WHEN IT COMES TO BEING FRESH, "BU" HAS NO COMPETITION!

From the time this little “bad girl” was born, I knew she was going to be trouble! I’ve had German Shepherd Dogs for most of my adult life, but nothing prepared me for “Bu!” She challenges the theory that dogs do things strictly out of instinct. "Bu" (pronounced Boo) does most things strictly by calculating each of her steps to achieve the outcome she’s looking for. She leaves nothing to chance and no room for error!

German Shepherds are known for their keen intelligence and how easy they are to train. Pair these attributes with a dog that lives by her own rules and is very happy making sure we all know about it. “Bu” believes the world revolves around “Bu.” Woe to the one who tries to tell her differently and in this case, me. She literally tells me off by making little crying, squeaky noises and barking at me when I try to discipline her. Oh, it’s not a vicious bark by any means, but it’s a “telling me off” for correcting her type of bark. It’s like she’s saying to me, “How could you yell at me? Do I have to remind you how cute I am?”

Now there are three “other beings” that share the same house that “Bu” resides in. There’s her mother, Amber who loves everyone she meets. Then there’s her sister, Jess who has had to endure most of Bu’s shenanigans. And then there is me who has suffered more black and blues and bruises from her than all my other dogs that I’ve ever owned combined. She has springs in her legs and is mostly on her hind legs with the other two bouncing off of my already worn out body! She is my wild child! I've tried everything but life is one big game for "Bu."

Bu and Jess were born on April 8, 2006. They were the only puppies that Amber had. Amber was an outstanding mother. It just came naturally for her. She loved her babies. Bu was her first born but she did not nurse right away. In fact, it took her an hour before she would nurse. Her sister Jess was a chow hound right from the moment she was born and a chow hound she has remained to this day.

Two and a half weeks went by since the birth of the two little “darlings” before Bu would announce to the world what kind of personality she brought to this planet! One day while checking in on the new little family, I hear Amber whining and looking at Bu quizzically. I look down in the whelping box and there is this puppy with raised up lip snarling at her mother. Now mind you, she barely has her eyes open at this tender age and has absolutely no teeth and she’s snarling at her mother. Can you imagine that?! I’ve never seen anything like it! Well Amber was very upset and couldn’t understand why she was acting this way. She would soon find out that this was not a one time event. She would continue to do this and Amber would push her around with her nose or take her paw and hit her with it all the while whining. So this would be the beginning of “bad to the bone” Bu’s life and we three who shared it with her.

When Bu was only about five weeks old, she became ill and she was misdiagnosed by one vet that I took her to. Long story short, they shaved one half of her tiny body and was prepared to operate on her before the new vet retested her and found out she did not have a heart problem like the original vet thought. I came to take my puppy home and wrapped her in big warm towels placing her on the car seat next to me. She was so happy to see me again after staying over night at that “nasty old vets.” She loved being with me again and this is when this little “angel”???? and I bonded on our drive back home.

For the next several weeks, I was very protective of Bu to make sure the other two dogs didn’t hurt her and rough her up. She was smaller than her sister Jess and had a tinier head. I would pick her up and put her on my lap so no one would injure her. Well this made her even more alpha. She was now in a higher place sitting up on my lap looking down at her sister who she would attack if she came too close to the chair she and I shared. Jess would jump up to say hello and she’d be greeted by a bite to the head or ears as Bu would tumble off of my lap in a little heap on the ground on top of her sister. Then when she was satisfied that her sister knew who the boss was, she’d parade her little scrawny half shaved body back over to my chair and beg me to lift her up again. She would continue her offense for as long as her sister had the nerve to come too close to her “throne.” Now mind you, I wouldn’t let her get away with beating up her sister. I always tore her away from her object of intimidating behavior. It never seemed to matter to Bu though because she was already calculating her next move . TO BE CONTINUED…….