Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Tired ALREADY, Fozzie?

It is so fascinating to watch the dynamics among dogs, and what energies different dogs bring out in one another. I've always thought of Fozzie as a dog who has off-the-charts energy, and that was certainly what they thought of him at the shelter and almost certainly the reason he was on death row.


But watching him with other dogs, I see another side. I see the complex, sensitive dog who loves attention from all the creatures in his orbit, but needs his time to collect his thoughts, feel loved, and know that he has stability and structure in his environment. 


Sandy the little fireball is always ready for play, nipping and humping and jumping all over her uncle Fozzie every minute. At first, Fozzie was ready for all the action she could throw at him. After the first couple of days though, I could see that he was a little blown away by her energy level! As she humped and jumped, he drew into himself and tried to get to somewhere he could mellow out. He still gets into it with her on a regular basis, but he has an off-button. 


Even when I think of our time with Lars, I can remember that although Fozzie adored him and wanted to be near him always, he seemed relieved when I would put Lars away in the crate. And now, when I put Sandy in her crate, Fozzie comes immediately over to be close to his humans, and seems to crave contact with us. As if he needs comfort and structure more than ever after the somewhat overwhelming experience of a 10-month old puppy.


It is so precious to see this side of him, and to feel how deeply he connects with us. My plan of getting another foster in order to get less attached to Fozzie seems to have backfired!

16 comments:

  1. Anne-Kathrine UbberudSeptember 27, 2011 at 9:25 AM

    Thanks for stopping by my blog :)

    I have enjoyed reading your blog and hearing about your dogs (own and foster) :) Have to say both Fozzie and Sandy tug at my heart :) Such good babies :) Keep up the great work :)

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  2. My Sadie is exactly the same with our puppy. At first, she loved having a youngster on hand to do zoomies around the yard with her. Now, she much prefers to have one short session each day and then hand the puppy over to Maggie while she spends the rest of the evening napping.

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  3. I am thinking we're going to see the same dynamics with Morgan and the new puppy. She craves play, and the Greyhounds just don't play Shepherd games. During the day, though, when I'm here with her, she prefers to just lay on the bed or by my feet. She's just not as high energy as she appears initially. I am hoping that she'll be good with the puppy, though, and at least be willing to babysit at times. I already know that all of the girls will need time sans puppy! lol

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  4. ha! the plan backfires!

    the good news is that you now know how to find and best utilize Fozzie's off switch. That's a gift!!

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  5. I love dogs with a little less energy. Sounds like Fozzie just needed some time to get rid of the kennel crazies. Looks like he has settled down at your house and had the chance to show his true self.

    I think Fozzie looks like a lab/mastiff mix.

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  6. Thank you! They are such good puppies, and I'm glad I'm not the only one who is smitten with their cuddly selves :)

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  7. What cute dogs! We sure hope you start following us as we are now following you!!!

    Kari
    http://dogisgodinreverse.com

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  8. I couldn't figure out how to follow on your site, so I added you to my blogroll instead! Thanks for coming by :)

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  9. I think you're right. Like so many dogs, he just needed to be given a chance. It's one of the reasons temperament evaluations drive me so crazy--what dog WOULDN'T test as overexcited in that environment?

    I love it when people offer ideas as to his lineage! And that is a great guess--he totally has the markings and some of the looks of a mastiff, though he's leaner, and he has a total lab face.

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  10. That's a great point Jen! Whenever he's driving me nutty, just sick a youngster on him!

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  11. That will be so much fun to watch! I think Morgan will be very happy, and when she's ready for a time out she'll let that puppy know!

    Shepherds do have wacky playful energy, don't they? And I can imagine that the hounds have way more dignified things to do with their time than romp around with other dogs!

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  12. That's so wonderful! Isn't it great when they help out with the child care duties?

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  13. As much as some dogs like each other, they like the undivided attention of their humans too. Enjoy them both!

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  14. It is very fun. I'm about to go fetch Sandy from her crate to see if she'll relax and let us sleep--wish me luck!

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  15. Dog are like humans. We can be different around different people and settings.

    I think of Honey as a pretty mild and calm dog. There are some dogs at the dog park who just overwhelm her. Other times, she's the one doing the overwhelming.

    It's exciting to watch our dogs grow and change as they live with us or in response to other people and animals in our home. It's a demonstration of just how complex their emotional worlds are.

    I'm so behind in reading posts that I won't comment on all of them. But I just had to let you know what a lovely post this was. One of my favorites.

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