Tibbe, who turned 11 on August 30th., is feeling is oats lately, too, even though by rights he's an old dog. He's always after me to let him outside lately even though it's not even cool, energizing fall weather yet here in Dallas area yet. He seems to constantly be 'on' lately, full of 'piss 'n vinegar' as my grandmother used to say, always looking for trouble! Yesterday, I tossed a treat into his hardshell airline crate that sits in the den between a sofa & the wall, his sanctuary, where he goes for naps and to chill anytime he wants. Well, the treat ricocheted off the crate & went under the sofa because of the ruckus that erupted. Tibbe literally lost his wig over that treat, digging at the pad in the base of his crate, turning it out, going all over it and then back in the crate going at the walls of it with his toenails!!! Total terrier reaction to anything they feel should be theirs that they've missed out on or has eluded them. He'd huff back out, rage at me and then go back in, little butt sticking out, tail erect, while he worked like a madman on the plastic hull of his crate. You could hear this awful commotion coming from the end of the sofa and it went on and on.
I mistakenly then directed him underneath the sofa out of desperation, thinking maybe the treat had ended up just under the edge of it, he'd find it and it would all be over. Next 5 minutes he was worrying the sofa silly, sniffing, pawing, digging,running back and forth huffing, chirping, making those throat sounds he makes & giving me nasty looks as if I caused this until I couldn't take it anymore. Got the flashlight and a yardstick, got down, found the treat half way under the sofa and swatted it toward just under the front edge and backed off, letting him go again.
He pounced on and swallowed that treat in a heartbeat and gave me an expectant look! That's his favorite game - go digging, find something, go again! So,silly me, though I've had 30 years of terriers now in my life, thought it was over. But he was enjoying himself so much, he was back digging at this crate sides AND at the sofa edges, trying to PRODUCE another treat until I couldn't take it anymore, got up and put another treat under the crate pad for him to 'find'. One second later he'd gulped it and back for more! Finally, after a 3rd treat made its way into the crate for him to 'find', I had to tell him 'enough'. It took 3 'enoughs'. By then, he is 11 years old now, he realized he was tired I guess cause he gave me another dirty look, went into his sanctuary, curled up, took a nap. These terriers!
