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Corgis are notorious control freaks. Nosy control freaks. Want to know everyone’s business and what’s going on and why weren’t they informed gosh darn it!?! And rules, oh the rules! The glee they get when someone is breaking the rules!
Zora standing in the yard on grass looking at me
Zora is no different. There is a fine line to balancing what could be very bossy (and rather jerk) behavior in her. Most of the time she is able to walk the line. Thankfully. Monty, he was trouble, ‘fine line what fine line? Oh you mean that one I stomped on and ignored, that line?’ In the old west Monty would have been a gun slinging head of the outlaw gang, Zora a badge toting law enforcing Deputy (I’m glad she considers me worthy to play Sheriff).
Monty was one cool dude!
But a side benefit is Zora’s a fantastic tattle tale.
She can be sound asleep and some visiting dog makes some movement or noise or gosh knows what and she’s up in a flash off to investigate. If something is amiss and her sticking her nose into it isn’t enough for the other dog to stop, she trot trot trots on over to me to tell her tale, “That dog is breaking rules! Go tell them so!”
I have to say my favorite move of hers though is when the other dog is getting into something, drops it when Zora approaches, and she picks it up in a swoop, trots it back to me gleefully to deposit her prize in my hand. Another LEGO brick saved. Thanks, Zora.
I sent a little video to one of my clients of her dog having a great time playing while he was with me. She loved the video and seeing him have so much fun, then she said, “I heard you call him weird on the video. Is he weird?”
Um, yes. Her dog is indeed a tad bit of an odd ball as far as dogs go. But so aren’t the majority of dogs on my string. They’re all rather peculiar and a bit skewed on the normal scale for dogs.
Some of my favorite goofy guests Lena, Dulce, Beau & Zora
And I love them for it. I like working with the dogs that have quirks. I find it fun and challenging. I like that they make me think outside the box, they create a puzzle for how to best meet their needs and make them feel comfortable. I like striving to create opportunities for growth for each of them.
Right now, I 100% accept that in my life it wouldn’t be a great situation for me, the family or the dog if I had a dog 24/7/365 as my own a few clicks to the side of normal. Trust me I’ve had a number of them in my lifetime (to be honest Tom and Zora are as close to normal as any dogs I’ve ever had. I mean they are really easy dogs, Zora can be a bit of a nutter at times but all told she’s rather low on that scale. It shocks me often quite frankly). So I get my fix through my client dogs when they are here for boarding.
The boarding dogs and their peculiarities are really what prevents me from jonesing too bad for a puppy or a 3rd dog. I don’t really want a puppy. I don’t really want a 3rd dog. Ok I don’t want a 3rd dog at all. What I want, what I really crave is the challenge.
Now that Zora is 3 and pretty much grown up, and Tom is and always has been Mr Perfect, there isn’t really much challenge. I mean I can create training challenges and teaching them new skills. And that’s super fun. But there really isn’t much life challenge if you know what I mean. I don’t have to do much micromanaging, or hyper vigilance on a moment to moment basis. I don’t have to think about when the mail truck will arrive, or what windows are open at what time, or make sure all socks are in the hamper, or that the gate to the basement is shut, or remember to be prepared when I turn the tv on in case a dog appears on the screen, or even where the dogs are in the house at any given second. Which I mean all around yes is a good thing, but my controlling nature likes the excuse that a dog with challenges gives me for micromanaging. Tom and Zora don’t need me to do that anymore. They both are overall good at self regulating, and all the elbow grease I put into Zora as she was growing up has paid off.
Most people breathe a sigh of relief when they get to this point with their dogs. It’s their goal all along. I’m glad we are at this point but mostly it’s because I like how happy my dogs are when they are at this stage. Where they trust life is going to go well, and their needs will be met and they can respond appropriately with no to little stress to the various events of life, where they feel confident and safe, where they feel comfortable self regulating and that hyper arousal isn’t necessary. I like that they feel safe to relax and enjoy their life. That is the part that makes me happy. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say I miss the role I had in getting to this stage. There are times where a year ago Zora would have needed my help and now I start to go ‘oh!’ and she’s already taken care of it appropriately. Sigh, ok then.
Which is why I love my overnight guests. I love that they are all a little weird. That they all have different needs. That they all need me to think outside the box and plan and remember certain things to set them up for the most success possible. I love watching them feel safe, confident, relaxed, playful. I enjoy being a part of their positive growth. I enjoy giving them a safe place and outlets for their weirdness.
In part they help me to be grateful for Tom and Zora. But mostly they give my desire to be needed an outlet. And one that doesn’t require we get another dog. Which my husband, Tom and Zora (and ok honestly me too) all appreciate I’m sure.
Video of Ted (one of my favorite odd balls) and Zora swimming. Apparently it is an anomaly for a shih tzu to love swimming so much. Isn’t he adorable in his life vest?
Every once in a while someone, like a taxi driver, or waitress or random person on the T will ask me, “Does he ever get to be just a dog?” Does Tom ever get to be just a dog?
A sandy and wet Tom having just come out of a swim in the lake. He sitting and smiling, happy dog.
That answer is both yes and no. And I guess depends on what you mean by “just a dog.”
Does he get to have play time? And social time? And family time? And lots of love and attention with his harness off? Yes. Quite often actually. Being a guide dog in public can be stressful, so I feel it’s not only important but critical to my guide dog’s overall well being to have time when he’s ‘not on the clock’ so to speak and can do doggie things like sniff and run and swim and get petted by my family. Tom has learned when his harness is on he needs to keep is focus on his guide work and ignore others except me, and when it’s off and I cue “ok go play” or “ok go visit” he is free to be social and do his own thing. To a degree.
The to a degree is the no portion of the answer because even when he’s off the clock there are some rules Tom is asked to follow that maybe other people don’t have for their dogs. Like he’s not permitted to take food from other people unless I specifically cue him that it’s ok to do so, if they tell him it’s ok to take it but I haven’t he isn’t allowed to take it. And he’s not permitted to take food off the floor if someone drops it, or if someone calls him over to ‘help clean up the floor’ he isn’t to listen to them. And if I’ve asked him not to cross a boundary, like at my aunt’s lake house when we arrive before I take his leash off I remind him he’s not allowed to go up the stairs that lead off the deck, he’s not to go there even if another person tells him it’s ok. Basically the ‘no’ portion of Tom having time to be just a dog involves him ignoring other people telling him to do things and remembering what I asked him to do or not do even if someone else is telling him something contrary. And it involves his behavior around food.
The other part of that is even when he’s off the clock, Tom prefers to keep an eye on me himself. For example last night we were at a family gathering at the lake house. Tom and Zora came too, and were off leash roaming around the deck area with us all. Being social, swimming, getting petted, visiting with people and the like. But anytime I moved, Tom checked where I was and where I was going. When I was in the lake, he wanted to know where I was. When I came out, he wanted to know where I was. If I changed seats he wanted to know where I was. He checks in with me, gets a bit of a pet, and then goes wandering off to socialize with others once more. And when he’s done with socializing, he comes and finds me.
So yes, Tom gets to be just a dog. A civilized dog with healthy boundaries, but time to be just a dog all the same.
