(104) BFF

I have got to tell you this…I was walking into my kitchen to get a magazine when I caught out of the corner of my eye…GeorgeNGracie. At the bird feeder. I have been warned that Cooper’s Hawks sometimes stalk backyard feeders for song birds. Well, she flew off but returned when I left the kitchen. This is the first sighting that we have seen in a long time. The babies should be born by now, so she might be foraging for food. How exciting!

Now the BFF part. (For those of you without a teenager with a phone, BFF stands for Best Friends Forever) I read an article in TheBark Magazine today that was interesting and made me think about Beeker, Max, and his cousin Jesse James. My sister and Jesse James (her Springer Spaniel) left early this morning. Beeks and Jesse played together for the past three and a half days. At first Jesse didn’t really care that Beeks wanted to play. He was more interested in Chez the cat. Since Jesse doesn’t get regular access to cats he was way too excited by the cat’s movements and ability to hiss and grown at him. Jesse stalked Chez, went after him whenever he could and found him just about more than he (Jesse) could handle. Juli helped Jesse learn a little control by keeping him in a down stay, which allowed Jesse the ability to observe but not hunt Chez. I’m not sure who was more stressed, Jesse or chez. If Jesse wasn’t going for Chez, Chez came looking for Jesse. Truth is that both got a thrill out of each other. Juli told me that Jesse thought that Max and Beeker were taking Chez for granted. Jesse believes that Max and Beeker are not using Chez for all he is worth. How true that must seem to Jesse who coultn’t get enough of Chez.

The article in this months’ The Bark Magazine spoke of the need of dogs for best friends. It talked about how dogs can be best friends for other dogs, aiding them to overcome issues that we humans are not equipped to assist with. Social learning, grief, and even having a dog conversation are behaviors that dogs have with other dogs. We humans have our own personal relationships with our dogs, but we cannot fill all of our dogs needs. Who else can know jus the right mix of physicalness and then retreat but a best buddy? Who else can know to lick your face when you are down? repetedly encourage you to play without giving up or taking your growls seriously? The ability of dog friends to teach social skills and modeling, is greatest. For example, just this weekend, Jesse James was thrilled that we have squirrels that come to our bird feeders. Jesse is a squirrel lover. He whined to get outside to chase the squirrels. He wanted desperately to get to them. When we let all of the dogs out into the dog fence, Jess bounced out the door as only a Springer can. He bounced and he barked as he went to defend against the squirrels. Within two seconds, Beeker learned (through modeling) that squirrels were to be bounced at and barked at. From the top of the step, the dogs would sit waiting until the squirrels would feel calm and safe enough to return to the feeders, then Beeks would hop down, with a bark right at the same place that Jesse had jumped. This behavior happened four times in a row. We laughed from our view at the window. Beeker was Max’s BFF (Best Friend Forever) since the day we brought Beeker home to live with us. We are convinced that Beekr helped Max be a calmer dog, helped him learn about the give and takes of playing. Although Beeks was the younger pup, Max was the special needs dog. When Max and Beeker are at a dog park, they will often go their own ways to play with other dogs. However, if either dog encounters a dog that does not play nicely, is over aggressive or is too in the face, the other dog will come to rescue of his housemate. It’s awesome to observe. When Jesse and Beeker play Max is somewhat overly concerned and sometimes interferes in the play. We (Juli and I) have tried to figure this out since before Beeker was in the family, Jesse James and Maxie played together a lot of the time. Now Beeker and Jesse have a difficult time trying to engage because Max is either jealous or over protective. It is difficult to tell which it is at this point.

The relationship between Max and Beeker reminds me of an old 1965 Children’s Film Festival movie titled Skinny & Fatty. It was a Japanese film where two children form a friendship because they were odd kids out. It’s wonderful because both boys need the friendship and help each other out in ways that only each other can. Max and Beeker are like the two boys in that movie. You can see the actual movie on U Tube if you Google Skinny and Fatty, Children’s Film Festival. I recommend the movie just because it was such a heart full flick. I think that Max and Beeks are now and will always be BFF.