Look at that face, those big brown eyes and forlorn eyebrows - the picture of vulnerability and innocence. In the mornings this week, Hobbit has snuggled into the chair by the window while I work at the computer. In the evenings, he huddles under a warm throw with Ella and Dad on the sofa. In between...............He wrecks mayhem and havoc. This week so far, he has chewed a bottle of shampoo from the shower, Ella's collar (while it's on her), his new Kong Wubba, a piece of floor molding with staples, a leash, a business card, my new jacket's zipper, the brush attachment on my vacuum cleaner, and the
mister on a drip irrigation hose. And this is despite the fact that there are four new dinosaur chews in reach.Oh, and there was the battle we had on Sunday over the spider, which was half dead by the time I found him with it. It resembled a brown widow and not wanting to take any chances, I tried to lure him away from it, but it was his prey and he wasn't giving it up. I distracted him by waving the mini banner I had just brought in from the yard at him. He ran in the kitchen, humped up his back, and turned to face me, slowly and on the tip of his toes like a cat. I was pretty sure I was looking at a dog who was defensive enough to bite me, but I couldn't leave it at that. I walked up to
him talking, sat down beside him and slowly
reached over to touch his side. He was shaking
like a leaf. I sat on the floor with him, talking and stroking him until he stopped shaking. I felt bad to have rattled him so and vowed never to wave anything at him again. But here lies a problem; how do you stop a dog from a risky behavior when they don't respond to "Leave it" or "No"? Even yummy treats won't tempt Hobbit away from something he's claimed.
He is such a whirlwind of behaviors and reactions, our little Hobbit. At 20 months, he's still young enough to be channeling puppy hood, and his anxiety issues are far from resolved. Add to that the natural energy and drive of the Jack Russell breed and you have chaos in a canine package. There is progress though. He hasn't eaten a pen in almost two months!
