Uben, Laika, and Smilla in the South of France

We are fortunate people to have a couple of houses in the South of France, and we are here on vacation at the moment. Uben is here of course, back in his homeland, and this year we also brought along his friend Laika. On the trip here she seemed to be a little nervous…I think she was worried that her family did not know she was traveling so far away, but she’s settled in quite nicely and is totally into the spirit of vacationing. We have a nice German couple in our small house and they brought along their dog Smilla. She’s a puppy still, a 6-month-old Husky who is in love with both Uben and Laika. Uben likes her a lot but the jury is still out with Laika. Thank goodness Laika is just never, ever mean and though Smilla constantly wants to be in her face and lick her mouth, Laika just barks and tries to get away from her.

Yesterday we went to something in the next village called Transhumance where the French move their sheep from where they winter to where they summer in the mountains.
The dogs were pretty thrilled to get a look at the sheep walking down the street. Laika especially wagged her tail constantly and was all excited to watch the procession. Uben stuck out his nose and looked a little more in shock at the whole thing but also seemed to like it. It was a great big poop-fest and Uben of course liked this aspect most of all…he’s all over any opportunity for a snack.

Rufus

Rufus is a young husky who is here for the first time. He's a bit nutty but gentle and nice and has playing on his mind at ALL times. He has a comfy bed here which he refuses to use, and the choice of 2 other beds, one of which is big enough for him. For some unknown reason he prefers the bed that is way too small for him (see above). He crams himself in there every night and wakes up there in some form in the morning.

Rufus is also the biggest thief I've ever encountered. All I can say is that his mom warned me, but I did not fully grasp the professional nature of his stealing. He steals everything within reach. He's helped himself to Uben's dogfood which was on the kitchen counter, dog treats from a shelf in the pantry, a rouladen that my mother-in-law had sitting on HER counter in HER kitchen for her lunch, a tupperware container of cream, and the list goes on and on. When I give the dogs a bone, Rufus puts his down and concentrates on stealing Uben's. When I tell him no he lays down on his back, tries to distract Uben with moans and groans and the offer to play, but really what he's after is the bone.

Rufus really had the full service treatment here, and had sex for the first time yesterday. Our neighbor came around with her female labrador who was not in heat, but has some kind of problem where she smells like she's in heat even though she's been spayed. She stuck her tail in the air, put her rear end in Rufus' face, and he totally rose to the occasion. We heard some yelping (Rufus) and went outside to check and they were hung up. We could not do much except laugh at them. Thankfully the female won't really be having baby Rufuses, and I hope the experience though kind of quick and interrupted, was fun for Rufus.

Also, for the first time ever we've seen a real change in Uben when he's out with Rufus. Rufus is not doing anything in particular (except not coming when called), but Uben seems to turn into Mr. Bold Delinquent just because Rufus is with him. Totally misbehaving at times, chasing everything in sight, and not responding like normal when he's called. They are a handful together.

In spite of everything we like Rufus a lot, are happy that he came, and we've done our level best to try to keep him with us. We've lost him about once every day to a rabbit or a deer or anything else that moves, but thankfully he's always come back to us.

Peekie Pants

Peekie Pants was here to visit for 3 weeks. As advertised by his beloved mom, he really does want to be a good boy and tries hard to behave. He lost his mind a little bit when Rufus came (next post), but normally he's a spunky little poodle who is fun to have around. Uben loves to play with him, is sometimes a little rough with him, but he pops back up and asks for more. He's a popular dude around here.