Thursday 11 February 2010

'Cow' yote?

It's time for some 'puppy-talk'. PonyGirl has been on the road for about 3 and half months now and her initial shyness has pretty much completely disappeared. She has encountered so many strange people, situations & other dogs that I have to believe it has all been for the good. She accepts all our new homesteads quite easily and gets comfortable quickly wherever we set up camp. That includes being in the middle of the Arizona dessert with no one around, to being in the center of Orange County, California ( world's largest city?) and everything in between. She has run free over the dunes in Oregon and on many, many country roads just for the love of running. She loves the beach, the woods, and chasing rabbits. She has been in all kinds of weather and isn't frightened of thunder (!). Her politeness training is going well...she is learning a lot and teaching me a lot. She is much more of a challenge than Cowgirl ever was. I try my best not to compare them, but sometimes I do. It just slips out. She has a very strong will and so do I and sometimes they clash. I realize that she is still just a puppy so I give her lots of slack, but I so want her to be a well-behaved girl. She is doing exceptionally well and we get compliments from people all the time. I do keep in mind that her origins are basically unknown except for her pit bull mum. Which brings me to my most recent surprise supposition. I was about to take a hike on a trail through a New Mexico State Park when I stopped to read the notices on the trailhead board. There were all the usual warnings and rules, etc and then there were the descriptions of animals of the area. There it was...a picture of a long-legged, skinny, yellow-eyed coyote and it hit me...could she be half coyote???? There are coyotes all over Baja and we knew her pa was a scoundrel of some sort. With that idea in my mind, her 'wildness' , which she only displays to me, has started to make sense. Now, I see my 'wild thing' my 'cow-yote' and I yip-yip-yip at the sky. PonyGirl really likes it when I do that and proceeds to gnaw me mercilessly until I surrender.

6 comments:

Joey Boshart said...

Actually she looks like an "Outback" La Paz, Mexico Puppy. I bet her daddy was a dingo. : )

Joey Boshart said...

Oh.. I forgot to mention... I too have an "Outback" well..Australian Shepherd...and she's a COMPLETE dork, as you know... Sad thing is that "dork" lasts well past the "puppy" phase... she'll never quite total get "well behaved girl". She'll find it, and maybe, if you're lucky, scratch the surface..only to find how "boring well behaved is". Trust me, I know... I speak from personal experience. : )

ingrid said...

Sounds like you guys are having a blast! So wonderful!

Well. . . if her mum was a pit, they can be a bit stubborn. Super quick learners, and usually extremely willing to please. However. . . . they may sometimes just check to see if the "rules" still apply to them. . .just checking .. .

With Indiana I felt like I would have to remind her now and again that "Yes, I'm in charge, yes, you still have to do as I say - when I say." She was fine with that, but needed to "hear" it once in a while. But that's why I love this breed - keeps you on your toes. I agree that "perfectly behaved" can be boring to me.
My new girl is not much different. Just not as focused as Indie was. But she's a street dog so who knows what kind of blood is really in her. All pit?, Half pit? Staffordshire? Rednose? Who knows.
But I think I can be pretty darn sure there's not coyote! HA!
Good luck!!

Sparky's Mom said...

How are things going over there? Love the puppy pics. That's one BIG mouth! Hope you're well!

Hugs

kevel88 said...

Cow-ote, now I might be able to say that a few times. I just keep calling her cowgirl. She is a beaute. Enjoying her presence these days!
KJF

Sparky's Mom said...

How are you two doing? Miss your posts ... update us soon :)