Star

In Taffy's second litter, there was a little pup who always had her bright eyes fixed on us.  Peeking around the corner while other pups were playing, sitting at the back door and looking in while we were in the kitchen, joyfully scampering behind our son Jeremy as he walked through the group of puppies...  

We had decided that we would keep one from this litter, having given up a sweet pup in the first litter that we would have dearly loved to keep.  When the right family comes along, you can't hold on too tightly, and we let Wilma go with the Sidor family a year earlier.

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So we determined that one puppy from the litter would be staying, and Star seemed determined to be the one. 

Within her litter, she was fairly bold, and was a leader.  She would beg Remy to play with her, and they began a routine that the other pups would try to follow.  She was little and quick, and mischievous, and joyful.  As her siblings began to be spoken for, I would watch Star with the hopeful families, to see if I was missing the perfect placement for her.  Sue Wilmarth will probably remember coming to see Wisp, and I asked her to see how Star responded to her.  Wisp and Star were very similar in color and markings, but it was Wisp who loved Sue, and Star who was already firmly attached here.  

So Star stayed.  And a strange thing happened, as her siblings left one by one.  She became less bold, and more of a pup who was not comfortable outside of her own farm.  This is where I should have socialized her more, but we were at the tail end of puppy-time, and catching up on farm stuff...  So socializing outside of farm work fell by the wayside.

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Puppy class at 6 months, Star showed how wicked-smart she is.  And she was also intimidated by the bouncy puppies and the new warehouse facility.  We arrived early each week, so she could get her bearings before the Goldens and black labs and Yorkies arrived, and she began to show what she could do. 

Until one time, the teacher let her son bring a very young, bouncy and bold puppy.  Star was in her down-stay and I was walking away from her.  That bouncy puppy got away from it's young owner and bounded over to Star.  Confidence was broken, she was wary of that puppy's presence for the remaining 3 weeks of class, and although she was set to get her Canine Good Citizen award, we missed the last class because our son's school announced it was closing. 

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Star on a farm of her own could very well be a totally different dog.  She would be take-charge, but probably aloof with strangers.  She would know her job and be delighted to carry it out and receive the praise of her owner.  She would probably be Queen of all she surveys, like her mama is.   When it is just Star and me outside, doing chores together, she comes alive and is amazingly perceptive.  But let me describe what she is, here, in the shadow of her mother's authority.  She is joy.  She is always smiling.  Star can play the part of court jester very well, with her spark and mischief and endearing ways.  When she is lying on the living room floor after dinner, she will lazily roll onto her back and dangle one dainty white foot high in the air.  She has trained me to high-five her, although I'd like to think it was me who trained HER!  🙂

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When she plays with Remy, they are constantly in motion, constantly outsmarting or outrunning each other, competing with each other, constantly laughing. 

 

With family, Star is overjoyed to be with us.  The grandkids come to visit, and she is loving, calm, trying for kisses.  She sees Jeremy pull into the driveway and does not bark with the others, but stands with tail wagging and eyes sparkling because her boy is home.  At dinnertime, she will expertly determine who and how the best tidbits might be offered (or fall to the floor), and position herself accordingly.  Where Taffy will firmly place her chin on my leg and exert slightly more pressure as she is ignored, Star will simply look up with bright eyes and get what she wants...  Not always, but...the dogs do have us figured out.  Star knows who is family, and is wary of who is not.  Once you're in her inner circle, I don't think you can fall out of favor.

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On the flip side of that, Star is not the same as Taffy in groveling at the feet of guests.  She will be wary until new people are seated.  She may not choose to interact with new people at all.  If we have guests coming, Star will most likely be put in the bedroom until the initial flurry of greetings and excitement is over, and then will tentatively come out to greet seated guests.

 

When her puppies were here a year ago, I did not always try to bring Star out, because so many visitors in a steady stream, day after day, was stressing her out.  (This year may be the same, but I will attempt to let every puppy family meet the mama of their puppy).

 

Star is a loyal homebody, a dog who likes routine.  She has a gentler touch than Taffy when it comes to moving the animals.  She is more likely to be startled by something moving in an unpredictable manner, than Remy might be.  

 

This one story comes to mind.  The dogs had found a possum in a woodpile, near the chicken coop.  Taffy was in charge, as always.  Remy was the muscle, as always, waiting to see if his help was needed.  Star was the junior ES on the scene, taking it all in and analyzing.  Taffy did not move fast enough, Star saw her opening, and it was the underdog STAR who darted in and grabbed the possum out of the woodpile.  The dogs were keen on doing their job, but I called them off and the possum went free.  Star surprised me that night, by taking initiative even while her mother stood right there as the foreman.

 
In 2021, Star began her time as mom of her first litter, much like I hoped.  There was one time when Taffy was found in the whelping box with Star's pups.  Star became hesitant.  Another time, Taffy was due with her own puppies but peeked around the corner to see why Star's pups were crying.  Star did not try to stand up to her mother for much longer.  Although Taffy was not allowed to nurse Star's babies until weeks later when both litters romped outside together, Star's confidence was shaken by her mother's unspoken but pointed "ownership of all puppies".   The 2022 litter was different, and Star's motherhood of those puppies was protected and nurtured.