White Fluff Is Scary

The proceeding blog happened several weeks ago:

Bailey made a new friend, but she had to really try. On the way home from Emily and Lance's wedding, we stopped in Daytona to see some some of our friends. Not Daytona Beach, mind you, but Daytona. Past the world famous Cabbage Patch, out in the country. Literally. Their neighborhood is called "A Quiet Place in the Country." That's a little wordy, if you ask me, but the good folks of Daytona didn't request my help in naming the neighborhood. So, Bailey's getting her first visit to farm country.



Our friends,Beau* and Shelly, of A Quiet Place in the Country fame, have a 1 year old Vizsla named Coppitt (named after Big Coppitt Key in the Florida). Coppitt is large and in charge. Well, large at least. She's really a beautiful full grown specimen of her breed, and made little Bailey look tiny.

As Shelly came out to greet us, Coppit followed....until she saw Bailey. As soon as Bailey made her presence known, Coppitt put on the brakes like a 100 foot T-Rex had stepped into her driveway. As we learned in the blockbuster sensation Jurassic Park, T-Rex can't see you if you aren't moving. I'm assuming Coppitt's seen the movie, because she froze as if the white fluffy beast that is our Bailey wouldn't notice her if she was perfectly still. Of course, Bailey isn't a dinosaur, and both can smell and see, so she quickly ran over to Coppitt to play. Our little socialite was eager to make her first four legged friend. Coppitt, however, has some sort of anxiety disorder. She freaked out. Every time Bailey would come close, she would back away. At one point, as everyone laughed, she crawled into Shelly's lap to get away from Bailey. This went on for at least ten minutes. Bailey tried to get close to sniff Coppitt, and a shaking Coppitt would do whatever it took to avoid letting her get within licking distance.

One of the most endearing traits of Westies is that they are persistent (which, consequently is one of the most annoying traits as well, but we'll stick with endearing here). The more Coppitt ran away, the more Bailey insisted that they were to become friends. Eventually, Coppitt gave in. I can understand this, as it is my typical reaction. They started playing. Coppitt taught Bailey chase. Bailey taught Coppitt that she is never "it" by running under the car as a safe place.

They played and played. Coppitt taught Bailey all sorts of stuff. How to use the puppy door. How to run around the yard. How to push through the bushes. How to worry the people that you'll fall in the freezing water. Bailey repayed Coppitt for all of the lessons by stealing her toys and run under low objects so that Coppitt would bump her head.

It was great fun to watch them get more and more comfortable with each other. By the end of the play session, we were sure that they had bonded and will be friends for life. One of the things we really wanted was to have a social dog that we could take anywhere. This was one of the first signs that she was exactly what we wanted in that regard.

Coppit shows Bailey the pool (Shimene, get out of the picture).

*If you're in to fishing (or know someone who is), check out Beau's venture: My Fish. It's an angler assisted fisheries management site. It's a pretty neat effort towards conservation by sharing experiences with other anglers.