The House Guest 7/24/00

The House Guest

7/24/00
Copyright © 2001 Ray Hebert

Howdy All,

For the past two weeks Shaq and Shasta have had a house guest. Cheiko is a Golden Retriever who's family is moving to San Diego. They wanted to get their house all setup for him prior to his arrival. He left to fly down to San Diego on Monday. His family is the Subermarians (hope I didn't butcher it that bad).

Cheiko is three years old and very smart. He listens much better than Shaq or Shasta, and loves to retrieve as much as Shaq does, and enjoys a good ear scratch as much as Shasta.

Shaq and Shasta often have selective listening skills, Cheiko very much listened all the time. I think Shaq learned a bit from this. Shasta on the other hand is the Princes and knows she can just about get away with anything as long as she can make eye contact with those big, deep brown eyes.

Every morning we would wake up and go outside to play. Cheiko gets so excited about retrieving that he can hardly contain himself. His tail starts wagging, his skin starts shaking, he sort of does this half bark/half whimper of excitement, all the time his eyes are glued on you and the ball. Shaq on the other hand just sits there and glares at you until you throw the ball. He and Shaq would alternate retrieving the ball. Shasta was just interested in pets and was glad to have someone else chasing the ball for her. Which ever got the ball first (Shaq or Cheiko) would be chased around the yard by the other. If Shaq had the ball he would run at a lope to let Cheiko get close, then he would jump up the retaining wall to get away from him. This would infuriate Cheiko and he would go charging around the yard to catch up. If Cheiko had the ball, Shaq would run next to him then all of a sudden cut in front. Cheiko would make a sudden move to avoid him and most of the time drop the ball, at which time Shaq would scoop it up and off he would be running.

Shasta was not left out of the fun, even though she did not join in on most of the retrieving play. Shasta would goad Cheiko into chasing her in the middle of the day. This was usually done by walking over to Cheiko when he was sleeping and pawing his face. Cheiko would jump up and wrestle with Shasta. Both of them had a great time.

For the evenings entertainment, Cheiko would occasionally chase his tail. Shaq and Shasta thought this was very funny. They would sit and watch him go round and round. Other times he would goad Shaq into wrestling with him. This would start by jumping up and down in front of Shaq, then trying to paw him. At which time Shaq would jump up and grab his collar and then they would wrestle in the living room for a few minutes. One would get in a position of disadvantage then kick the other one and then spring up and start all over again. Shasta knew to get out of the way.

When Cheiko left Shaq was all concerned. He was outside when Cheiko jumped in his car to go to the airport. When I let Shaq and Shasta in the house, Shaq ran all over the house looking for Cheiko. He checked all the bed rooms twice (even looked under the bed), then ran down stairs and checked there, then re-checked the rooms then ran outside to see if he was out there. Once it was obvious his playmate was gone he came over for a long ear scratch. I went out and played with him and Shasta to get their minds off of Cheiko leaving.

In all it was a fun two weeks. Shaq and Shasta wish Cheiko all the best in his new home in San Diego. Shasta knows that her former family (the Burns') will be going over to check up on Cheiko from time to time.

Well that is the story of Shaq and Shasta's house guest. They all had a very good time, got along very well and played a lot. Cheiko learned to eat all his food at one sitting, otherwise Shaq would be more than happy to help out. Shasta shared her eating stand with Cheiko so that he didn't have to bend over to eat. They would both bury their noses in their food and not come up for air until it was all eaten. Most dogs are very protective of their eating space so it was interesting to see all three eating next to each other and not getting into fights or growling matches.

Both Shaq and Shasta have raised eating platforms that have a food dish and water dish, if you have a large dog we recommend it as it helps to reduce the stress on the neck and back from having to bend over to eat and drink. Best to get one that is a little lower than the dogs shoulder. Smaller breeds most likely don't need this assistance. Another bonus is it keeps food and water off the floor.

Hope everyone had as entertaining a time over the last couple of weeks as Shaq and Shasta, and their new friend Cheiko.

Cheers
Ray & Shaq & Shasta