Ranaldi Way of Life

Turns out, this crazy pup that was too unruly and anxious to be kept by his previous owners, too stressed and overwhelmed to handle the atmosphere in a shelter, SO overstimulated that he needed to be medicated…turns out, he is none of those things.

In fact, he has over the last week been slowly weaned off his medication and doing better with each day that passes. We are impressed with each situation we expect to have difficulty with, yet when it presents itself he performs with flying colors.  

For example, the other day was the first time Sherman while out in the back yard saw me and the kids walk down to the car, load up and then drive out of the driveway.  Eric happened to be in the house still, but I dont know if dogs are smart enough to count people or “sense” that they were not truly alone.  Either way he eagerly watched us drive away.  I texted Eric when we got to our destination and he said that Sherman didn’t even circle the yard once, he walked right over to the other pups and laid down in a happy little ball and began snoring.  Good dog. 🙂

The other night I sat in bed, computer on my lap, Sherman curled up on top of my legs.  My two year old began screaming because she had a nightmare. Daddy went running in to check on her and before I had a chance to grab his collar; Sherman followed.  I couldn’t see where he was at and didn’t want him getting into anything in the kitchen or living room so I whistled and called him by name.  I could hear his collar jingling and knew he was within hearing range.  I could hear Daddy talking softly to the baby and her crying began to quiet down and eventually I didn’t hear her fussing anymore.  That’s when I heard the tapping of his feet coming down the hall and he lept up onto the bed, tail wagging furiously.

Eric came in behind him and told me that Sherman was in the girls bedroom with him and was nose to nose with the baby crib wanting to know if she was ok. He continued to sniff and stay right on top of Eric and baby until she stopped crying and he had laid her back in bed.  That was when he finally responded to my whistles and calls and came running back in…. Good boy.

TODAY.  Peytne wanted something to do while her sister was at school and her brother was spending time with Mema and Papa. I suggested to Eric we let her go in the back yard with the dogs and see if Sherman jumps up on her like he does to our 8 year old son.  I was happily impressed that although he was very excited and his front feet came off the ground a time or two, he managed to not actually touch her or knock her over.  He was very gentle.

And as the afternoon progressed they played with each other and followed one another around the yard.  She played fetch with him all by herself and he was so sweet and gentle with her. He didnt seem to want to go very far from her and also seemed to know that he couldnt play tug of war or get excited with the game of fetch with her the way he sometimes does.

Good boy Sherman.