Introduction of a two-pack

I would like to introduce guest Blogger, Bing Fender to share with you today. Bing, our “giant schnoodle” who was once known as Princess Only Pup and now shares her home as a pup two-pack.

I am Bing and came to live with my family last summer as Mom was getting ready to move to my Michigan home she refers to as the “Little House in the Big Woods.” I am timid and shy. It takes me a while to get to know folks, and I tend to be very afraid when encountered by dogs, most of whom are much smaller.

Last summer when it was very, very hot and we lived in Tennessee, Nick came by almost every day with his dog Clover who scared me nearly to the bone. Nick was very good about making sure Clover did not get too pushy with me, but Clover sometimes just cannot contain herself. She would jump in a circle around me, poke me with her nose, bark at me and pin my neck to the ground, and about the time I wanted to wet on the floor, Nick would step in, say “now, Clover” and pull her away from me.

Just before Mom moved to Michigan, Nick brought Clover and me on the great big car ride and we spent about five days exploring the woods with him. Actually, he worked clearing out the woods and we dragged around the brush he cleared. We love helping, especially in the woods. I got to know Clover then and became more used to her, but she still made a shy introvert like me nervous.

Clover has never met a stranger and nothing is more exciting to her than checking out new dogs on a walk. I try to make myself invisible. Just as Clover and I were becoming buddies, he loaded her up for the big car ride back to Tennessee and I stayed with Mom and Dad in the woods. Everything was great and I loved taking daily walks with Mom, and sitting at her feet when she read or knitted. She would build fires in the fire pit, and I would dutifully drag firewood all over the yard, just as Clover taught me.

Life was pretty good as Princess Only Pup, and one day things changed very much in a most confusing way. Mom and Dad were gone for a while, and then brought Clover home. I loved seeing her again, but this time was very, very different. I had never seen Clover without Nick, and I looked around everywhere for him. Who would calm down that crazy wheaten when she gets out of control?

Mom and Dad’s demeanor changed when they brought Clover home. They walked slowly and got very little done around the house. They did not talk much, and kept their heads bowed a good bit of the time. The television did not wake up and keep them company, and Mom stopped our walks. I did not understand the difference, and probably would not have paid much attention, except Clover really noticed the changes.

Around me, Clover was the same old Clover. She could wrestle for hours and never get tired. I got to be much more comfortable with her on her visit with Nick in August, and just love to wrestle now. I am not afraid of her anymore and don’t need Nick to protect me; it was just so much more fun to play with both of them. He played on the floor, batted at us, and rolled with us. Now, they pretty much just watch us play as if we are their entertainment.

Around Mom and Dad, Clover really got the differences in our house. Whenever they had their heads down and sat quietly, Clover would notice immediately and drop her side of the toy we were tearing apart. She would walk over to their feet and lie down, chin flat on the floor. Mom and Dad would always, as if on cue, drop to the floor and hold her as if she were the last wheaten terrier on the planet – and Clover, who sat still for nothing, would not move.

Last fall when Clover came to our house and we changed from a one pup house to a two-pack, she used to go to the edge of the hill and look down the driveway. She did this every time we went outside. I wanted to play chase around the pine trees, but Clover would first sit and watch for something for a while. I decided to check it out with her and I watched; didn’t see much. Mom and Dad say “he” may be communicating with her, and that is why such a busy girl stays so quiet.

Things have settled so much into routine here that I almost forget that Clover did not always live with me as a two-pack; her toys now mingle in the same basket as mine and I love living with my sister.