Life on the Leash

Sumner continues to amaze me. He’s almost a perfect host to our shoppers. He’s still shy, but he’s able to demo the treat-dispensing toys in front of an audience:

Even better, he’s now greeting many of our canine shoppers out on the floor! Without incident, I should add. If the visiting dog makes him uneasy he’ll take a sniff and then head right back to his bed behind the counter.

He was curious and gentle with these wee pups:

We wound up with a total of four dogs (the puppies, Polo and Daisy) plus a free-ranging Sum in here, and everyone did great.

That play bow I’ve been hoping for? He did two with a Goldendoodle pup a few weeks ago. It was magical! Quite proud of my old man’s new tricks.

“I heard that you have a thing for boxers.”

“I’m pretty swoon-worthy … everybody thinks I’m adorable”

“Tell that Sumner of yours that he’s got some competition.”

I went to visit the menagerie next door and fell in love. My neighbor Karen rang the dinner bell (aka, shook the grain dish) and the sheep came a’runnin:

I brought a gift, but sadly it was consumed before I could bribe a few good pics. I discovered that the “hold a treat above the camera and make funny noises” trick doesn’t work with livestock. At all.

The pygmy goats were charmers … the kept crowding my camera so it was tough to get a decent picture.

We can hear our fuzzy neighbors when we’re outside, so now Tom and I can do pretty convincing bleating and baaing imitations. Those sounds are lovely … the neighbor who leaves the dog out in the yard to bark for 30 minutes at a clip? No thanks.

Chloe came in with her person this morning … you might have heard me going, “SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

Sure she’s cute, but she’s also a badass. She went right up to a bigger dog and gave him what-for. Then she got to work killing this big pink ball:

“Don’t be fooled by my fluffy exterior. Inside me beats the heart of Big Dog.”

She came …

She shopped …

She zonkered:

Sumner has been blowing my mind lately.

He now hangs out with me behind the register during the day. Yes, up front, amid all the hubbub. He greets the first few people in the store with rumble-grumbles, but then settles in and accepts petting from everyone! My anti-social odd boy is acting sort of … normal!

Does he enjoy it? 80% of the time I think he’s just tolerating the touching, but I’ve seen him lean in for more when a particularly gifted pet-er gives him a massaging rubdown.

Even more surprising, he’s greeting canine shoppers too. I know he’s not sure how to act (he never learned proper canine signaling as a pup), so he stands very still and breathes in the other dog. The visiting dogs have been almost universally deferential, giving him little licks around the muzzle (The probably recognize that Sum isn’t speaking their language, what with the direct gaze and stillness.) He’s gotten more than a few play bows, too. I wait for the day when he returns one.

He’s learning, and I’m very proud.

Maybe he saw a little Zeke in Cage? We’re all partial to Bostons around here …