A Tale of Two Dogs

I know I share a lot about my dog Jake and not so much about Pepper. I had a realization recently and I wanted to share it with you.

First, here's a little about Pepper and how she came to our family. Eleven years ago we had a small dog, Zoey, who was getting older and I was thinking we should get another dog soon. I did not necessarily want a companion for Zoey but more to keep us from having a "dog gap."

So I looked at a local dog rescue who let me know they had a litter of Border Collie mix puppies available and one of them sounded like a good match for us. The process was that all of the potential adopters met the litter together and if everyone was in agreement, we would walk out of the event with our new puppy. (We had already had the home visit and paperwork approved.)

So we met Pepper (who was "Sophie" at the time) and she was awesome, friendly and playful and that was it-decision made. After we played with the puppies, they brought us together as a group and put the puppies into a pen so we weren't distracted. Well Pepper had other ideas and she did not appreciate being put in the pen even with her siblings there. She whined and cried and one of the rescue people had to take her out and hold her while we all talked.

So my daughters and I took her home; I sent a photo to my husband who was up north hunting at the time. Oh did I forget to mention that I hadn't actually told him we were getting this puppy so soon? Oops! Ask forgiveness not permission.

I am a firm believer in crate training for many reasons and I started this immediately. We quickly found out that Pepper was NOT a big believer in crate training. She cried and whined and pooped in her crate for what seemed like weeks but eventually, she gave in and realized she would be ok by herself for awhile.

We have had a lot of fun with Pepper; I took her to agility classes along with the usual training. She is a very smart dog and caught on to new skills very quickly. She attended doggy daycare for a few years so she could run off that Border Collie energy and she seemed to enjoy it. At 11 years old, she still likes to play fetch with a tennis ball, jump through a hula hoop and go for walks in the woods.

Pepper also has let us know what she doesn't like, mainly change. She gets nervous if we move furniture or new people come over. She loves car rides but does not like to go into new places. I tried taking her to an assisted living home where I worked once and she put the brakes on as we walked inside the door. Message received. I turned around and walked back out.

What I didn't realize until after we brought Jake into our lives was that Pepper is a dog who acts like a dog. She let Jake know right away that this was her house and she was allowing him to live here. Thankfully, Jake is the type of dog who is fine with that.

When Jake came along, this happy-go-lucky pup was obviously much different than his "sister." He is a little boy in a dog's suit, always looking for fun and ready to party at a moment's notice. Changing his environment or anything really is not a big deal. As long as he gets his regular meals and treats once in awhile, Jake's all good. As a puppy, we brought him everywhere we could including the nursing home where Dave's grandma lived. He would happily greet everyone and then lay on the floor while we visited. I had always planned for him to be a therapy dog and that has come to fruition. As of this writing, he just needs one more observed visit before we can send in the official paperwork for his certification.

Something I have been thinking about is how each of our dogs connects with us. Over the years I have noticed that Pepper is extremely tuned in to my feelings. I was dropping her off at boarding for a weekend years ago and was feeling really sad that I wouldn't see her for a couple of days. As soon as I started saying this to the boarding staff, Pepper jumped up and got right in my face, visibly nervous. (She never jumps up on me so I knew she was upset.) She seems to know when I'm upset or sad and comes to me for pets and will not leave. This most often happens during Green Bay Packers games, I'm not sure why.

Jake will occasionally come to me when I'm sad but it's not the same. He will sit by us when we aren't feeling well but he doesn't seem to have the same connection with us as Pepper does. Or does he? Jake connects with other people; I wrote about this in a past blog. He sat very still for a small child who was a bit nervous about him and it was the first time I saw him doing something like that. As I have paid more attention to this, I do see him connecting with everyone we visit whether they are young or old. He does it in a different way than Pepper does.

As I think about it, I realize that Pepper reflects our feelings in her actions and looks to us for reassurance and calming. Jake takes those feelings in and sits with us until we feel better. Pepper knows something is "wrong" and does what she knows to do, be next to us until she is reassured that everything is ok. Jake brings his puppy dog happiness to cheer us up and take the sad, upset feelings away. He tells us everything is going to be ok and he's there to help.

On a related note, I have learned that therapy dogs tend to sleep a lot after an event and this is true for Jake as well. This is because they take the feelings from the people they connect with and then need to sleep it off to deal with it. What a gift these dogs are!

Truth be told, I have been guilty of thinking of Jake as my favorite, mostly because of his personality. Jake is easier to handle and be around because he is so easy-going. As I wrote earlier in this post-Pepper is a dog who does dog things. She reacts to things that make her nervous. She barks at other dogs. She needs to know someone before she makes friends with them.

It has taken time and experience but I have come to appreciate Pepper for what she has taught me-dogs are not people no matter how we dress them up or treat them. She has taught me patience and confidence. Even as she gets more neurotic as she gets older, I keep reassuring her that everything is going to be ok. I give her space and don't expect her to be anything other than what she is-a nervous and playful Border Collie/lab who just wants to be loved. I can handle that.

What is the best lesson one of your pets has taught you? Please share in the comments.

Until next time, take care of your beautiful self!

~Kim~