Tuesday, April 22, 2008

A Visit From Ralph



Jaeger says that he's a fraud, a Labrador dressed up in gray. Jaeger has a very high opinion of himself! Ralph came from Weim Rescue to spend a couple of weeks with us so that he can have a break from life in the kennels. He really is an easygoing fellow but he has a mean right hook! We play and play together until we both fall asleep. Mom thinks that's great. Jaeger thinks he's a pain and an interloper.
Yesterday Ralph stole the Cairn terrier Pilgrim when Pilgrim tried to chase us. He didn't kill Pilgrim, mom said he just retrieved him. But mom was mad. Ralph wouldn't let go, and bit mom's hand and Pilgrim growled at all of us before he ran home. He is the smallest dog I've ever seen, and to be fair to Ralph, he does look a lot like Ralph's stuffed toys :-) Mom had to offer to take Pilgrim to the vet for the man who owns the Anatolians that attacked me and he said, Isn't it funny how things work out? and mom got blood all over both dogs and we had to sort it all out before we decided that Pilgrim was OK and didn't have any cuts, just mom did.
Mom also got mad when Ralph and I were playing and we knocked over a table and a lamp and broke a fluorescent light bulb. I think it was because it was 3:00 in the morning that she was annoyed. Like me, she likes to sleep at night! I slept on her lap because I don't like it when she's angry and when bad things happen, like with Pilgrim. I don't think Ralph will be staying with us forever.

Note from mom:
Ralph first showed up about a year ago at Weim Rescue as a stray who needed veterinary care because of an attack in the pound. He's touted as a small Weimaraner, but it looks to me that he has dwarfism characteristics: a full-sized body on underdeveloped legs. I offered to take him for a couple of weeks (of course the hope is that I would just keep him) but I totally spaced about the Weim prey drive which with Natasha and Jaeger does not apply to either cats or small dogs. They are the exceptions. Poor Ralph has had some basic obedience training, but getting a high prey drive dog past his instinct is an intensive training process. Lazy me, I've been fortunate to have dogs that are more low-maintenance (but let's not tell Her Majesty that).
By the way, Pilgrim lost three teeth in his confrontation with Ralph, probably from gnashing them in anger! He also had a drain in his shoulder, but all the way around, fared well for a 5-inch high dog.