Pouty Pup

[Lupinegirl]

Hello, everyone. It has been a while since I've posted here. Nikki is doing well. He's slowing down a little. Walks have turned more to sniff and waddles; playtime is usually fetch twice and sit for scratches; and he's gotten more nervous about stuff, both imagined and real. But what he lacks in the drive to run and hearing, he has built up in communication. Oh my word, this dog keeps Mom and me in stitches. XD

Since we had severe hail damage last year, we've had a lot of leaking in our roof and chimney, and we've had roofers and a chimney company up there four times trying to find where the leaks are coming in, since somehow the water goes from the attic, skips my mom's room on the upper floor, and drains out the second floor ceiling in front of the tv and the fireplace.  The fireplace has been a water seive all year. 

Any way, this last visit, two guys went up on the roof to add more sealant while Mom and I were away from home.  Nikki greeted us as usual by blocking us at the garage door and trying to stick his head in all of our bags to search for a treat.  This is a habit he just started this year since Mom has trained him to look for food from her when she walks in the door. I discouraged that but you know how Grandmas are... They want to spoil the kid, so Nikki changed his behavior, of course. Instead of moving to the rug in the other room to wait for us to finish unloading groceries like he used to and waiting to greet us until we are done, he wants goodies Now, and he sits in front of the frig if we don't offer him something to steal from our purses first.  

Mom and I were feeling nauseated from lunch so we both basically ignored Nikki's begging. I gave him a dog treat to appease him since he tried begging in front of the frig and under the kitchen table, and I went off to placate my tummy.  A few hours later I gave Nikki his daily evening chew and glucosamine treats.  Instead of eating his bone, he came over to sit by me with his head in the "Snoopy" droopy/guilty position: sitting up with his head hanging lower than his shoulders and looking up at me with big puppy eyes and visible scelera. When Mom came diwnstairs, he grabbed his bone, walked around our chairs with it like he does when he is looking for a hiding place or showing off, dropped the bone, and went over to sit on Mom's feet, again with the Snoopy droopy pose. Something was definitely off and he wanted us to know it.  He laid down with his bone in front of him and laid his chin on the floor until Mom went to get herself some dinner. He followed her and assumed begging position by waiting in front of the frig.  After she gave him some pot roast, and finished her dinner, he perked up, came back in to the den and ate his bone and purred and acted normal and happy again.  He was guilting us because he had not gotten his due reward for greeting us at the door earlier, and guarding the house while people were up on the roof! All it took was a bite of roast to soothe the temperamental tiff and he was back to our normal easy going, nosey, perky, curious old boy. 

He is also back to battling me for space on my bed. XD He woke me up two weeks in a row by plopping on my feet and giving me a long hard wide eyed stare when I made him go back to his spot. He was also rather miffed when I put a pillow by my feet to serve as a blockade, getting irritated enough that he jumped off my high bed (causing a slight injury that made him limp for a few hours) and choosing to spend the night on the floor instead of in his old tent and dog bed, or with me. I think we are finally coming to a truce now, since I removed one of the pillows I was using for back support and gave him room to lay further up on the bed beside me. Nikki purred and raised his arm for me to scratch his armpit last night when I reached out to pet him after we both got comfy with just one thin pillow between us. He had his back against the pillow, too. He is such a quirky little stinker, and my best buddy. 

[pkcrossley]

wait a second. you saw THAT face and did not reward him at the door? 

Edited August 27, 2017 by pkcrossley

[hheldorfer]

No way could I refuse to give that sweetheart a treat.  You are a tougher woman than I!

[Lupinegirl]

He got a dog treat right away (four soft Cesars treats to be exact). He just did not get anything he considered to be a "Treat." He kept spitting his bone out at Mom to tell her she owed him. Getting something from me was not enough. 

[kieiras mom]

Love his boots!Wish Keira would wear them,snd yes he deserved more treats for guarding the house against invaders from above

[Lupinegirl]

I put monster faced non-slip socks on him to stop him from yanking the fur off his feet and licking off the medicine. I made him sleep in his socks one night after he woke me repeatedly from biting his feet. He left them on, and he had hot little tootsies when we got up in the morning but it seemed to break the itch cycle. Poor little guy.  Itchy feet and sneezy noses are one part of summer I will not miss. 

Edited August 29, 2017 by Lupinegirl