Gillys Blog

09 Oct 2009 - Newcomer in our midst.

My house could never really be described as a sane and sensible sort of place – Dixie sees to that – but at the moment, pandemonium reigns.  This is because our animal family has increased – temporarily.  The newcomer is a two year old Shi-tzu called Fraser.  He’s only a little chap – but boy does he make a big impact!  He belongs to my Mum, and he’s come to us partly because she’s been a bit under the weather recently – and partly because he needs a little bit of refreshment in the manners department.  Don’t get me wrong – he’s a lovely little lad, very affectionate and loads of fun – but he has been allowed to rule the roost at my Mum’s house and now thinks he’s Jack The Lad, and definitely leader of the pack. We jokingly informed him he was coming to Boot Camp – and judging by the expression of total astonishment he’s been wearing ever since he walked through our door – I reckon he probably believes that’s exactly where he’s landed.  Not that life is exactly difficult in our house – but instead of being King of all he surveys, he’s now just one of our animal gang along with senior dog Zara, Dixie and the cats Puskas and Cash.  No wonder he’s astonished!

The pecking order hasn’t quite established itself yet – Zara’s a fairly benign pack leader and Dixie doesn’t want to be Boss because it might interfere with her playing – or worse still – eating time.  Of course cats think they’re so far above dogs in the great scheme of things that they’d never admit to being in any kind of pecking order.He does seem to be enjoying himself – Dixie’s always up for a romp, and Fraser’s not far beyond the puppy stage himself, so he still likes the rough and tumble.  Zara’s also delighted because she’s getting a bit of a rest from Dixie.

The cats and Fraser haven’t yet decided what to make of one another – but so far at least they’ve agreed to an amicable stand-off.  Cash has never seen a dog quite like him, so perhaps isn’t quite sure if he really is a dog, or a floormop come to life! He’s a bit of a stranger to commands – I told him to sit and he just gazed back at me as if I’d lapsed into Martian – but he was fairly quick to get the meaning and with a bit of luck he’ll know a few more by the time he goes back to Mum.  Then the really hard work will begin– training Mum to use them!