Dog sitting

We are babysitting one of Kristin’s dogs this week. I got my choice between which of her two dogs, boxers, I chose the older (housetrained) one that she just got a couple weeks ago over the younger, more rambunctious one that she’s had since before Christmas. He’s a very good dog, all in all, but based on the size of our yard and neighborhood it means I’m picking up every poop that comes out of his body immediately after he poops it. He’s good with the kids, quiet, and sleeps most of the afternoon. As long as he’s near me. If I leave the room, he follows.
There wasn’t a lot of uncomfortable missing Kristin terribly time with him, within a day he seems to have settled in happily enough.

There are a couple of bad behaviors that I really hate about some people’s dogs, when you call them and they run in the other direction, and when they tug incessantly on the leash when you walk them… and when they defecate on my floor.

So far, Ruger does none of these. He likes the kids well enough, though he’s not much of a player, like Kristin’s puppy Willo is. He plays a little rough for Thing 1and 2, but loves to chase his rope around. Kristin has a “gentle leader” collar for him, which hooks over his nose and snaps high on his neck, and I think it transfers the tug on the leash directly to his face. He may not like it, but it means that Thing 1 and even thing 2 can walk him without him pulling them off their feet. I think given the two dogs, Thing 1 and 2 would go for Willo. If she grows up to be as mellow as him, I’d be okay with that. But right now she’s a pack of boundless energy. Un-housetrained energy.

I walked him to pick up the girls and he did just fine, until someone else’s rambunctious border collie mix came over to where we were. Next thing I knew, Ruger and this collie were growing and fighting with each other. The other dog was not on a leash, which I think was bad behavior on the owner’s part, but… Of course that makes Ruger look bad on the playground, but I guess that’s not my problem either.