Such a beauty and so cuddly.

We enjoyed the no-drama walks.  Both of them walked great on leash.  They slept together in a large crate.  They both got along with Hilda really well.  As always with our Rover guests - we were sorry to see them go.

These guys' owners went on a family skiing trip to Colorado.

Macabee is an elderly Chocolate Lab. Pepper and Jack are Miniature Schnausers.

These guys were so much fun. All three of them. Pepper and Jack had some issues with Hilda but nothing serious. Macabee and Hilda got along great! We very much enjoyed Macabee who went on walks with us (the other two did not do walks per their owners).

The owners said that Macabee could be outside all the time; that he didn't do well inside and they weren't sure he was potty trained. We have him access to the house just like all the other dogs, and he did fantastic. He even slept in our bedroom with us. No accidents - no bad behavior.

We are expecting to have them again around June when the owners go on vacation again - looking forward to it!

IF YOU CLICK ON THE PICTURE, YOU WILL BE TAKEN TO THE PHOTO ALBUM FROM THIS STAY :-)