She turned 12 on the 30th of March.
Yet no one believes that she is this "old dog". She still reacts like a puppy. If she meets other dogs along a walk, she still wants to play, while dogs half her age can act with more decorum.
For all that I complain about her, I guess I wouldn't have it any other way. How else would I be able to yell "For the love of all that's holy...' when she just won't sit still. I also wouldn't be able to give her titles, which is a thing I have. Her's currently: Worst Trained Dog Ever.
I swear we all did try to train her at some point. But like with too many cooks in the kitchen - she is easily confused and now has chosen to forget everything, like basic sitting on command. Trying to make her "stay", tip: just give up now.
I have thought about taking her to puppy school. But I feel she would embarrass herself.
For example wet herself by the site of so many other people and other dogs (it has happened before).
It is easy for Tess to get confused, she takes after me and is a natural blonde. Difference between us: I have retained (mostly) the ability to understand English. I also dye my locks to confuse the average punter.
We have been been bringing Tess inside lately. She has this ability to find a way to take herself on walks. We couldn't find how she was getting out. I have now found her escape route. She goes behind the shed, jumps onto the spare roof tiles we have piled up there, and legs it into the neighbours backyard.
They only have nice things to say about her, stating that she behaves nicely and they don't mind having her there until we get over there to pick her up. Considering she usually decides she needs a walk about 1.30 in the morning.
The last time she got over (and its not easy on her, its a long way down), she was actually on a rope in the back yard, so that she couldn't leave... but her collar was on too loosely, so when she jumped over the fence, the collar came free - still attached to the leash/rope, luckily as if it didn't come free she could have hung herself. But she got scared over in their yard, as these new neighbours close their gate, unlike the last lot. So she started doing the only thing that she knew how. She cried.
I spent hours trying to find ways to get her back.
I got a chair and jumped on that, and was trying to see if I could reach over the fence and pull her over.
Tess is not a tiny dog, she is a golden retriever cross with a samoyed.
But she was two inches away from me being able to get her. I thought about quietly opening the gate and just getting her, but we haven't settled the relationship with the new neighbours yet, the old ones I would have been too scared about doing anything to upset them - they tended to call security as soon as they didn't like anything we did. So I had to leave her there over night. She cried all night, when she remembered she wasn't on an adventure. I had to go to my window in my room and stage whisper that it was her own fault that she was stuck there.
Thus its easier and I feel better if I bring her inside all the time, it used to just be a gift that I would bring her in, a privilege if you will.
Now she sees it as her right; like I said she can get confused easily and forgets how things were.
Sometimes I wonder how she remembers me when I change hair colour, or clothes.
We recently had a storm here in Perth, and Tess gets scared by storms (bless her soul). So I lock her up in the laundry. To try and give her a sense of security, and the fact that she can't sleep in the house - mostly due to the fact she doesn't know how to let me know she needs to go outside for special Tess time. I had a big Wednesday night, and thus slept in quite late on Thursday. When I arose, I stayed in my room instead of venturing outside into the cold house.
Which meant that Tess had not been let out. I went down stairs to go to the loo, and let Tess out at the same time (I had to go to the downstairs toilet due to upstairs bathroom having locked itself closed, and I was waiting for Garth/brother to come and fix that issue).... luckily I had gone downstairs, as stepping off the last stair I stepped into a pond. I forgot all about needing to go to the toilet and raced to the laundry, the source of the flowing river. There was Tess, waiting for me - almost knee deep.
Water was sprouting up onto the wall from the back of the washing machine.
I turned off the power and pulled the plug. Nothing happened.
I opened the machine and there was nothing inside.
I turned off the water at the tap. I couldn't figure out what had happened, but I looked at the pooch and I knew it had something to do with her. Though inside was wet too, I couldn't bring the dog in - there was just too much work needed to be done, and she has this special ability to get in the way.
So I went outside and pulled with strength I didn't know I had to get the rope (which was still caught from the last time Tess took an adventure into the neighbours yard), I wrapped it around and around the clothes line to make it shorter, I didn't want her to go anywhere.
I had to take my slippers off as they were drenched (it took 2.5 days for those babies to dry). I looked at all the damage that had been caused. Our library was ankle deep, the water made it all the way to the front door through both the lounge room and family room, the hall was water logged, and I feared it was going to leak into the practise room (mother is a music teacher, so we have a room with a "spare" piano, a mirror, other instruments... its also silently referred to as the our trophy room).
I did the only thing I could think of. Called the mother.
But of course she didn't know how to charge her phone, or even where it was.
I looked at the time. Garth was still at work.
Time to call the sister.
Alana was driving home at the time, and had someone with her. So she got there as soon as she could.
I then called Garth, I knew I had too.
The house was a disaster.
It is now Sunday evening, and we have (mostly the brother) cleared the library, the house is now covered in books. Most of the carpet has been ripped off downstairs.
Ends up that Tess had become so scared she had tried to jump into the sink (she often does this) and got caught on the hose that links between the machine and the tap, with her weight landing on it, snapped it at the machine.
Garth has bought a new hose that is metal, so we're hoping that will work.
Today I was eating a peanut butter and jam sandwich.... now the thing about Tess is she likes to share. Share your things. So I gave her a couple of bites. I'm not much of a eating the crusts kind of person... so I threw them into the grass. After Tess had done her special business, she proceeded to hunt down my crusts and go bury them. But the look on her face when she had to think of hiding places for them.... I wonder if she will remember this tomorrow.
Garth makes remarks that maybe its time to donate to the dog to some friends of his, his rationale being that the mother and I just don't have the time or the energy to cope with her.
Other than Tess's need to rub her nose over the underside of my arms, and be touching me at all times, and for the love of god if she could just learn personal space; I could never get rid of her. She is mine.
Also, she makes the cat jealous, and that amuses me.
