Animal House

Look what someone left on my front porch!
This is Kane - and he actually wasn't left on my front porch - he was left in my kitchen. He's awesome. Did you know that some dogs actually do what their owner tells them to do when they tell them to do it? I had no idea - our dogs certainly don't.

We're watching Kane for a little over a week while his people go on a road trip.

Dobermans tend to attach to one person, so on the first night he woke up 15 times to look for his person, but he's doing much better now.

Our cats have been pretty absent from the backyard and although the hope that he would chase away the stray that has adopted us - has not actually occurred, the good news is that our two cats are at least still around. Actually Kane was the one who chased Alexander out of our backyard a few years ago and he couldn't find his way back - it took me a week and two rounds of sign postings before he finally turned up just 3 houses away. Alexander had been keeping his distance from the backyard - I hadn't seen him in 3 days, so this morning I opened a can of tuna an walked up and down our street calling out "Alexander, Salamander!" (He doesn't come for "heeeere kitty kitty." That's probably my fault, but you never think about how you'll sound walking up and down your street with an open can of tuna calling your cat when you teach him to come for funny rhymes.)

Anyway - Alexander apparently is hanging out across the street at our neighbors' who are on their annual 6 month trip to the Northwest. Which is fine, that he finally showed up (read: after 10 minutes of me yelling and sing-songing and walking around with a can of fish stinking up my arms because I didn't drain it and instead thought that sloshing it on myself was a better option) tells me that he at least knows how to get back home when Kane leaves next Friday all should be back to normal.

Anyway, back to Kane - nothing makes an 80 lb dog look like a small dog more than a 130lb dog.

Landon wasn't too keen on Kane at the beginning ("I want that big black dog to go home!") But he's adjusting, and if nothing else, it makes him appreciate Scarlett more. This morning while I was cleaning dishes from breakfast, he read Scarlett 2 books. (I'm using the term read very very loosely here). Plus Kane has some quirks that are working to our advantage - he won't go upstairs or into our bathroom, so if Landon feels like he needs to get away from Kane, he has 2 options...he has no such options when it comes to our dogs.

Kane also doesn't horn in on the dishwasher while I'm trying to wash dishes. Or lay down behind me very very quietly so that I turn and trip the next time I move, or whine about a lack of attention, or bark at me for dancing or just flat out ignore me when I say it's time to go inside from the backyard. I'm thinking of sending one of ours back to his house to see if they notice - they sell Doberman costumes, I'm pretty sure.

Well, I'm at least hoping that some of Kane's habits rub off on our two and not the other way around.