Extreme Weezils : Chronicles 13

What a wild, wonderful WEEZILY fall this has been! The entire month of October was sunny, every day, which is no less than a miracle here in the Puget Sound area of Washington State. Usually, it rains starting in October and lasts until the following May or June! Consequently, the foliage was spectacular, reminiscent of my life BEFORE moving to the Seattle area : in New England. I don't know if nature's show made me more homesick than usual or less!

Saxon has gotten HUGE, and is just shy of five months old! He was finally neutered [ I HATE that term but have no idea what else to call it - Fixed? He was never BROKEN!] and I'm waiting to see if I notice a difference in his behavior. The past month or so he has been showing severe domination tendencies that had the potential to be dangerous if they continued as he got older. I HAVE noticed that he has been a lot better around me as far as not trying to bite any of my appendages off or the like. Good dog, sit, stay....

Tuesday, October 15, 2002 2:05:19 PM

I'm confident that all the fuzzies in this house, all eleven of them, have gotten together to take a secret oath to drive my husband and I absolutely CRAZY. Why do I think that? Let me count the ways ...

Saxon, now almost fourteen weeks old, has entered his terrible twos a bit early. He's a very smart dog, smarter than I've ever even heard about before. Smart isn't neccessarily good, as it always brings ideas in his head to see how far he can push us to get his way, all day, every day. He learned how to SIT, STAY, and LAY DOWN at only week nine on this Earth. He's NOT dumb.

Now, suddenly, he has entered his 'terrible twos' and is pushing the limits : biting, not heeling, purposely defying rules laid down from the start that he has always followed before. I think he needs something to do : a purpose.

Saxon is not the only one pushing the limits these days. Dusty and Pepper have turned into even worse Demander Commanders than before, looking probably to have the spotlight shine back on them after it being stolen by ferrets and a dog. Oy.

Last, but certainly not least, the ferrets, all eight of them, have decided to push the limits as well. If you can imagine the Extreme Weezils being even MORE extreme, than you know what I'm getting at!

Thursday, October 10, 2002 10:24:21 PM

There is nothing quite like coming home after working over twelve hours straight to eleven fuzzy faces. The eight ferrets are almost always snug in their ferrety beds [wherever they decide to fall asleep in their room] by the time I get home, usually about 9:30PM. Sometimes I see one or two eating or drinking or even simply switching sleeping positions if I stick my head inside the Weezil Room. Even though I may not see them, I know they are there and they are very happy.

Pepper and Dusty are usually in completely different areas of the house. Pepper usually will be outside in the yard, at least while the weather isn't pouring rain out, until she is either forced to come in when we retire for the night or on her own once it gets too late. Dusty is almost without failure snuggled up in a favorite sleeping place - more often than not that is the futon in the computer room. She often abandons her cat nap area to spend some time on my lap, a real treat!

Then there is Saxon, now thirteen and a half weeks old. This German Shepherd puppy dog has put us through our paces and tried our patience and resolve beyond endurance, as any brilliant and belligerant canine will do. He is willful like his mom [me] and continues to test us by stepping outside the boundaries we have set down for him, at least behavior wise. Saxon has been testing me in the biting department, seemingly to see how much chewing he can get away with before I make him stop. Now that he is a bit older, those teeth HURT and I am no longer allowing myself to be a chew stick, in any capacity. That is harder than it sounds, especially since Saxon's favorite thing to do revolves around using his jaws.

First, I tried firmly stating NO and looking right in Saxon's eyes. Then, I combined the NO with the pointed finger shake. My voice had to be raised to a yell - NO! Saxon kept pushing, ignoring my admonishments and acting as if I was asking for more teeth marks on my skin. So, against my former wishes and with great reluctance, I was forced to use FORCE. When Saxon would bite me, I mean BITE me and leave marks, I yelled NO and physically pushed him off me and over on his side onto the floor. This established my dominance over him, after a few times at least, and continues to be neccessary from time to time. It only took Saxon a couple of days of this aggressive reaction on my part to know that mom is no longer a chew toy, period. We play, but biting is right out. I will continue to work with him on this probably for years. I just wish I was able to get the kind of compliance I'm getting with physical domination using only verbal admonishment.

[NOTE : I am NOT, nor have I, would I, or will I strike, kick, or otherwise physically harm Saxon or any of my fuzzies. The above described actions are strictly used as severe training methods for this particularly willful and stubborn puppy dog and does NOT cause him physical harm or pain!]