I Love Schnauzers   My life with Schnauzers

I took a big step tonight on my walk with Miss D. Her last walk with the neighbor scottie, Nettie, went pretty well, so I decided to stop by Nettie’s place again tonight and make arrangements for a regular “walk with friends”. Nettie’s mom was on her way out, so no set plans were made, but I left our contact information and she is more than willing to do it.

I don’t know what else to do. I feel like I’m holding D back. Dogs are pack animals and our pack is pretty small. Miss D is obsessed with the dogs on either side of us, always wanting to run the fence with them and goading them into joining her. It feels playful. And yet, her reactions to dogs on leash feels everything but playful. I’ve thought about asking the next door neighbors to have our dogs meet face to face, but frankly I’m afraid of what could happen. They’re big dogs. They’re friendly, but I don’t know what Miss D will do. If she starts acting aggressively, one swat from these dogs could do her some serious damage. Then again, her last foster home had many other dogs and she got along with them just fine. I’m told she didn’t really play with any of them, but she didn’t fight with any of them either.

So I decided we’ll start small. Nettie is a Scottie; she’s D’s size and lives with two other Scotties, so she knows the doggie social cues. She’s calm and well-balanced, and her response to Miss D’s craziness is usually to lie down and submit to another full-body sniff or to show her belly. If walking with Nettie gets Miss D used to being around Nettie, then we move up to walking with Nettie and Stella, the baby of the Scottie brood. Dot, the third Scottie, is as crazy as Miss D, so we may never have them meet.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Walks with Nettie. It’s a start.