Sometimes I have an inspiration for a blog post, sometimes I don’t, but I’ve made a commitment to myself to post regularly, so here I am. They say the important thing about being creative is showing up. The same could be said for many facets of life.
There’s never a shortage of things to talk about if you have a puppy. When I talked to Erica this morning I found myself saying, “He does this thing now where he….” and then I launched into a description of Buster’s latest exploits.. It was so much like a gushing parent, it’s embarrassing.
See how I left you hanging there? Don’t worry, I’m going to fill you in.
We had a lovely dinner party the other night with Buster’s brother, Buddy (not just his nickname!) and his owners, Maria and Angelos. I had the pleasure of getting to know Maria through the FB group started by Yan, Buster and Buddy’s breeder. We then arranged to meet in person, since Buster and Buddy are the only two from the litter who live in Montreal. It’s so much fun to have friends who are going through the same experience at the same time so we can compare notes.
Before dinner we decided to meet at the local dog park so the puppies could get their ya-yas out and we could have a more tranquil dinner, or so I hoped. They ran around for 20 minutes or so with the other dogs and then I threw a frisbee for Buster for awhile once the other dogs left. Buddy wasn’t at all interested in the frisbee but he loved chasing Buster as he chased the frisbee. It was all very entertaining. It was touching to see how excited Buster was to see Angelos and Maria. He leapt up (as is his wont) to try to lick Angelos’s face to express his pleasure. As much as I try to discourage that behaviour, I secretly glow with pride when I see how high he can jump!.
I just assumed that most, if not all Bostons have the desire and capacity to jump as though they’re on springs, but Buddy shows a lot less of that inclination. I was telling Maria and Angelos about how Buster has been caught licking the butter dish on the dinner table more than once, and devoured half a baguette (carelessly left on the table by me) one night before a dinner party, and they were astounded. So far he gets onto the table via the dining chairs if we forget to tuck them in, but it won’t be long before he leaps onto the table direct. He can already get onto my bed without a thought (and it’s one of those comically high beds that are so popular now) so, yeah… in the meantime I’m trying to train him that getting onto the dining room table is FROWNED UPON, but so far it hasn’t sunk in.
Once we got home, the pups continued their games for the next two hours while we ate our dinner on the deck. We managed to enjoy ourselves because they entertained each other pretty well, but quiet and docile they were NOT. Eventually I noticed that Buster was looking a bit frazzled so I put him to bed in his crate, where he immediately crashed, so that made things quieter. Buddy even slept for a bit on the deck couch. I’m looking forward to many more evenings with Buddy and his parents.
So, Buster is loving (I mean obsessed) with playing frisbee, to the point where he’d rather do that than play with other dogs, if he’s got a choice. If any of you have seen the TikTok* I posted where he finds a frisbee at the dog park, you’ll know that his love for frisbee was immediate. He wanted to take that old disgusting half a frisbee, which he picked up at the dog park, home with him the very first day. It wasn’t long before I got the hint and bought him one of his very own. He’s still a puppy and his joints and ligaments are still forming, so he shouldn’t really be doing any of that agility stuff where he leaps into the air to catch it, but I’m pretty sure that’s in his future. So far, he just retrieves it, but he’s doing that pretty reliably. He can also catch it in the air when I hold it up, but I’m careful not to hold it up too high for the time being. On the other hand, he doesn’t have a long endurance for it. He’ll retrieve it a bunch of times in a row and then drop it halfway back to me and munch on some grass as a break. I take that as a sign that he’s a bit winded.
So, if you’re wondering what to do with your life, get yourself a Boston! They’ll provide you with endless entertainment, but also a certain amount of hair-pulling, not gonna lie. Buster isn’t great at walking nicely on a leash, for instance. He darts everywhere and pulls your arm off if you’re not careful. More training is needed, and it’s a bit of a bore, so I’m afraid I don’t do enough of it. Nevertheless, Life is Better with a Boston!**
*I can’t seem to log in to my TikTok account from the computer, so if you’re curious, you’ll have to search for @busterthebt
**Slogan of the Boston Terrier Society
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