Pupper Plays

Our neighbor's 2-year-old black cocker spaniel, Ty, and Pupper have become the best of friends. They're an odd pair -- a 15-lb champion black cocker spaniel near-puppy and a geriatric 50-lb chocolate brown cockapoo -- but they have the best time romping together.

[A digression on Pupper's size: Yes, he is bigger than you expect for a cockapoo, but he is not fat. Since he's a stray, his species makeup is all just guesswork anyway. For a while after we got him, we were sure it was Sussex and not Cocker spaniel that gave him his decidedly spaniel (if decidedly larger than expected) look and build. Now, we're not sure. Perhaps the poodle in him (for, indeed, poodle there must be -- this dog has very thick curly hair) is standard and that was enough to make him as big as he is. Perhaps he's just a few generations out from his purebred ancestors. We'll never know, but I'm sick of cocker spaniel people calling my dog fat.]

Anyhoo, today Ty came over to ask Pupper to play and meet his new little brother, Snoopy, a 3-month-old parti-colored (tan and white) cocker spaniel puppy. Snoopy is adorable if a little skittish. Pupper loves other dogs, so he went full-bore to introduce himself to little Snoopy who got a little scared and started howling like he was being tortured -- I believe he even nipped at Pupper's nose. Even after his dad had picked him up, the poor little thing still sounded like his toenails were being ripped out one-by-one.

It took a couple of encounters and a couple of rescues (and some more nips at Pupper's nose) before Snoopy realized he was in no danger. Meanwhile, Pupper and Ty were enjoying every square inch of our back fields, running, marking, chasing, and generally behaving like dogs. I love seeing our dear Pupper enjoying himself with other dogs -- and the vet says the exercise is good for his joints.

Good for his joints, perhaps, but maybe trying to keep up with a 2-year-old was just a bit too much work. He hasn't really moved much since we brought him inside. Guess he's feeling his age this evening.