Back to school time and things are going pretty smoothly. This year the twins have quite a few of the same classes, and even a couple of the same teachers. Next semester they will also have one class together, which will be the first time since preschool. Our county school system typically separates twins, and care has always been taken in this regard, but I think at this point there is no deleterious effect to them being together in a class or two, and it can really help. Yesterday they were able to study for a geography quiz together and I think they actually enjoyed it. Each has her own way of learning, and her own strengths, so one can benefit from the other.
They're also much better this year about getting themselves up and ready for school without a lot of prompting and yelling (on my part), which seemed to be the norm last year. They're getting more responsible and taking care of things themselves more effectively.
They're also starting to "turn," as I like to call it, like that banana on the counter that one minute is perfect, smooth yellow, sweet and slightly firm, and the next time you glance over at it there are brown bruises and it has begun the process of turning to mush. These girls aren't turning to mush, but I will be once they fully transform into teenagers. For the most part they are what I would consider a bit behind their peers, since most of the other 7th graders have already transformed into the eye rolling, demanding, disgruntled and entitled charmers that we know and love anyway. Mine still have that sweet, innocent and optimistic attitude, most of the time, that is the hallmark of the young child, delighting in simple fun and still thinking their parents are awesome. Occasionally, however, the Mask of the Teen drops upon their countenances and they act like spoiled and resentful brats. I don't hesitate to point it out, which may or may not be the best way to handle it, but it is inevitable and we'll just have to roll with it. A couple of trips to the soup kitchen or free clinic ought to reset their compasses a bit when necessary. They really need to appreciate all the wonderful opportunities and advantages they have in life.
They're changing physically quite a bit as well, and I'm sure this is bringing its own issues to their not fully mature personalities. This is an important time in a girl's life and can really have an impact on how they will be as adults, I believe.
The dogs are, well, very prominent members of our household, and much of our lives revolve around these beasts. Sirius is, unfortunately, kept on the back screen porch during the day while we're at work, with a large bucket of water and a comfy bed, as well as a fan on warm days. The porch has a doggy door so he can come and go as he pleases, since he is not reliable when it comes to his bowels these days. He tends to avoid moving his bowels, and when he has to go he has to GO and often won't even make it all the way outside if he's in the house. This is not a problem when we're home, since we're all cognizant of this and run him outside frequently, but overnight and during the day we don't have this ability. At night we leave the sliding glass door open for him to go out when he needs to, and we've resigned ourselves to purchasing a sliding glass door insert that has a doggy door built in. As the weather gets colder we won't be able to leave a door open for him, so this is going to have to be the solution. It will be convenient for the dogs to be able to come and go as they please as well.
Busa is a very "different" dog for us. He is easy to take care of, obedient and happy go lucky, and though he has been known to bring you a sock, not chewed but a little damp, he doesn't get into mischief. He is like a shadow, and for his size that can be a problem, since he wants to accompany me into the powder room off the kitchen, which is impossible, though he doesn't think so. He has learned not to bust past me on the stairs, which could be a hazard for sure, but when I'm in my office chair I have to be careful when I turn around to leave, because he'll be right there under my feet. He is quite LONG and narrow, but he has put on weight, finally, and is filling out nicely. I'm sure he's pushing 100 pounds now, as compared to the rail thin 82 or 84 pounds he was when we got him. At 31.5" at the shoulder you can imagine how lanky this dog is.
We brought him to Mobjack Bay a couple of weeks ago to see how he'd do in the water, and he went right in, without hesitating. He wanted to leap around rather than swim, but the girls walked him out to deeper water (it was low tide) to see if he would swim. He did, but he's not very good at it and tires easily. I think his legs are so skinny and long that he doesn't have a lot of power to move through the water, but I think he can be conditioned to do it. I was impressed at how comfortable he was, like he'd been swimming in the bay all his life. He's definitely building confidence.
He was off lead the whole day and that was no problem since he is unwilling to have you out of his sight, and if he gets distracted by something all you have to do is call his name and he is tearing back to you at full speed. Recall is not a problem with this dog. We wandered over to my cousins' cottage, just a few properties down the shore from ours, and Busa came with me, off lead. There was quite a welcoming committee. A total of 9 dogs were all upon him immediately, barking, snarling, growling, hackles, sniffing, yelping, etc. Several of the dogs were not happy at all that he had arrived, but he did not react at all to such a large pack. He just waited for them to be done checking him out, and it didn't take long for them to settle down, and thereafter he just poked around the yard and seemed quite relaxed.
Many of my cousins were there, and some of their children as well, along with their children's friends, so there were quite a few people standing around as well, and he had no problems. Don't forget, he has some problems meeting new people and can growl and give hackles to people he has not met before. This is how he behaves out in public quite often, so people cannot come up and pet him, typically. He is very striking in appearance and he attracts a lot of attention, but we always ask people not to approach him until he is less nervous. So, I was impressed with how he did not react at all to my family. This gave me a false sense of security for sure! I think, like with the dogs, there were simply too many new people all standing around for him to get nervous about any one person, and he was, as they describe it in dog training, "flooded" with the stimuli and therefore unable to react negatively.
The next day R and I took him to Crump Park, which has a huge open field in the center, football field in size, which is just short grass, and we thought we'd play fetch with him there. We have a tennis ball chucker device that can really send a ball a long way, and this dog loves to fetch, and loves to run, so what could be better? There was no one there at all except one man with his very young son of about 5 or 6, packing up after apparently shooting off model rockets. Busa was chasing the ball as the pair were walking away, and he suddenly rushed over to them, full hackles and barking his head off aggressively at them, charging them. Yikes! We reacted very strongly to this behavior and let him know that this was NOT COOL, and we left - game over. Wah.
I can't explain why he reacted to them that way, but obviously we have some work to do on this. Fear aggression? Protectiveness? Territorial? I can't really say that any one of those things would explain this particular incident, since the pair were walking away and were about as threatening as a loaf of bread, and were not behaving in a challenging way - they were not even paying any attention to us. We had just arrived at this park, Busa's first visit there, so he could not have felt territorial. I think Cesar Millan said something once about a dog not giving "permission" for the person to leave the area, and that is the cause of this type of reaction in some cases, but that seems strange and I don't really buy into that - it doesn't make sense to me, but I'm not a dog.
We have him signed up to start basic obedience classes this Friday, since we've been waiting for the next round of classes to start up. I'm worried he's going to growl and snarl at the trainer or at other dog owners, and we'll be thrown out of class, but I guess that's why we're bringing him. We have attended many, many of these classes with the various dogs we've had, bringing them through the puppy classes, basic obedience and then Canine Good Citizen in Major's case, so we know the drill, know the commands, know the procedures. However, this is the first (nearly) adult dog I've brought to class and one with some issues. He has never literally attacked anyone physically or bitten, but he sends the signals and I'm not comfortable with that. We know how to train a dog but he needs to attend these classes and work on skills that will help build his confidence.
He is a large and imposing looking dog and I want him to be able to be out in public without reacting to anyone. I don't need him to be everyone's best friend, and in fact I like that he's cautious when meting new people, since some people do not have good intentions and they will not be able to get past him if it comes to that. I'm fine explaining to people that they cannot simply walk up to my dog, a dog they've never met, and pet him right off the bat, but I expect him not to growl and put up his hackles at everyone.
I have consulted with experienced Great Dane and German Shepherd Dog owners who say that he may never get over this particular issue completely, most never do, apparently, but that I ought to be able to work with him and improve things. I can say that he has improved a lot since we first got him, when he was terrified at every new experience and every new place we went. I think if we'd have tried going to the Bay then things would not have gone nearly as well, and he may have been permanently averse to going there because of it.
He is a different dog for our family but everyone just adores him. Fortunately, Sirius seems to get along well with him also, but Busa is trying to assert himself more with Sirius these days, whether because he senses Sirius' illness or because he is a pushy teenage dog who wants to try his hand at being the boss dog. We're giving Sirius extra attention, and he gets to come up on the sofa from time to time, where Busa does not. He's still the old man of the house and though we do have to exclude him at night he still holds a higher rank.
Here's a gif of Busa and his buddy, Casey the beagle mix at Mobjack Bay.
