Justin suggested this morning that my next blog post be about Rookie and how he is actually my little tyrant of a boss. It’s funny, but not, because it seems true at times. Rook runs my life. He’s got an opinion about everything, and he’s never afraid to share it. He yells at us constantly and tries to direct us (but mostly me) to do his bidding. He also yells when he’s stressed out or overly excited. As Justin points out, I worry constantly about him and already have his birthday presents for next Sunday. (I still have to decide on cake, cookies or pupcakes though.)
In the mornings, when we otherwise don’t have to be awake for anything, Rook almost always dictates when I get out of bed. Thankfully, he usually doesn’t become demanding until between 7-7:30am, but he is awake well before then. We’ll hear him pacing the house or sometimes carrying on about a neighbor getting into their car around 6am. He wants his morning walk around the block and breakfast. Then, he’ll happily go back to bed for however long we want to stay there. (I know many people with dogs that would wake them well before 7am, so I count myself pretty lucky here.)
Rook isn’t usually demanding for dinner, but he does get it in his head that when he wants to go for a walk, he should stare at his leash, then glance at us, then look back to his leash. If he knows we’re getting ready to go for a walk, but we’re moving too slowly for his liking, he will start ringing the potty bells on the back of the front door. (I used them to train both dogs as puppies. Magic never uses them at this point. Rook pretty much only does to speed us along to get out the door.)
On weekends, if we didn’t take them to the park in the morning and try to leave to run errands, Rook will recently rush past us out the door if we aren’t paying attention to come along. He runs first to the back door of Justin’s car, parked in the street in front of the house. If we tell him, “No,” or just don’t make a move toward the car, he then runs down the driveway to my car behind the house, in case he was wrong, and we were planning to take that one instead.
When Rook does travel in the car, he’s terrible at settling down for the longest time. If we’re stopped at a light or stop sign and someone either rides by on a bicycle or walks past with their dog, he loses his marbles barking at them. When we arrive at our destination, he barks non-stop. If he knows the destination before we get there (our family members’ homes, work, a park we visit regularly), he starts barking up to a half of a mile away. I keep telling myself we’re going to work on being quiet in the car, but it’s not training I’ve gotten around to (along with so much other training for Rook in particular).
Last week, we rented a cabin in Nockamixon State Park for a couple of nights. We decided back in March that we needed to have something to look forward to and bringing the dogs would be easier than leaving them home. Although we’ve done a fair bit of car camping and backpacking, neither Rook nor Magic is experienced with those types of trips. I’m sure Magic would adjust quickly. Rook, however, did not love his one night spent in a tent. When it got dark, he walked over to the car, pressed his nose to the door and turned to stare back at the rest of us by the campfire. At bedtime, he stood over us as we snuggled into our sleeping bags and Flint onto his blankets wondering where the bed was. The cabin was definitely a more Rookie-friendly choice and is just one more example of the modifications we make to our lives for him.
At work on Fridays, Rook believes that all of my coworkers are walking treat dispensers (some more so than others) and expects everyone to feed him. As some or perhaps all readers of this blog know(s) by now, he now sits in a chair behind the front desk all day. Tiffany’s chair is his favorite. If she’s seated in it, he may try to climb into her lap or crawl behind her. The other week, he got in behind her and actually pushed her out of her own chair, so I guess he is also Tiffany’s boss.
“He isn’t a real boss until he has trained subordinates to shoulder most of his responsibilities.” ~ William Feather
