How Much More Trouble Could A Second Dog Be?

The original Theda bara-not a dog at all

Allie wrote a nifty post about her new doggie and so I decided that, like a proud parent, I will also share my story about Doug and Theda. Theda Bara Dog is the black lab lying on the couch and Douglas Fairbanks Dog(all dogs must be named after old movie stars)is the shaggy guy sitting on the floor.




And here is Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Not Doug's dad.

As I was saying. Or was I...? Theda came to live with us when we had three acres in the country in Michigan and expected to live there forever, so a great big lab would be just super!! Hmmm.
When we moved to SD, we had to buy a house because no one here would rent to us with a dog and two cats. When we realized how much time Theda would be alone when we work on weekends, and her with pretty extreme separation anxiety and all, we decided she needed a doggy companion. We had a back yard and spent a bundle getting it fenced in, and after all, how much trouble could a second dog be?
We went to the closest animal shelter, Sioux Falls, 150 miles away, and tried out a few pooches. Too many beautiful doggies for an easy choice, but there always are too many sweet critters in shelters. Anyway, we kept going back to Doug, who was living under the nom de guerre, 'Albert'. He was cute, soft, fuzzy, friendly and he didn't pull on the leash-a big plus since Theda pulls like a plow horse. We took the friendly guy home and he promptly terrified Theda, chasing her around the yard, nipping at her legs and working to establish himself as cock o' the walk, so to speak. Alpha male really. That lasted for maybe 24 hours when Theda realized that she was a good 25 pounds heavier(no fat) and had bone crushing jaw strength compared to Doug's marshmallow crushing jaws. Our incredibly friendly and gentle Theda has been flipping him over and kicking his 50 pound ass ever since. Doug has become her favorite chew toy and for a while we had trouble keeping his collar on as she apparently enjoyed ripping it off his neck. She also gnawed his rabies shot tag to bits. And it was metal.
While there is considerable rivalry for affection at times, with noses thrust roughly in between petting hands and petted heads, they seem to have grown quite attached, even when Theda is not clamped onto Doug's throat.

Oh, how much trouble could a second dog be? Anyone with two large dogs was smirking at me from the beginning. I will just say, Doug has learned to pull on the leash, I picked up at least 15 pounds of crap in the yard Monday, being with Doug has not cured Theda's separation anxiety as made evident by her habit of chewing the siding off our garage. Oh, and Doug, unlike Theda, runs away if we let him off the leash. Cest la vi, its all for love, nec'st pas?


"We HATES dem both" Artemis le Chat