Ruby
December 1
Buddy Meets Ruby(And Kelly, but Ruby didn’t like Buddy meeting Kelly. That’s MY human!)
Tango
December 2
This morning Buddy met Tango, the “dog next door.” Tango is a pretty little poodle, and is doing the 4,000s in NH with her human family. Don’t know if Buddy and I will ever get to that level of hiking commitment, but you never know! So, the dogs first met on leash, and they both lunge/barked at each other, assessing dominance. Tango is an alpha and Buddy quickly backed off. In fact, most of the time he ran tail-tucked from one human to another. He particularly liked Lindsey, Christine Rainville’s daughter. At one point, when he was between my legs, not Lindsey’s, Tango ran at us, and my little tail-tucked puppy barked at her. He was protecting us. This is part of the breed. They are a wonderful family and farm dog. Think “Lassie,” for all of you my age who grew up watching “Timmy and Lassie.” Proud of my little pup, who despite his fear and respect for Tango (who wasn’t nippy at all with him, she was just the boss and he wasn’t sure how to relax with that), stood up for me.
Addie
December 9
Buddy liked Addie. I knew he would. She’s a very mellow lady. Carla Royak Volturo’s sweet Golden.
Cashew
December 23
Buddy and Cashew (we kept them on leash and harness) barked agitatedly at each other. So we decided to take them outside, where the neighborhood dogs joined in the bark fest and Cashew and Buddy got into a scuffle (still on leashes). Cashew won. It’s her property, and she did not really care for this yappy intruder. She did, however, want to say hi to me and Buddy was in the way. I eventually put him in the car (he did not want to go back in the house where Cashew headed so we walked around the house to the car) and came in and said hello to Cashew and met the new kitties, Nellie and Lola. So, stinkin’ cute! I told Alex and Caroline that I would bring Buddy’s crate at Christmas and he could stay in there while we opened gifts and the dogs could get used to each other safely.
Also…
December 3
Buddy met Dot (we did a short hike at the TPS nature trails), Joanne and Star (and family) at her house, and Vivian and Bisou for a quick visit because it was getting dark. Buddy was a little scared of Bisou, and at one point went darting toward the road. We were far enough back and when I yelled “BUDDY!” he stopped, luckily.
December 29
Buddy re-met Darby, his littermate (technically there were two litters, 1-week apart, and Darby was from the other litter). They didn’t like each other. At all. But Kathy, his mom, and I had a nice visit despite the barking and growling, and Buddy got to see his first horses (he plopped his butt down and just watched them) and chickens (he was more interested in the smells on the ground).
Bonus re-meet
The three pups – Buddy, Cashew, and Ruby were all together at Christmas. The good news is that Buddy and Cashew worked out their initial disagreement and played together. The bad news is that we still have to keep Buddy and Ruby apart because Buddy is too rough with Ruby and Ruby doesn’t correct him.