Major excitement last week: Our rumored new neighbor of the canine variety finally arrived. Jane from down our block, owner of the late, lamented Grace, brought her new Basset hound puppy, Merry, home from Port Orchard, which is on the other side of the Sound. Merry is supposed to be the smallest of the litter of four girls, but she already looked pretty hefty to me when she and Jane toddled over for a meet-and-greet on a recent Sunday afternoon. Merry will outweigh me in a week or two, and that could cause problems. Grace never gave me any problems, but a puppy might.
Merry, after all, was visiting MY turf. I let her sniff me a little so she didn’t think I was hostile, but I wasn’t about to get friendly with her. Not yet, anyway.
Pretending that no other dog is there.
I foresee bad things happening. Already, Merry and I had a short standoff over food.
Eyeing the treat pouch.
There are also potential conflicts about Heather’s affection. Mike’s affection she can have any time she wants, as long as I can still bite his nose once in a while.
Vying for Heather’s attention.
At the end of Merry’s first visit, I suppose you could say we reached a standoff.
Détente
Maybe once I get used to Merry and figure out that she’s always going to be leaving with Jane, I can stop feeling threatened by her and start to give her some positive mentoring about the neighborhood. You know, cats, raccoons, the UPS guy, good spots in the park; there are many ropes to be shown. If we run out, Heather and Merry have already been thinking of some more.
Thinkers
Diary of a Wiener Dog 