LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Meet Toffee




Here's Toffee. We got her to be Milo's helper in guarding house. Under a most interesting tacit agreement that they both worked out all by themselves, SHE sleeps out front and HE sleeps at the back. When a car passes by, and she's all by herself, she'll give a few puny barks, and you'll hear a frenzied pitter-patter of paws. Milo will appear out front in a huff and pace in protective circles around the patio. Then, when he is satisfied that all is well, he'll go and sniff her to see if she is alright.

We need to respect the relative seniority of Milo. We need to greet him first and pat his head, and THEN pick up Toffee. Else, Milo will growl at her and then use his head to push her away from us. He grabbed her (with his teeth) last evening when we fed Toffee. We had actually fed him his meal earlier, and we thought that that was that. Surely he would remember having been fed first? Next, we prepared Toffee's minced beef rice and placed it in front of her. She rushed to eat. Milo gave a roar of rage, picked her up by the scruff of her neck and flung her away from the bowl. She rolled off in a heap and sat there shaking her head and crying in pain. There was no blood but it must have been a heavy pinch. So now, we prepare both bowls at one time, and we give Milo his food a split second before we give Toffee hers.

Every now and again, Milo turns Toffee over on her back so that her tummy is exposed. He will sniff her all over, and especially at the nether regions before he struts off again to do his I-am-a-big-male-dog stuff. He'll even growl at Toffee if she presumes to come inside the house, because those are house rules.

All in all, she seems to have settled in fine. Toffee is a whole lot more easy than Milo. Milo was a wilfull puppy who obeyed the cane and it took a while to teach him that I am the Alpha Bitch. He likes still to test the limits of my authority. He is a stubborn dog. Toffee responds to a firm "No", and is already turning over on her back whenever I scratch her gently under the chin. It is a relief to have a nice docile dog.

11 comments:

L said...

Toffee looks adorable! Where did you get her from?

By the way, has Milo been neutered? You're not going to breed guard dogs, are you? =p

Petunia Lee said...

L - Milo has been neutered. Toffee will be spayed at 6 months. There are many strays and other dogs in the neighbourhood that aren't neutered. I don't want them camping outside my house when she comes into heat.

Petunia Lee said...

L - I got her from an acquaintance who volunteers to re-home mongrel dogs. Most people dun want mongrels. Since I have a slot open. It makes sense to take a mongrel that no one wants.

Petunia Lee said...

L = Thanks so much for your concern!!

Wen-ai said...

Tofee is really cute and Im so glad that both of your dogs are mongrels. If only more people with landed properties are like you, so are willing to adopt mongrels. You have a good heart, petunia!

Blur Ting said...

I like Toffee. She's sweet and lovely and the name fits her to a T! Tell Milo not to bully her!

Leah said...

Hi Petunia, Congrats on the new addition!

Milo is a very handsome dog...he looks like he has Alsatian blood in him and I really think he does after having heard his thunderous bark...

Petunia Lee said...

Wen-Ai: A dog is a dog. As long as she loves us, I guess we will grow to love her back. People had wanted to give us a mini Schnauzer worth 2.5K but we had no space and didn't wanna get rid of Milo, so we re-homed the pedigree dog that hadn't quite made a home with us yet.

Petunia Lee said...

Ting - She really is as sweetie pie and she looooves to play. Milo, whom I had never thought of as sedate, looks really sedate next to her. She's a very feminine dog.

Petunia Lee said...

Leah - He has a thunderous bark alright. He could have some Alsatian in him... and a bit of Sharpei... and a bit of Rhodesian Ridgeback. All in all... well... he's just a Milo, the Pistachio Eating breed. Heeeeeeee!

Malar said...

Milo looks like a pride dog on the first photo!
Toffee on the other hand seems to be lovable puppy! Hope they get along well!