Ninja the Stowaway

Monday, May 5, 2008

I was reading on the Internet about Mini Australian Shepherd's temperament. Here's one of the things I found: " Mini Aussies are pack oriented. This means that if you do not want a dog which will insist on following you to the bathroom, you should consider a different breed. Mini Aussies need to be a member of the family."

And this: "The Australian Shepherd is an intelligent, medium-sized dog of strong herding and guardian instincts. He is also a delightful and loyal companion and a great family dog. He loves to be part of the daily hustle and bustle, and enjoys riding in the vehicle just to be with his beloved master. "

No kidding. If you do not want a dog who wants to go everywhere with you, consider another breed. (But in my mind, who wouldn't want an Aussie???) Remember the short circuit incident? That would not have happened if I didn't take him with me everywhere I can. He's my little car buddy. He gets annoyed when I can't take him, but if I'm going to be gone long or it is hot, I can't put him in danger.

Speaking of the short circuit incident, it looks like the window switch module that controls all my windows, the mirrors, and the truck release is kaput. It can be replaced for around $150. It could have been much, much worse. It's not great, but it's not the end of the world either.

So back to mini Aussies being pack oriented.

The other morning DH went out to the car, ready to leave for work. He realized that he had forgotten something, got out of the car, left the door open, and went back inside. He came back outside, shut and locked the front door, got in the car and headed off to work.

He turned on the radio, drove down the hill, and was waiting at the light to enter the freeway when he heard a tiny jingle behind him. He looked back, and for a second he didn't see anything, but then he realized that the white something on his black seat was a paw. Remember, Ninja has so much black on him that if he lays on his stomach on a black surface and tucks his paws under, you can hardly see him. Then Ninja smiled. Dogs smile- they really do. And Ninja has a great smile.

And when he smiled his little pink tongue showed and DH knew he had a stowaway! Luckily he wasn't too far from home and he had time to drive the separation anxiety crazed pup back home. OK, he doesn't really have separation anxiety, he just like to be with us whenever he can.

Fortunately, it wasn't a hot day and DH noticed the little beggar, otherwise he might have had to spend the day in the car if no one had noticed him. DH would have been quite annoyed to make the 20 mile trip back home at lunch to drop him off.

"Aussies are also quite demanding of their owners' time and attention and want to be constantly with them, following them from room to room in the house, and going along in the car or truck on errands. They can be highly territorial and protective of their masters' possessions, which can cause serious difficulties unless controlled with proper training. " Yep. A daily walk saves me a pair of shoes. . . every day.

We're getting there. The training is kicking in a bit here and there. The signs are there. Yesterday we left the front door open while we worked on some new flooring. The kids were playing outside and I told Ninja to stay and not go outside. I could see it was hard for him , but he stayed and did not go outside. He did look outside and kept a watchful eye on the kids. I had to remind him a couple of times, especially when the kids got loud while playing as he inched over to the door, but a few corrections to get his attention and he listened.

That's a good thing.