Introducing "Vex!"

Dan has been living on his farm since 1979. He's always had a boatload of dogs, as he bred American Pit Bull Terriers for work (farm, hunting), sport (weight pull, UKC obedience), and conformation shows (United Kennel Club, ADBA). Over the past ten years, or so, all of his APBTs have gone, with the exception of old Cowboy, who is pushing 14 or so right now. Cowboy was never a show dog, so he became a farm dog, who, with Toby, Bowser, and Luna would patrol his acreage and keep away predators.

Sadly, Toby got hit by a truck that had made an unauthorized entry onto the farm about eight years ago, and Bowser passed away from old age several years ago. That left Cowboy and Luna to protect the farm, a job that they were good at. But now, Luna is turning six (where does the time go?!) and Cowboy is just plain old. When Cowboy had be brought inside during the very cold weather, then again during our crushing summer heat, Dan made the decision to retire him as a farm dog, turning him into a house dog for however long he may live. It's an arrangement that suits Cowboy and Archie, Dan's Toy Fox Terrier, right down to the ground. Unfortunately, that left Luna by herself to patrol the entire 40-acre farm. So, Dan took it upon himself to find a puppy.

Enter Vex!

As much as Dan loves his APBTs, he decided that he didn't need a purebred dog--even a working line dog--to be a farm dog. He decided that he would look to local farms to find himself the perfect puppy for his needs: one that would grow to a medium size, that would be strong and independent, but could be trusted around his chickens and my quail, as well as Archie and the other small dogs. After several months of searching, he found a skinny little nine-week-old puppy that could almost pass for a Scott-style American Bulldog puppy, despite his mixed breed heritage.

It was love at first sight for both of them. Dan loved his coloration, his size ("look at those feet, Kim, wait till he grows into them!"), his fearlessness, and his attentiveness to the world around him. Dan has a knack for finding and raising intelligent dogs and Vex is proving to be no exception. Vex, for his part, recognized Dan as being someone who would be a strong leader, as well as an unlimited source for "cookies" and pets. Eventually, Vex will be an "indoor/outdoor" farm dog, unlike Luna, who hates coming inside, but he's strictly an indoor puppy right now, with outdoor privileges.

But What About Jealousy?!

It's never simple bringing a new puppy into a household, until it is. As I said before, Dan has a knack for finding intelligent dogs. Intelligent dogs generally make things easier, almost all around. When Cowboy had to be brought inside permanently (with outside potty privileges), you could practically see Archie shrug his shoulders and give the old boy his due. The house had been his sole domain for years and little was going to change, in his opinion. To Cowboy's credit, as long as he had a soft spot to rest his head, he wasn't about to make any challenges.

But what about Vex? Dogs are social climbers and Vex is a puppy who would seek to climb the social ladder as soon as he hit the ground at Dan's place. We knew that for a fact. There was a big crate set up in Dan's living room, with bedding and a puppy pad, plus food and water bowls, just in case Vex needed to be sequestered and gradually introduced to the pack.

There was little need to worry. With Archie in his crate and Cowboy on his bed in front of the wood heater, Dan put the puppy down on the couch so that I could take some pictures. Cowboy ignored the goings-on, perhaps thinking that the little rat would go away if he pretended not to see him. Archie wanted nothing more than to get out and see what "Dad" had sequestered on HIS COUCH. I don't think that when Dan asked him "do you want a little brother," that he quite pictured something like Vex. "Do you want" usually means something nice and tasty--not . . . this. Vex's response over the whole deal was just to go to sleep. He showed absolutely no signs of missing his eight siblings. He was home and he knew it to be true. All the good things were there.

Settling In

Vex has developed something of hero worship for Cowboy, who considers him to be little more than a nuisance. It's a bit sad, because Cowboy may not be too long in Vex's little life, but Cowboy is good and patient with the puppy and will be a good example to teach the up-and-coming farm dog some manners. When Vex isn't in his crate or on the couch with "Dad" or playing with Archie, he is usually sound asleep next to Cowboy on Cowboy's bed. It will be interesting to see what happens as Vex grows, and whether Cowboy will be as accepting of Vex when he takes up more space!

As to Archie, he's decided that Vex might not be as good as having, say, spoon lickies from blueberry cobbler batter, but he may almost be as good as the daily Milk Bone cookie from Auntie. Almost. Maybe. The tough part for Archie was learning to share his toys. Sharing Headless Santa and Ball was okay. He was sort of okay with sharing Red Foxie Toy and Brown Bear. He hid Headless Reindeer in the bathroom and knocked Vex over when he dared to try to play with Sock. Vex soon learned to leave Archie's sacrosanct Alligator alone.

But wrestling? Wrestling was a thing from Day Two, onward. The two boys wrestle several times, every day, for minutes at a time. (Note: Dan stops them when Vex gets too tired. Puppies can't withstand a lot of continuous, strenuous play. Archie, as an adult, doesn't have a puppy timer off switch, so he could get Vex to play too long.) They haven't started sleeping together yet, but if Dan gets a nap, Archie sleeps in his usual position and Vex has learned to hang out somewhere around Dan's knees. Life is good in Crickhollow/Bon Temps APBTs land.

What's Next?

Well, Vex isn't quite three months of age, still too young to learn much about his future duties. Even if he were a little older, the heat--often 94 degrees or so with 80%+ humidity--would keep Dan from having him outside for very long. As it stands right now, Vex knows his name. He knows the commands "floor," "crate," "come," and "sit." He's learned to go into his crate to sleep at night and for feeding. He's learning to go into the crate when Auntie comes over for supper. He's learning the command "out" for "let go." He knows praise words and correction words. For a puppy of his age, he's coming along quite well. Housebreaking is a hit or miss affair, but that's just a puppy thing. Once he gets more leash manners, he'll go outside as often as Cowboy does, to train his bladder and bowels.

Now that the garden requires less work in the morning and planting is at a standstill, Vex will get to go outside and get brief walks on the driveway and into the orchard. He will probably get out to the kennel building and past the raised beds, where he will be taught barrier and garden manners. He's got months to go before he can go around the place with Luna to learn her drill, heat notwithstanding. Once he's able to stay loose with her, he will probably be outside more than he will be inside, except for triple-digit hot, very cold, or very stormy days.

Vex is not going to be encouraged to be anyone's friend, save for mine and Dan's. He will be taught to accept certain visitors, including Dan's weekly farm helpers, but his job is to protect the farm. He may get some basic obedience training. If I feel up to it this fall, we might do some virtual Rally title work with the AKC to ensure that he has Things To Do, but he has a lot to learn already. So, WELCOME VEX! I hope that you will have a long and successful career at Crickhollow Farm.

I hope you've enjoyed reading about Dan's Good Boy. Only time will tell whether he will continue to be a Good Boy or grow into his name and be a vexatious boy. (If I were Dan, I'd change his name to "GoodBoySweetDog," but that's just me. Let me know what you think!)

If you like reading my stories, please consider subscribing--I'd love the company! Catch you next time!