I could just be imagining things, but I think that Bear has been acting protective over Aki. It's unexpected, since aside from their mutual barking hobby and the twisted mind games they play over treats and lap privileges, they don't really pay much attention to each other.
Aki, an 8 pound maltese, is fascinating to other dogs. They can't seem to figure out what he is. A puppy? A toy? a snack? wtf?
Shimmie, our foster dog, is no exception. Much to his discomfort, she stares at him constantly. On top of his normal distaste for other dogs, he's afraid of her, so he goes out of his way to avoid her attention. Yesterday as I was letting him back in from going outside, she started messing with him, trapping him between herself and the couch and moving in front of him every time he tried to get away, staring the whole time. That's when Bear came over and barked and nudged her. Twice. I'm not positive whether he wanted her attention in order to give Aki a break or if he was jealous that it wasn't focused on him, but he was clearly trying to get her away from Aki.
My son's dog, Bonzai, has been fascinated with Aki from the beginning. The first time he was here, he was the smaller of the two, and he spent the entire visit chasing him and trying to play. Exasperated, Aki finally jumped on the back of the couch, and Bonzai kept bouncing up and down unsuccessfully trying to reach him. A year later, Bonzai has stretched into a tall, lanky animal with greyhound-length legs. He is able to jump over the back of the couch without touching it. People ask what kind of dog he is and we have no idea. He looks nothing like his mother, who appeared to be part boxer. He's at that awkward dog age with the body of an adult and the mind of a puppy. He's driving my son nuts.
Today he was following Aki around, pushing him with his nose and trying to engage him in play like he does the other dogs. One nudge could send Aki flying so I told him to lay off, but he didn't listen. Then Bear walked over and interrupted, quietly barking and pushing Bonzai in the other direction. I'm pretty sure he was intentionally trying to distract him so Aki could get away. It was fascinating.
Bear's helpful in other ways, too. Any time I try to use a door knob or tie my shoes or do anything with my hands, he very gently puts his mouth on my hand. When I get home from work, he leads me to Aki's crate and puts his face first by the top latch and then by the lower one and then, when I've unhooked them, uses his nose to open the door. Yesterday I had Shimmie in a crate in the basement and he led me to the door and then ran down the stairs to help me let her out, too.
I can't figure out whether he thinks I need his help or if, like the other males in the family, thinks I am incapable of completing tasks like this without his supervision.
If he wasn't so hyper I'd train him to be one of those dogs that visits sick kids or lonely, elderly people. But I'd hate so see a kid trampled by Bear's enthusiasm.
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