Bad Influence...

Quinn in total bliss!

So Quinn, our puppy, is notorious for sleeping in the most contorted poses ever! I swear she has no spine. Here's a picture of her in one of her favorite poses: what we in yoga might call "Twisted Root" but without the extreme hip-swivel.

She used to try to get under my chair as a puppy, but now she's so big, she's likely to overturn the chair onto me!

Our elder dog, River, is pretty staid. She's a very dignified Husky, former show dog and champion. We adopted her when her kennel owner was downsizing, and so she was a rescue of sorts. She's the Grand Dame of the household and gets certain privileges.

She gets greeted first. She gets the first treat (though she has to sit for it, at least). She gets the first belly-rub. She's got glaucoma, so she's half-blind; the one eye is totally gone, but the other is really sharp, particularly if you're carrying an apple, a piece of cheese or anything remotely consumable. She also has Cushing's Disease, an ailment common to humans, which means her adrenal glands are out of whack. Extreme thirst is one of the indicators, so she gets to drink out of any of the 3 dog water bowls. She gets a shot of V-8 juice in her dinner (her pre-dinner drink, we say) for the potassium.

And she likes to lay in the traffic. I mean, if you have to walk over her, she's pretty much where she thinks she ought to be: in the middle of it all. We say that she'd make a horrible watch dog - she doesn't bark (she will woo-woo, but only in extreme provocation), and she'd likely help you out with the stuff you're stealing. On the other hand, she makes a great tripping hazard.

We figured River would teach Quinn her puppy manners, since Tippi, Quinn's mother, rejected the litter and when we brought Quinn home, Tippi ignored her. River used the "Husky Paw of Pain" on her a couple of times. Not really "pain" but a big old hairy husky paw on top of the head of a misbehaving puppy has quite a startling effect. And a well-placed snarl or lip-lifting does wonders; as does a glare from the one eye that still works. That ice-blue stare puts Quinn right in her place.

River upside down!

However...it seems that River has learned something from Quinn, as evidenced from the following picture. I'll set the scene for you. River is napping next to my chair. Quinn is touching her (which she likes to do - she's got to touch one of us if she can). I see a movement out of the corner of my eye, and I glance over to see about 65 lbs. of husky R-O-L-L-I-N-G to a dead-center stop. She does a stretch, curls up her toes, and then lets loose with a big, long S-I-G-H-H-H-H as she naps in this position for about 10 minutes. I thought I'd never get the picture because I was laughing so hard.

I guess that this is proof that old dogs can learn new tricks!