It's funny how we can ignore certain problems until it is almost to late to do anything about it.. This is a fact that my now semi famous black Lab Spazz discovered the hard way recently as he learned to deal with the arrival of a new puppy in our house.

Red, the puppy is a female who most resembles a canine version of the energizer bunny with an attention deficit disorder or maybe Brittainy Spears on speed. Even her eyes are in constant motion and she even wags her tail in short hyperactive bursts. I can almost hear her speaking as she stops briefly to look around the room. (pant, pant pant...okay ran around the room twice, bit everything, what do I do now ...is that a bug......whats that smelll, gotta bite something...whats that oh a bug....run some more bite something rufruffruffruffruffruffruffruff, run run run bit bite..bite...gotta bite something...oohh a bug " you get the idea. The puppy became fond of nipping at Spazz's anatomy as he slept

He had learned to ignore the puppy's annoying tendency to playfully nip at you with her needle sharp puppy teeth....  After one brief look at me seeming to beg for permission to bite just one of her ears off with is intense brown eyes he sighed and much like an older brother rolled his eyes at the puppy and rolled over to complete his nap.

For whatever reason that day she was particularly active that day nipping at his tail as he slept. He ignored her rolluing his doggy eyes She then nipped at his back and he rolled his eyes again and rolled over to continue napping.  Spazz so named for his childhood tendency for constant motion has mellowed over the years and felt that at the mature five years of age he was simply to old and worldly for such childish antics. When the puppy continued in her circling him, this time nipping at the thick skin on his neck he looked at me again, "Come on let bite off one of her toes, a little one," when permission was not forthcoming he yet again he rolled his eyes and rolled over to continue his nap.

Next time around she nipped at Spazz's ears and in spite of his annoyance, he rolled his eyes and again ignored her again.

As you may know the aforementioned Spazz was narrowly saved from being fixed by household budget problems and his own dog Jedi mind powers. The mental cries of  "Dude don't do it and thse aren't the jewels you are looking for " still echo in my mind.

Spazz, like most guys is perhaps understandably sensitive about certain parts of his anatomy. As Spazz lay there ignoring her she nipped him again this time at one of his front feet and then at the fleshy part of his furry chest and again he ignored her and turned over to complete his nap. She reminds me a bit of a Siamese cat my family had as a child. She had been raised with two dogs and thought she was one, right up to the point of trying to bark at strangers when they approached the house.  The puppy nipped at his belly ...He again made a decided effort to ignore her ....gritting his teeth a little this time. A lot like siblings their is jealously between the two dogs  and Spazz looked up at me again seeming to ask for credit in not biting part of his little sisters anatomy off an then suddenly stood up and growled at her with such intensity and anger that for a second I was genuinely worried that, as he is a much bigger and stronger dog, he was finally going to bite part of her off. It seems that Red was biting her way around he body and Spazz ignored her until he was hot by the epiphany that his most treasured and sensitive part of his body was indeed next on her biting list and none of his Jedi dog powers would help him. "Spazzmo," I yelled using his full name much in the way a parent would when their "child." It was tense for a moment then Spazz sighed again keeping an eye on Red as he turned away. For her part Red stood there tilting her head from side to side like pop star at a grammy award show staring at a malfunctioning teleprompter...and then dashed off to chase a bug or bite somethign that did not bite back.

"What...what...is that a bug...gotta bite something ..play play play ...is that a bug....she seemed to say as she trotted off"

Neither dog has really changed in that brief time period of time since that episode but Spazz no longer ignores her. He has learned like many of us have that when you ignore a problem it usually gets worse until you get up and do something about it.