Marshall has been on th
e Rimadyl now for several weeks. What a difference it has made in his overall movement. He can now zip about in short spurts, get up on his hind legs and offer me his front paws and he is standing much more upright on his feet. For a dog with little paddles on the ends of his legs this is really remarkable.
I recently had Marshall down in Phoenix with me back at the AZ Jack Russell Rescue. As I put him into the fenced enclosure he took off with Sharkey and Charm at full speed – a flat out run – something only I had seen him do. It was, indeed a joy to behold. Suzanne, of course, captured the moment with her camera while Sandy and I marveled at his progress. We let the dogs romp awhile as we sat in the grass. I asked Suzanne to get a photo of all three dogs and myself – something I didn’t have. Gathering them together we sat on the lawn - Sharkey on my left, Marshall on my right with Charm just beyond. As par for the course the Jacks didn’t want to sit in one place so I held Marshall and Sharkey. All of the sudden Marshall felt froggie and tried to take a snap at me. It took all three of us by surprise then made me laugh because he’s missing so many teeth!
“What are you going to do little dog - gum me to death?” I asked with a bit of sarcasm.
While it’s never in anybody’s best interest to tolerate a snapping dog of any kind we all rejoiced at this behavior. Marshall was beginning to behave like a typical headstrong Jack! Without the key training most pets have he reacted to his frustration the best way he knew how. He had mastered his fear and decided to speak out. This is clearly an indication that he’s ready to start some basic training and gain confidence with good behavior. Now it’s up to me to anticipate just how much to do at one time.
PS: NEVER sit in the grass in the summer in Arizona without your shoes on….can you say SCORPION???
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