So. We have a new addition to our household, and his name is Baxter. Other than being part Boston terrier, we have no idea what he is, other than clearly part dingo. The back of his new collar tag has our address, my phone number and “Please return our dingo!” at the bottom. He is a weird little creature. :)
He’s also the sweetest little “small” dog I’ve met. He doesn’t bark, he doesn’t bite, he’s house trained and crate trained, he’s grown up with a baby/toddler and is good with kids, and he loves other dogs, even if other dogs seem to sense that he’s a little weirdo. He’s so unlike our two (very aloof, reserved, LARGE, and old/tired) mastiffs that I’ve had to adapt to having a little creature under foot all day long. It’s odd to have an actual DOG, rather than our other two fur rugs that don’t need or want a lot.
Makai loves him already. Jim and I were both watching carefully to make sure that he was accepted by our other pets and it seems to be a complete success. Makai eventually figured out how to play with him in a way that doesn’t crush him (Makai is very sensitive about his size and is incredibly gentle with things smaller than him) and they just tear into each other now, all tails wagging. Mae is really slowing down in her later years and she simply tolerates him with an occasional tail wag. Getting more energy in the house was more for Makai, who is younger and needs to be kept moving now that his older housemate is slowing down. The cat hates Baxter in a way that she seems to be getting some kind of weird enjoyment out of it.
He’s the best hiking buddy ever… he can go for miles and miles, he doesn’t chase animals or harass other people or run off. He’s fascinated with nature and happy to just be out in the woods with me… my first hike with him out at the Gorge pretty much clinched my desire to keep him. I was in love from the minute I let him off leash and he trotted down the trail with me.
The biggest challenge is his fear of men. He was mistreated by a former owner who is no longer in the picture and he had clearly been hit by this man. Jim has had to gently befriend him over the past week and a half, and a recent incident where Mae got overly protective of a toy with Baxter resulted in Jim unintentionally scaring the daylights out of Baxter when he shouted suddenly for Mae to stop growling. The poor little guy hid behind the couch for a quite a while.
He’s a great little dog. He seems to love us (including the dogs and even the hostile cat), and I’m excited to see how much more active Makai is around him. Great addition to the Schnabel flock. :)
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