I have had my dog for a couple of years since I have picked him up as a ‘rescue animal’. The situation was that he didn’t suit his previous owners that well anymore, and I am glad and respectfully say they made the right choice by trying to find him a new home. It ain’t easy admitting that the situation isn’t working anymore, and that you need a member of the family to leave again. Because that is to me how it works with a dog, he becomes a member of the family.
So I have had the dog for a while now and since he is a crossbreed between a Bernese mountain dog and an Appenzeller mountain dog, it is always the question of what part of the genes you get in what kind of behavior. Bernese mountain dogs are known to not become that old, often they get issues like hip dysplasia or torsions of the stomach. You notice them getting older very fast. My dog is past the age now of what an average Bernese mountain dog becomes, and I hope he will tag along for a while. Looking at his behavior and how he moves in general, this shouldn’t be an issue. I guess from this perspective the Appenzeller mountain dog blood has taken over for him.
The fun part with this guy starts when the snow is out! He starts running around like a madman in the snow, and it seems he has no reserve at all anymore. Running, digging, fetching snowballs. It is all part of the deal and he goes all in. Time to take a gigantic lap outside for him to unleash some energy for the whole week.
The running around in absolutely no direction continues until I think this might be enough for him with his age. Not that he is that old, but I guess this is when you have like a labrador and with food. Labs don’t stop eating and can eat themselves to death. I guess with this one he can run, and dig and fool around until the next day he isn’t able to get up anymore.
The rumor is that more snow will be arriving here over the next couple of days, so let’s see what that will bring and how much walking that will add to the week. I am sure the dog doesn’t mind and would love it to be like this all winter. Also the temperature doesn’t seem to bother him at all, it seems like he is getting more energy out of it actually.
Let’s have winter this way for a bit more, shall we?!
