It's Thanksgiving weekend and I have some time off to be at home with the dogs. Soon the semester will be out and I'll be home a lot more; I'm really looking forward to it. I had anticipated this time off to be full of dog walks, exercising, house cleaning and general upkeep. What I didn't include was howling wind, a lot of rain, me catching a cold. It's a cloudy overcast day with intermittent rain, the perfect kind of day for reading books and napping.
Ryker and Chance seem to get along. Occasionally Ryker is extra sketchy with extra pacing and extra cowering and a great deal of darting around. When he is like this I think Chance finds Ryker an irritant. I find it exhausting watching Ryker pace and dart; he is completely unable to settle and I feel helpless about how to get him back to a better mental state. At theses times I have seen Chance show Ryker a snarly lip exposing one fang all the way to a snarky snarl. It has happened twice. It must be a dog body language thing as I don't see it coming with the exception of Ryker pacing endlessly. Afterward Ryker retreats and the pacing stops.
Chance is an exceptionally wise dog. I've seen him snarl a warning at rogue puppies that were completely out of control of themselves and after many warnings alpha roll those pups who ignore him and continued to use his as a chew toy yet he never put a tooth mark on them. I've seen him charged by unfriendly, dog aggressive, mastiff type dogs and never alter his calm, cool demeanor, which warded off the dog's attack. I've yet to figure out what is triggering Chance to warn Ryker; perhaps it is as simple as the highly neurotic behavior.
Still, Chance chooses to nap near Ryker and there are times they do chase each other around the yard (when they don't think I'm looking) and Ryker's tail is up and there is a bit of a wag to it. When Chance barks, Ryker is there investigating right along with him. I've yet to teach Ryker anything besides "leave it". He is so people shy it is difficult to train him. Most of the time he will take food or treats from my hand and he circles me multiple times if he wants me to get on the floor, stop him from circling and pet him. He is still is erratic on the midnight potty training. It may have to do with Bruce getting up at 4am to be at work. I'll have to investigate that pattern. Whether Ryker knows it or not he has found his home and only Ryker can decide all that might become for him.
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