"Back down to earth"
"Pride comes before a fall!" That pretty much sums up how the day yesterday went for Lennox.
The little guy had his first "high-flyer" attack. Well, delusions of grandeur happens even in the best families ;)! Obviously this attack hit him (us) in the most uncomfortable moment - out on a field in the pouring rain! But like the saying - "there is no bad weather - just wrong clothing" - we had to go through this. Lennox put up his position in the pack for discussion. Whithout any obvious reason and with a lot of noise he went for a attack to the enemy - my legs! Of course that had to be fully discussed! And although he is still so little - that took about 10 minutes until he accepted it. In the end the order of the pack was sorted again - but when I looked up we had about 4 people watching us from the side of the field. At least this time I did not get a grounding by those ;) Wet to the bones, but happy we went back home - Breakfast!
"Let the games begin!"
Lennox found a very important switch today! The only thing on his mind is: "Play"! The little man made a big step overnight... Since today the only things that are on his mind when we are in the woods are: making circles like mad, climbing on fallen trees and barking at every single tree-root that he can find! Also his hunting instinct comes to the surface...all of a sudden birds and squirrels ARE interesting! That`s something we want to keep under control, otherwise the day will come where we will have to stay in the woods and wait for hours for the "return of the king". That`s something we don`t want to try. Because: "Who has to run after his children or his dog, lost already" ;)
"Not a bully after all"
Today was the day - first time "puppy-play"! "Our group wasn`t to big - and even there were hughe differences regarding size, we all got along great! I met Hugo a Magyar Vizsla and Franzi a little "Pinscher "Windspiel" (god she was cute). Gosh, our owners got a fright - surely they were afraid that we two bully-boys could do some harm to the little princess - but hey - they have been so wrong! Franzi is a brave little girl and she is fast like a rocket! And we two have been really good boys, well-mannered gentleman you could say. Our Owners have been really surprised...as - after all we are NO bullys ;)! After two hours playtime we all have been exhausted, and our people were really happy. Now we all have to wait another 7 days for the next Kindergarden session! I cant wait!!"
"High noon in Munich!"
Sometimes in life you just have to be lucky! By accident all of Lennox mates live around the Theresienwiese in Munich - or lets say they "work" in their owners offices. There's nothing like starting young! Now we can meet up every single day at lunch time for a bit of fun. The humans enjoy the sun and exchange the latest wrongdoing-stories of their dogs...and while their owners are busy, the little ones can roam around and play until they are tired ;). I can`t tell you how happy I am about this opportunity.... I just know how much more difficult my daily worklife would be without this "hour of joy" ;) ....our "Munich Kindergarden"!
"Let`s fight!"
"Oh he looks so cute", an often heard sentence since Lennox is part of the family. But why are these people never around when our little king gets his "hissy-fit" moments? Like yesterday in the puppy class ;) Lennox was just supposed to sit still for one moment, just a little short moment, it would have not taken more than one minute. If, yes if he could have done so! But he could not - or more likely...he did not want to! So he started torturing the leash, as in his eyes, this thing must have been responsible for the situation. Typical spoilsport, I did not agree with him taking action. So there you go - we had our disput! Lennox put up his whole "noise-repertoir" ... it could have been out of the movies ;) We were definately the center of attention! While we two were busy discussing the issue - ending in the usual submission of Lennox (dont get me wrong that took a while) I heard the other puppy owners whispering. Obviously their dogs are much less likely to have such a huge discussion. After we were done - and Lennox went on to business like ususal (there you could see how much those situations leave an impact on him - zero, nada, none) a Lady with a Whippet came over to me and whispered in my ear "don`t worry, we also had one No-Situation today" ..."Thanks, I thought to myself...you had just ONE?" ;)
"No Stress Please!"
Now we are sure about one fact - Lennox really is a typical Catahoula. Because there is one thing, all of them have in common! Sometimes they just like to do their "own thing". It doesn`t matter if you are yelling at them, screaming or even offer a snack... a real leopard will not care about that. When they are busy - they are busy ;) ! But when they are done with whatever was that important to them - they will be back with their owner. So don`t fool yourself by standing read-headed in the middle of nowwhere yelling at your dog (which, in that situation won`t listen anyway) and save a couple of your nerves (as you will need them later on for sure) , just chill and show a bit of humor....in the same way than your Catahoula does ;)!
"Gone and away!"
Our friend Anke spoke some true words some weeks ago: "It`s so nice when they stay close to you! But don`t get used to it, it won`t stay this way!" Since this morning I know she was right, and the good times are over now. Lennox got more and more secure over the last couple of days! Sometimes I believe his security grows in proportion to his body ;) ! So I went for a walk in the woods this morning, putting Lennox on a long 10m leach. A very good decision looking back! It was like turning on a switch! All of a sudden he wanted to hunt birds - did not care about his humans being around anymore (anyway, why should he, when the trees and the roots seem much more appealing to him) and in the end he even decided when it was about time (for him) to head home! He would have disappeared like a ball-lightning if - yes if I would not have been able to get the other end of the 10m leach after a short sprint! And remind him of the fact that it`s not HIM making the decisions here!! Such a little cheeky monkey! ;)
"A real Wood Gnome"
That`s Lennox! Very rarely I have seen a dog which is feeling so comfortable in the woods like he does. Although he is just 11 weeks of age, there is nothing in the woods what would make him nervous (well, we don`t have porcupines over here). It does not matter which obstacle will be in his way, he always finds a way to get over - around- or beneath it! Of course some of this excursions are accompanied with lots of noise, as he just does not want to accept or understand why this big stock of a tree would not draw aside when his "highness" is in approach ;)! Because there is one thing our Leopard does not like at all - if something does not work out HIS way ;). Being in the woods with him is always a blast, and we hope it will stay like this for a long time!
"Dream Team"
"Two of a kill - that`s probably the best way to describe Lennox and myself ;). Sure some people would assume something different looking at my hands, which look quite strange being tortured for weeks by puppy teeth! It`s time for a 3 week resume! Lennox developed really good so far! He is a fast learner and already left most of his puppy quirks behind. Which does not mean that he wouldn`t develop new quirks all of the time ;). Sometimes I really get the feeling his funny ideas grow proportional to his body! A pros pros "size" - Lennox is growing like weed, we really can watch him grow (at least we think so). Over all Lennox is a typical Catahoula...including all the good and the bad traits of such a dog. Although the next years will be quite exhausting, we are really looking forward to it! The decision to get a Catahoula was definately the right one for us ;)!
"No Sun Worshiper"
If Lennox can`t stand one thing, than it`s standing in the blazing sun! Well, so we better skip our dreams of spending this summer next to the Isar ;). At least should we ever cross the Gobi desert together, we can be sure that he`ll always find a shadily place for us to stay and rest - if there is one. The little fellow is up for everything - besides an afternoon in the sun! If he has to spend more than 5 minutes in the sunlight, he is already looking for some shadow... regardless of where it might be...under a tree, a car or even the legs of a complete stranger ;)! Now we are really sure, he might be more something like a "cranky brown owl" ;). Don`t take it personal Lennox, we love you just the way you are!