Maybe an old dog can learn new tricks
Copper is so mellow, my father-in-law (her owner and her favorite human) calls her a marshmallow. She is so mellow she didn't even know how to play with balls or dog toys, when my in-laws got her more than a year ago.
Rusty, on the other hand, is so playful, he has his own toy basket on our hearth. Nearly every time we sit on the couch, he pulls out a toy and tries to get our attention by playing (loudly!) in front of us.
As the months have passed, these two have come to enjoy each other's attention increasingly. With their time together, we have come to believe that Copper has learned a few things from Rusty. Last summer, my father-in-law found an abandoned dog toy, and Copper even played with it... once. Ever so slowly, Rusty's continued to show Copper how life in the dog world is.
Last weekend, Copper came to stay with us for four days. Rusty enjoyed Copper's company so much, he felt he could reclaim his long-lost puppyhood. Nearly once every hour, Rusty pursued Copper to nibble at her. She has even learned to respond! She mechanically puts her paw out on top of him. This riles him up, and he uses his puppy-mode teeth to continue jabbing at her. By her last day here, Copper and Rusty had an all out toy brawl. The two of them managed to dig out and destroy nearly every toy in Rusty's basket. I don't think my father-in-law would believe his eyes if he had witnessed his former marshmallow. By the her final afternoon of her stay, she watched Rusty chase a ball down the hall, and quickly followed to steal it from him.
And so I think that maybe old dogs can learn new tricks!
Rusty, on the other hand, is so playful, he has his own toy basket on our hearth. Nearly every time we sit on the couch, he pulls out a toy and tries to get our attention by playing (loudly!) in front of us.
As the months have passed, these two have come to enjoy each other's attention increasingly. With their time together, we have come to believe that Copper has learned a few things from Rusty. Last summer, my father-in-law found an abandoned dog toy, and Copper even played with it... once. Ever so slowly, Rusty's continued to show Copper how life in the dog world is.
Last weekend, Copper came to stay with us for four days. Rusty enjoyed Copper's company so much, he felt he could reclaim his long-lost puppyhood. Nearly once every hour, Rusty pursued Copper to nibble at her. She has even learned to respond! She mechanically puts her paw out on top of him. This riles him up, and he uses his puppy-mode teeth to continue jabbing at her. By her last day here, Copper and Rusty had an all out toy brawl. The two of them managed to dig out and destroy nearly every toy in Rusty's basket. I don't think my father-in-law would believe his eyes if he had witnessed his former marshmallow. By the her final afternoon of her stay, she watched Rusty chase a ball down the hall, and quickly followed to steal it from him.
And so I think that maybe old dogs can learn new tricks!
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