Four on the Floor

 By Brother Luke

 

           

When I was first learning to drive a three-on-a-tree stick shift Rambler Rebel (not very cool), the hot rod drivers wanted a four-on-the-floor stick shift! Better for those exciting (but not wise) car races! I think my little Amira has got the same itch, with her four-on-the-floor paws! January 15th she turned 3 months, and it has been an exciting time watching her begin to grow up.

            And growing she is. She is now 22 pounds. And that weight is beginning to tell on me. We have a bank of about 15 stairs in the house going up to our living quarters. When she was 2 months old I carried her up and down those stairs. Now at 3 months I carry her down, but once a day I let her go up on her own. She goes up and down other stairs, but those stairways have only 2 or 3 stairs, not 15! Whether it’s stairs or the floor or outside on the road or in the snow, she loves to run. Yes, gets her four on the floor and she’s off!

            Getting her used to being in my room with Iris and Fuller is our main challenge now. Fuller, unlike his daddy, Kahn, is not unremittingly hostile to puppies. He shows great patience with Amira, but when he has had enough of her pestering, he lets her know. Iris, on the other hand, will play with her forever. Unfortunately, that is usually too much of a good thing, so, after 10 or 15 minutes I cut it off. Then I set up the great divide in my room: one side for Amira and the other for Iris and Fuller. With luck they all go to sleep and I can get some work done. But if Amira decides to start chewing on unacceptable items like rugs, furniture, books, or my recharging iPod, then she goes into her crate in my room. She has toys, but the ones she is intent on adding to her collection are forbidden fruit, and we have to patiently teach her the difference between them. It’s always like this with puppies. It takes time, but they learn.

            What is cute to notice in my room is Iris going over and lying down in front of Amira’s crate to give her company. I think they will become good pals when Amira is an adult. Amira is fearless. Just what Iris needs in a playmate.

            Outside is another arena for fun. She is still good at sticking with me, so we can do a lot without her on leash. I know that will end soon, so I am preparing myself for the inevitable “teenage” period, when the outside game is “catch me if you can!” We do go into the woods but not on the long treks I often take with my adult dogs. We have lots of trails, and Amira loves to explore and to learn about her environment. When I have all three on the walk together, Amira is desperate to be in the middle of the Iris-Fuller antics. I have to watch that carefully so Amira doesn’t end up on the bottom of a wrestling match! And is she lucky or what, growing up during the winter? SNOW! What fun! The joy of discovering that the entire world is a snow cone just for you!

            Amira also has to learn the canine customs of the house. One is to be relaxed in her crate. And she has managed that. She also needs to learn how to adjust to a more regimented schedule: up at a certain time, out to the house dog run to do her business, to the crate for breakfast, then waiting for Matins to end so we can go for a walk. Not having accidents in her crate is part of the discipline. So, if she is out on a walk and eats a lot of snow, then I have to get her out to the dog run more frequently. Actually that also applies to the adults! The good news with Amira is that she learned to master the routine in the dog run within a week. The water bucket is now more accessible to her since she has grown up. At first (or even now if the water level is low), I needed to tilt the bucket a bit so she could access the water. She is so cute; she drinks the water a little, then kisses my fingers holding the bucket, then back to the water, and then the kisses again. This gets repeated until she is finished drinking. And this is part of the evening routine, when I have to restrict her water intake after 6:30 or 7 pm to make sure she can get through the night without an accident. So she is learning to drink what she needs when we first go out rather than waiting and discovering that she gets no more water until the morning.

            At night in my room she is still in the crate, but we will advance to the second stage soon. That is when I let her spend the night out of the crate, but tethered to my bed. Once she masters that, we’ll proceed to letting her loose in the room overnight. By that time she should also be able to be with the adult dogs and not feel she has to play with them without ceasing!

            I have raised many puppies since coming to New Skete. I never get tired or bored with the process. The gift to me is watching them grow and learn about life and demonstrate the canine joy of living. They always remind me of what is important, a tenet of our faith: living in the present and enjoying that present moment.