A little weary

Mr. Bad Boy

It was a rough holiday weekend for us at the 24 Paws of Love. Brut was in a mood and was real touchy about anything he deemed was his. We had a couple of small fights, nothing serious and he corrected a couple of the dogs. No one was hurt, but it still slices me when it happens.

 Brut's aggression with dogs is a weary battle and one that must be waged very carefully. I think it is more difficult when we go for long periods of time with him content and happy. When he used to be on guard most of the time and ready to attack, my reactions were quicker as I kept a vigilant eye on every twitch of his body language. So when my guard comes down a few notches, even though I am aware of Brut's every move, I'm slower to respond when the gun goes off. I get comfortable and relaxed and sometimes even if I see the signs, it doesn't register as quickly and attack seems to come from out of nowhere.

 And sometimes I'm so very tired. And would love to shrug off this responsibility that cloaks me. Even when things are going great, you always know there will be a flick of the switch. Whether it's been a day, a week, a couple of months, at some point Brut will be Brut. I have no illusions of Brut ever being cured. It is always one step forward and two steps back with him. Change of season isn't helping as he likes to be outside and during this in between time of fall and early winter he tends to be inside more until the switch over to winter. (*Note to self-more walk time*)

 So while it still hurts my soul as I'll never get used to a dog fight, I think I will try to be more responsive to Brut and take some time to get a little more in tune with him. Maybe a little more alone time with mom will help curb that fight in him. I know it won't hurt.