Sadie, Sadie, Sadie
Our crazy Sadie dog is about a year and a half old now. We got her from CAPS - Citizens for Animal Protection in Katy, TX a year ago February when she was estimated at 14 weeks old. They thought she was half Black Lab and half Border Collie. Bless her heart, I think she got the worst of both breeds. She has the high focus and agitated nature of a Border Collie along with the zeal that migrates into obsessive hyperactivity. From the Black Lab side she got her bouncy nature and the excessive need to put everything in her mouth, most often you hand. She loves everyone but wants to jump up on you regardless of your size or interest in having her do that. She is basically friendly but has horrible manners. I think she is at a disadvantage given that her owners are getting old and don't have the physical stamina or mental energy to give her the best of training. I've said all along that what she really needs is a 12 year old boy who will run the energy out of her. Either that or a visit from Cesar Millan.
When we first got Sadie, I brought her out here to the studio regularly. I had this vision of her quietly sleeping under the loom while I wove off yard after yard of stunning fabric. Clearly I was delusional. At that early stage all she wanted to do was chew on everything and piddle on the floor. Neither of those activities were acceptable in my studio. It's only been recently that along with going out to feed the animals with me, she has been coming out to the studio again. We still have some issues with her helping me feed. The addition of hog panels to keep her from sliding under fences and slithering through gates has helped emmencely. Having one of the ponies come very close to stomping on her helped too. The llamas will back her off but she will gladly chase the goats if given half a chance so I have worked very hard to see that doesn't happen.
I was very watchful when she was allowed back in my studio for the first time. She wasn't at all interested in the skeins of yarn, once her favorite chew toy. She headed right for the trash can so I put it up on top of the filing cabinet. It took her several more visits out here to find something else of high interest. A small plastic bottle of spinning wheel oil that set on the stool next to my spinning wheel...
Yeah, it started out with a straight tip and was almost full. Then came Sadie. Once I saw what she had in her mouth, it took me chasing her around the studio before she let it drop out on the porch. I was worried that she had squirted it all over the studio but the only drops of oil I found were out on the porch. I must note here that Sadie really thinks she should always be the center of attention. If I'm not paying enough attention to her in the house she will grab some random something off my desk like my phone or camera or a piece of paper or take clean socks off the top of the dryer and dash under the couch with her prize. I think we still have a large amount of young dog antics to get through before she becomes an easy pet.