I could hardly sleep last Saturday night, knowing we would be bringing Fidget home the next morning. It’s hard to believe only a week has gone by since then, because in a way it feels like she’s always been here.
Fidget of the House of Bannerman series is sweet, cuddly, and on the smaller side. Fidget of the Simonin household is sweet, sometimes cuddly, on the larger side, smart, funny, ornery, and sometimes resembles a piranha! It can be difficult and time consuming to stop the biting frenzies and redirect her. It’s not impossible, but a couple of days ago we were outside and she kept getting into things that weren’t good for her. The third time I took away her latest find, she had enough. She was mad! The next few minutes convinced me she’s the dominant female of her litter. She absolutely would not be redirected, and as quickly as I unlatched her jaws, she latched on again. It was a battle of wills, and neither of us were giving up. I pity puppy parents who don’t have a German Shepherd like Arctic to assist. He verbally corrected her and herded her away until she was ready to be a model citizen again. I was so proud of him! And grateful! Since then, he’s done the same thing any time she gets rough. Not only is he the dog of my heart, he also has my back 💕
Today Fidget latched onto Brad, and he said he wished Arctic would save him too. So I told Arctic “go help Grampa”, and he did. He scooped Fidget away, then kept her busy playing. He’s so smart, and loves having a job! I knew he’d benefit from having one, but couldn’t think of anything for him to do on a regular basis. Helping to raise Fidget is perfect. He doesn’t just teach her how to behave, he also plays with her and wears her out. They run all over the yard. His favorite game is chase. He’s so fast there’s no way she’ll ever catch him, but he lets her come close enough to keep her engaged.
They are so funny together. I don’t know if this is normal or not, but they talk to each other. I don’t remember Arctic and Indy doing that, but these two appear to have conversations. Arctic has quite the verbal repertoire, and she’s picking up on that. Yesterday evening she seemed tired, so I put her in her bed in the puppy-safe space. She started to complain a little, and I thought maybe we should let her. I figured she’d fall asleep soon, and I didn’t want to reinforce the barking by letting her out. But… Arctic started to groan. No one can complain like he can! Maybe a husky, but that’s his only competition. Fidget began to groan too, and if they didn’t sound pitiful, I don’t know what does. I turned around to see both of them sitting there, one on each side of the gate, staring at me. So… they won that round. Fidget was freed, and they celebrated by playing for an hour. Then, they both took a nap!