Winnie

I am the proud Grandmother of a mixed Pointer, Walker Hound! His name is Winston Duke, or Winnie for short. He belongs to my youngest son who is in college and during the Fall travels quite a bit with his college soccer team. Winnie is a Christmas present from his (past, present, I don't know which) girlfriend. How lucky can we be? Do they know what a responsibility this is?

Winnie is a very big puppy! I like to say he is a young puppy in a big dog's body! He chases our cat out of the house, dominates over our 14 year beagle and has been known to mark his territory in the house. If we tried taking him for a walk, it was most often HE taking US for a walk and God forbid if we saw a rabbit or deer because then it was pure brute strength to hold him back. This puppy is HUGE! We paid for pet training classes which lasted all but one round. Needless to say, Winnie was a trying animal. We won't begin to bring up the roommate issues- chewed shoes, slippers, garbage...yaddi, yaddi, ya! We were beginning to think this was a colossal mistake.

So, this weekend we reluctantly took Winnie out of boarding to watch him for the remaining days Matt would be gone. To our delight, Winnie was so well behaved! He only chased the cat once but after that, he and the cat got along just fine. The cat learned not to run at first sight and Winnie learned not to treat him like a stuffed toy. Winnie and Duke (our beagle) actually enjoyed each other sharing their space, beds, and affections. Notice I did not say food. That was a different story. This big, floppy eared, brute of a dog was so dog gone cute! If I told Winnie it was bed time, Winnie would go inside his kennel and settle in for sleep. He didn't whine all night or resist in the least bit. He loved his new toys that Grandma "had to" buy. He and "Grandpa" went for a walk, an actual walk! We enjoyed him so much that we let him get away with a few things my son might not...like a little extra food, some chew bones, okay...and he slept on the couch with Gary and on the last day, I let him sleep on our bed for an hour with the cat and me because they actually tolerated each other! I felt like the dog whisperer!

Now I'm beginning to wonder is this what it feels like to be a grandmother? The same rules set for children seem to change for the grandchildren? Either way, I like it. I'm proud of my son for doing such a great job loving this beast of a dog. It says volumes for his character. :) It sure made our life easier. I didn't even mind the little messier house. The best part is, is that we had a few great days with this beautiful dog. Now he is back home with his "dad". I wonder how Winnie is doing at home? I wonder if he enjoyed visiting "Grandma"?