Mother’s Day possum: just practice
Another holiday, another body. Accumulation of skills a worry for July 4th?
We were warned the German was smart, learned quickly, and adapted skills to new situations.
Quickly mastered opening of lever-handled doors. (“I’m lonely!” With pathetic face.)
Crated? No problem. Master of the large dog body block “roll-the-crate-over-and-over move” until the door warps and can be pried open. (“Look, I waited for you to come back…Only pulled the shoes and assorted clothing to my bed…Well mouthed, but not punctured.” Smiling endearing face.)
Determinedly lunges at the front door’s glass panels as the car backs out. (“Wait, it’s a dog friendly trip. I don’t take up that much room!” Promising doggy face and wildly wagging tail.)
And that brings us back to the crate…now with multiple steel bars reinforcing the door and the whole thing wedged between couch and heavy wingback chair. (Resignation. A little testing of the crate door. Then, a big sigh, a circle, and a nap.)
What can I say? She’s a people person.
Peace and quiet has done wonders.
No longer eating twice as much as a normal dog and still rail thin from worry. Actually we were asked to cut back on the food and step up the exercise to get her back into shape.
(It was a very rainy winter. Rain encourages more lounging around. Soothing, but not good for the waistline.)
And, always helpful, the German now voluntarily screens any box brought into the house. (Does a really good job. No bombs have sneaked in yet.)
An outdoor enthusiast, she has recently become the great backyard trapper.
So when I looked over and saw it there – carefully place among her toys (She’s very neat and keeps them together) – all I could think was, she looked awfully pleased with herself when she came back inside that last time.
It was pale, about three inches long with something stringy dangling out of one roughly ripped end.
Definitely not a lizard.
Furry, mushed, and mauled.
Not yielding a definite identity.
RC’s mousies are usually completely devoured out of spite.
Slow cat missing a tail?
Congenial possum left something behind this time?
Funny, it looks like a bunny ear.
Nooooo! Not a baby bunny!
Snatched out of the toy bank, the mouthed lump is given a closer look. And a poke.
Not a bloodless vein.
A wire protruding from a smudged velvety surface.
Nooooo! Not a snatched bunny ear!
There’s only one that’s not secure: Sidney the Skater bunny perched on the bookcase in the sunny room!
Sidney’s fallen and can’t get up!
And there, Memorial Day mystery solved.
Sprawled on the floor: a half-deaf bunny. In shock. Whiskers askew. His wild feathery topknot gone. Is the sweater missing a button, too?
German, really?
We were doing so well.
I was about to put the rug back down by the front door. No, not the one that’s there now with the fringe missing on one end. The nice new replacement rug.
Not bothered in the least? Anything to say?
The German looking winsome: “What? It looked just like that cat leg that hangs off the fence. It was a training device, right? No? Oh, pardon. My mistake. You want to play ball?” (Casually wanders off.)
Dogs live in the moment they say.
But this one, well, she thinks.
Possum bait.
And she thinks the possum is close-by keeping an eye on the ripening figs.
So the quest continues.
Practice makes perfect.
She is just determined to trap adopt a friend – one way or another…
A path lined with figs perhaps?
The German, a thoughtful dog.
Developing holiday anxiety,
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge
- Run. Run far. Not far enough. (Story of the recent Mother’s Day Possum event.)
Related posts in The German’s saga (Click the “German Shepherd” tag in the sidebar)
- The German: Homeless at heart (Here’s the beginning of the German’s Saga)
- A German’s Ode to Joy
- A German Waits for Christmas
- She doesn’t deserve the reputation she has.
- Very Unsuitable Activity: waiting
These darned puppies of ours think that every trip is a “dog friendly trip!”
And we keep taking them! Who’s training whom? Thanks for spending some time over here.
All I can say is I’m glad my cat’s much lazier than your dog, or I’d be in big trouble. I was worried about that ear, though. Friendly dismemberment would seem to be a contradiction in terms.
Look at those ears. Nothing is going to get past The German.
The German definitely hears anything going on up and down the block. (Must have been quite a comical puppy?) Thanks for flying over
So….. any luck spotting that possum yet? And did ya find evidence of that ear in the yard? That’s how Jen usually finds missing things like ears…. or once it was a sock!
The possum is learning to climb that tree much faster. It still comes by every night – I flip on the light try to give it warning before we go out. Surprisingly it doesn’t seem afraid.
If the German snatches something, she always takes it to her toy pile. Flip flops seem to be her favorite.
Thanks for wandering over to chat
I love the German’s stories. The best! Hate to tell you what the whitish thing looked like to me…oh, ok….tampon! My Welsh Springer Spaniel, an insane breed, hunted personal care products. Sigh.
There is a reason bathroom door should only have knobs that turn.
The German;”Hi what’s going on in here? Sure there’s room for me, too. I brought my ball. We can put it in this little basket – hey, what’s in this….”
Probably sounds familiar? Thanks for running by and saying hello!
I went there, too!
The German has come a long way – thnx for the pointer to The German: Homeless at heart. Sidney the Skater bunny is only slightly worse for wear – happens to us all in life
Glad you stopped by to read. The German has come a long way. Sidney the Skater is flexible: an ear re-do and he’s cool…he was thinking of updating his hairsyle anyway. But he has requested a condo with balcony on a higher level! Thanks for visiting
The German is wonderful and so thoughtful to keep you on your toes! Great stories here…had me smiling all the way through! Thanks, and have a great week!
The German is a never ending source of entertainment. Appreciate your kind words
Ewwww! Poor Sidney! Will he need surgery or can he manage with just the one ear?
Sidney feels symmetry is best for balance when skating, so reattachment is scheduled shortly…once the ear dries out a bit. Thanks for the concern
Hi German, Mollie here. One time Jake brought in a dead mouse. He can go outside but I can’t. Anyway, he gave it to me so I was batting it all over the house. Mom thought it was a catnip mousie for a while, then she realized it wasn’t. Everyone got scolded that day but it was really fun! Keep an eye on those figs!
If the German wants a Valentine Pippa will be right up there, even if technically he has accepted a Leap Year proposal from his husky girlfriend. No date set yet. When we rescued our German (dog before Pippa) he was terribly thin, and we fed him the same as the others at the time, but added some rice. But that wasn’t worry, he’d had dysentry, so all that is irrelevant.
All our dogs have got over initial anxiety or whatever. The German will too
Give her a hug from us.
We had a rescue Bouvier that had bad tummy troubles – the lamb helped, but he also relished chicken noodle soup with extra rice added when feeling poorly.
The German prefers to sneak RC Cat’s food as an appetizer (which is not really popular with RC). She’s really calmed down a great deal. She sends a big woof to Pippa
Given their breeding, it’s no surprise how intelligent Germans are! It’s funny how so many little dogs think they’re “big” dogs and how many big dogs want to be “lap” dogs.
I think somebody deserves a good fun walk today
The German does think she is a lap dog and used to want to cuddle on the couch. More relaxed now, she prefers to sprawl on her bed which we haul from place to place. She still wants to coin toss for sitting shotgun in the front in the car…thanks for adding to the conversation
Oh poor German…are we having some separation anxiety? We need to rename the bunny Flopsy
Gold star for the name suggestion!
The German had extreme panic attacks for a while, but seems to have gotten over that pretty much. (Still grumbles, but we think that’s mainly a guilt trip trying to get a ticket to ride along.)
Is she trying to fine tune her hunting skills indoors as it’s too hot to go out?
Thanks for stopping by
My cat caught a bird – well a stuffed owl, which is now minus an ear as well.
What is it about those ears? They always go for the ears. Just a little taste? (Kind like a shark “tasting” a surfer to see if it’s food?). Oh well, it’s always something. Thanks for chewing along!
Hello German, here I am. I think your achievements are fine, and if you would like we could possibly go hunting real live cats and rats together. What do you say?
Pippa (the dog who occasionally has a dogblog)
Oh, yes. Partners in wild fun. Meanwhile I am lulling the neighbors’ cats into a false sense of security while sharpening my skills indoors out of their sight. Dogs rule!
Aw, totally loveable. XD
Ya gotta love ‘em. Thanks for wandering over
You may have the most unique blog on WordPress, my friend!
I don’t know – there’s a certain bellman’s blog that’s always hilarious. Thanks for stopping by
My GS has a bunny with a (now) missing ear as well. How funny. Yours looks so adorable and completely lovable.
Those Germans – such babies in giant’s bodies.And they are always thinking….
Thanks for hopping over
I don’t know, I’d be relieved that it was the stuffed bunny rather than a real bunny. German is adorable though…I couldn’t imagine staying upset with that face for long! I hope you get to put your rug back down soon
We put the rug down for company – but won’t leave it down during thunderstorms! Thanks for hopping by
Such a beautiful fraulein! Love the crate-rolling trick. Ingenious. Haven’t seen that yet from my Annie, but her crate is in the bedroom between the bed and the wall, so no opportunity to practice. So many more comparisons and contrasts, but this is the German’s home turf, after all …
THere seems to be no end to determined dog’s pranks. (She only wants to go along.) Fortunately she seems to have abandoned the crate rolling and realized she’s never in it long – and we always reappear. (We had to start by crating her, backing the car out and driving around for 5 minutes and then coming back to let her out. Then making the trips a little longer.)
Hopefully Annie was more accepting! Tail wags to all! Thanks for stopping by
Annie is rather shy/timid. She’s always liked her crate (the plastic kind that makes a great “den”) and spends a lot of time napping there by choice.
We are very pleased the German has begun to consider the crate a safe quiet place instead of you can’t drag me in there. She actually wandered into it on her own recently. Safe to her is really under a bed. But there’s progress! Nose bump to Annie
What a kook! [Ladies' Choice as to whether I'm referring to the dog with a propensity to get into trouble-- or to the human being writing this post.]
Either one will graciously accept! (Is there a KOOK award logo? Can we design one? I’ll get RC on that immediately and send it for approval, OK?) Thanks for stopping by and the chuckle!
Wow! She’s an impressive girl, for sure, and just beautiful. When I was ready to get another dog, I was pretty much forced into getting a ‘purebreed’ as every mixed dog here is part border collie (way too smart and energetic) or terrier (not a good type for me at all). It ended up being between Akita and German Shepherd – but when I read that Germans need to learn something new every day, I realised they were too smart for being left alone while we were at work! Terrible thing to admit, but Akitas are dumb enough to not get into a lot of trouble unsupervised (at least mine is!)
No one warned me about the Germans. She’s happiest with stuff to do.
Now the Bouviers de Flanders, I liked them as they were breed to protect flock/herds from wolves…not really herding dogs, they sit down and wait, see wolf, kill wolf, then sit down and go back to sleep. Think protective couch potato.
Akitas are so beautiful, sounds like a possibility there for the future. Thanks for the info!
Love hearing about the adventures.
glad you get a chuckle. Thanks for dropping by
(So fustrated, Im not getting notices of you on my reader lately. Again.) Your posts of The German are my favs !!!!
All sorts of odd things are happening. (I wasn’t getting yours either!) Glad you checked in.(stay tuned for the German’s latest adventure.Probably Friday) Am remembering to run by your place to keep up! Thanks
Ha, this was great!
Thanks for stopping by to chat