Bonding
Meet Bijou and Alba, the Italian ladies who run my household. They are unlike each other in so many ways, but have bonded in a way that is touching to see. This was not always the case.
Bijou, now seven, arrived as a rather lively puppy who only wanted to play with her older brother, Luigi, then nine. Unfortunately, Luigi, used to being top dog, forgot what PLAY was! Every time Bijou went near him, he would snap and tell her to keep her distance. Bijou went from being a lively puppy to a rather timid little soul. Dollop, the Maine Coon cat, was kinder, but even he didn’t understand the PLAY word. Bijou was deprived of her puppyhood with her own kind even if she did get lots of interaction with the humans in the household. I always felt sad about that.
At Ringcraft she met other dogs but by this time was so timid all she wanted to do was run out of the ring. It took nearly two years to get her to be happy in the show ring and once this happened she became a bit of a show off. At home, though, there was still Grumpy Luigi who never played and a quiet, subdued Bijou who kept out of his way.
When Bijou was three, a four-legged timebomb named Alba, entered the household. She already knew how to jump on or over anything in her path. She ignored Luigi after he snapped, but there was Bijou to PLAY with! Meanwhile, Bijou, too, forgot she had been a puppy once, and was utterly terrified of this four-legged dynamo who was always in relentless pursuit – the more Alba chased her, the more frightened she became. Here was the same scenario all over again with Alba bewildered that Bijou would not play, but just ran away. Alba, who has always had a big ego, or perhaps is just a bit dim, never tried the reverse tactic of sitting still and letting the chase begin with Bijou. I worried they would never become friends, but after three or four months of this, Bijou suddenly remembered the PLAY word and tentatively took up the chase.
Three years on, you would never think there had been a problem. There is this daily madcap chase around the house, up and down the stairs, now always instigated by Bijou baying like a blood hound, with Alba either stopping dead in her tracks, turning in mid-air, or taking a shortcut under a table leg to cut Bijou off, until they are both exhausted. They are always going at breakneck speed which I have ceased to worry about.
Both girls have such different temperaments; in the day Bijou often goes off somewhere on her own, but Alba is glued to me like a limpet. When Bijou does come she sits quietly and patiently. Alba always barges between us and if there is no room, simply sits on top of Bijou and Bijou lets her, even though Alba weighs nearly a kilo more. It is lovely they are such good friends and even if it took a while, they are enjoying a prolonged puppyhood together and PLAY, PLAY, PLAY!
Bijou recently has learned to talk, but I leave that to be the subject of another article!
