One Fine Dog

Buddy is a boxer, a large and goofy fellow who has a heart of gold. While there have been many dogs in my life, he is the first one I raised from a puppy. He was in pretty dire straits when he came into our world, so full of worms it was a miracle that his little body was receiving any nutrition at all. Today he is full-grown, a handsome and muscular 60-pound dog who at a little over 2 years old loves to run and jump and play. Boxers have a tendency to be quite rambunctious, and Buddy is no exception. I am told he will retain the qualities of a puppy way into his adulthood and possibly even into old age.

Rusty, a wise, old Pekinese, raised Buddy and established the rules early on, making sure that Buddy knew the limits of interacting with a smaller dog. There is no doubt that Rusty is the alpha dog, and we reinforce this fact every day. Rusty always gets his treats first and is allowed to chastise Buddy should he start to get a little out of hand. This practice has allowed us to maintain peace throughout the house, and not worry that Buddy with his size and strength might inadvertently hurt Rusty or one of the cats.

Recently we introduced a new member to our home, Spike. He is a little Shih Tzu puppy who weighed in at 2 pounds when he came under our care. Rusty was the first to meet the puppy and showed no interest in him at all. He just moved away if Spike came too close, and the puppy quickly learned that Rusty preferred to be left alone. At first, we limited any interaction between Buddy and Spike since the puppy was so small, and also not in the best of health. Spike was kept in a large crate while he was recuperating, and becoming comfortable with his surroundings. He was given time to explore the house only when Buddy was confined.

Gradually we started to allow more interaction between the two dogs, keeping Buddy on a lead while they sniffed each other and started, ever so tentatively to play. As is the case with most boxers, Buddy likes to use his paws as part of any game. When he is given the opportunity to play with another boxer his own size, it is easy to see how the breed received its name. They jump and paw and tumble and wrestle and generally wreak havoc until they are each too exhausted to move. While Buddy does not have a mean bone in his body, we were greatly concerned that he might inadvertently hurt the puppy in an overly rambunctious moment. We need not have worried.

After a few days of highly supervised interaction, we began to let Spike roam a little more freely in the house. Buddy was allowed to be around him off a lead as long as one of us was there to keep a watchful eye over them. At first, it was necessary to reprimand Buddy for trying to use his paws when playing with the puppy. He is very responsive to verbal commands and instantly jumped away from the puppy when he heard “No!”. Of course, Spike became utterly enamored with his big new friend, and took every opportunity to pounce all over him.

Buddy really wants to get things right, and it only took him a short while to realize that he needed to adapt his style in order to interact with Spike. He has learned to lie down with his front paws spread wide apart and let the puppy come to him. They mouth at each other, and occasionally Spike gets his entire head inside Buddy’s open jaws. It is amazing to watch how fiercely Buddy concentrates when playing with Spike, making sure that his size and strength do no harm to the little one. Spike is allowed to bite at Buddy’s jowls and pull on the flesh there, and Buddy’s only response is to whimper a little if Spike pulls too hard.