Strong instincts...Part 1

Yes, it is adorable isn't it? Of course 2 seconds before and after this shot he's chewing everything he can reach! :)

The first thing we noticed about our cute, scrawny, and amazingly uncoordinated puppy (I saw him trip and fall on his butt while standing once...just standing, no movement was attempted at all previous to the fall) is that he's got strong instincts and the ability to react in 0.0001 seconds.

Allow me to illustrate:

We're walking our brand new puppy through the neighborhood. A couple with a very excited adult male beagle dog approaches. They seem friendly so we keep going. Czari trips over his feet (or tuft of grass or something) to go meet him. In general, Czari loves other dogs. He's very social, and not at all shy. In fact most people told us for the first 3-4 months how well behaved and calm he is around other dogs, most people couldn't believe he's just a puppy; yes, he was THAT calm and well balanced. I wish we could take credit for that, but he came pre-programmed :). He's just great at communicating with other dogs. Back to Mr. Beagle. As soon as we approached he started pulling on his leash like crazy and agitating himself. The owners just smiled and started the usual "Oh, what a cute puppy!" conversation.

In 2 seconds the dogs were all tangled up in the leashes. Czari was just sitting there not sure what to do since the beagle had tangled him up. At this point I noticed Czari trying to get some space from Mr. Beagle who was sniffing him too intently. But he couldn't, because he's still tangled. So I tried to get the owners to do something about their dogs leash (extendable leash). As I was working on communicating that, I notice Mr. Beagle trying to hump Czari. I told them to get him away. They just sat there and laughed very amused. At which point I got a little irritated and told them "I wouldn't let him do that. Can you please get him off".

(Note: Normally, I would have said nothing, if Czari wasn't trying to get away and being trapped by the leash. For the most part I'm perfectly happy to let the dogs be and do their thing. But my puppy was definitely looking uncomfortable, so it wasn't just dogs being dogs in this case).

Again, the owners were just laughing. I decided to do it myself...I blinked...I heard a deep growl, little hairs on my neck stood up, and I automatically looked down...In the next split-second Czari (who had apparently had enough of diplomacy), was on top of the other dog and pinning him to the ground while poor Mr. Beagle, in a state of utter shock and panic, was screeching and whining at the top of his lungs. I didn't see him actually perform the jump. One second he was sitting, the next second he was on top of the other dog). The owners stopped laughing and proceeded to try to pull on the leash to retrieve the dog... while blabbering. Yes, that looked exactly how it sounds, they mostly strangled the poor thing and flounced about. Czari had him pinned good, he wasn't going anywhere.

I took Czari off while he gave another growl (I had never before heard such a noise, let alone from a 3 month puppy) and we walked away.

I wish I could say I said sorry. I didn't. But I did say "I told you" while I walked away. I can't deny that I laughed a bit on the inside, once my shock wore off. I don't think the other owners shock ever wore off. What can I say, this incident really doesn't go well with the image most people have of puppies. As for Mr. Beagle, I believe he'll think twice in the future.

I mean...Look at him!!...Who would have predicted that?!

 

The Magnificent Flopster! (Floppy Monster ---> Flopster :D)

This was the first time we truly realized... our dog is a little different :).