Between the Schnauzer and the English Cocker



What do you guys think I should do?

 There are times in the park when I feel as though there are really three dogs out there with me; my dog, a good dog, and a bad dog. Cadie is the neutral dog, and by neutral I mean easily swayed, the schnauzer is the bad dog, and by that I mean easily tempted to go it's own way; the English Cocker is the good dog, and by that I mean, most likely to obey commands. Before the Schnauzer people get all upset, I don't mean that schnauzers are bad dogs, but they have a strong independent streak, like all Terriers. The English Cocker on the other hand, seems to have no other purpose in life except to try to please it's owner. You know I love Terriers, but sometimes their independence is a bit of a liability. Let me explain.

In the past 2 weeks Cadie and I have been forced to eliminate 2 neighborhood parks from the list of parks we frequent, why? because without warning she'll take off after a squirrel; in the worst case, she nearly ended up underneath the tires of a big, white van. So I eliminated that park right off the bat, it's just too close to the road, and the squirrels are dare devils.

This last weekend Cadie showed greater restraint. The squirrels tempted her, but she stayed where she was, earning her a big mouthful of liver. I know that Cadie will follow her natural instincts, but again, this park is just too close to the street, so it's a no go.

The thing I find funny, in a scary way, is in that moment before Cadie's natural instincts take over she's completely conflicted. She does a couple of false starts, she hesitates, and even seems to turn her head from side to side, as if she's listening to two people talk. It reminds me of those old time cartoons where the devil sits on the left shoulder and the angel sits on the right, and they compete for the chance to guide the poor, lost soul's behaviour. Instead of angels and devils I see Cadie being torn between the natural instincts of two of her base breeds.



What did you say? I can go chase the squirrels?

 The Schnauzer, as we said, is independent, and likes to do things it's own way, so if a squirrel dares to run past it's path, the squirrel better be quick, because the schnauzer is unlikely to allow them to pass in peace. Also Schnauzers are very barky, Cadie is not a barky dog generally, but at the park, she has been known to be more vocal.

English Cockers on the other hand, are less independent, and tend to be more trainable, and follow commands more quickly. They were bred to work with people, and as a result they want to do their best to make their people happy. Cadie is very much a people pleaser.

So the scene at the park goes like this:

Me: Cadie come
Cadie shuffles her feet, looks from side to side, and back at me.
Cadie: ruff ruff
Me: shrugs. Cadie come.
Cadie shakes her head back and forth rapidly, the shaking moves back to the front legs, then shudders down her body, at one point every muscle is shaking back and forth. The shaking gradually stops, the front stops shaking first, until only the tail is still moving.
Me: Cadie. Right here! pointing at the spot on the ground between my feet
Cadie stares at me.
English Cocker: We have to go, that was a command. We have to go!
Schnauzer: you don't have to go, she already loves you, you don't have to do anything she says now.
EC: Yes we do, if we don't go, bad things might happen. Besides she has liver, I like liver.
Sch: yeah, liver's good, but not as good as catching one of those squirrels. Look at them, all smug, thinking they can get away from you. You should go and show them that you're the boss.
Cadie turns her head from side to side
EC: No. No. We should go, we were called.
Me: inching forward slowly so that I can put my foot on her leash. Cadie I said NOW!
Cadie dances a little and chooses either:

Option A: to come to me, get her liver, be a good girl, and stay longer in the park;

or

Option B: to ignore me and go after the squirrels.

Why are we leaving the park? What did I do?

I can't complain too much, she chooses Option A most often, but every now and then, she is lured by the persuasive Schnauzer, and takes off after those pesky squirrels. The outcome is a couple of very tense and frightening moments for me, and that, if I'm lucky enough to catch her alive, we leave the park as soon as I possible. She's always surprised by this turn of events. Oh Cadie, listening to that Schnauzer voice won't lead you to anything good.

Weekend Plans

Cadie was really good for me on Friday, Saturday, not so much; I took her to the park first thing in the morning, but that wasn’t enough. So I called my friend Catherine and decided to head out to her place. The plan was that I could sleep while Cadie played with her good buddy Toby. So I got there, and before heading down to the basement to sleep C and I decided to have a nice, relaxing cup of tea. Then C assured me that she had everything under control, so I headed down to the spare room, shut my eyes and tried to sleep.

C and her husband B are great with the two dos, even though it’s super tiring to watch two puppies. Still there was a lot of running back and forth, thunderous running back and forth, which you would not expect given that neither dog weighs more than 20 Lbs. It wasn’t long before my curiosity got the better of me, and I was back upstairs with the pack. Cadie and Toby were all over each other. They bite at eyes, necks, legs, feet, tails, backs, whatever they can grab, and then they try to flip the other one. It’s hilarious to watch, but also a little nerve racking, because dog play doesn’t look civilized. Still you have to trust them, I mean you keep an eye on them, but C and I both know that they absolutely love each other.

Cadie is almost a year older than Toby, so she is closing in on 2, which means that she is becoming less and less of a puppy every day, which also means that she runs out of energy a lot faster than Toby does. Still it was Toby who seemed to run out of steam first, and he laid his head down on Cadie’s front paws for a quick rest. Being a puppy, Toby bounced back pretty quickly, the dogs headed into the back yard at one point and that perked him up again.

Ultimately it was Cadie who ran out of steam, first. C and I had been sitting together on the couch watching something quiet, I think it was an HGTV show, and we could see Cadie pacing around looking for a nice quiet corner to crash in. Well, she didn’t really find it. She grabbed a quick catnap, before her big, mean mommy came over and grabbed her, for a snuggle. Toby also wanted to snuggle, so in the end it was C and I watching TV with the dogs snuggling in for a mid afternoon nap.

Not long after that Cadie and I headed for home, she’s been lounging and sleeping ever since. So, really, the plan was successful.