Sterling and Opal
By Lynzie Baldwin

     Just to note, this is Sterling's diary, not mine, so any annoyance is me speaking is HIS voice. Because he does get annoyed with Opal from time to time. And she thinks Sterling is nutty about some stuff too. They're so funny. And such a joy.

     That's Opal and me. We're both Casa de Rats Rat Terriers. We're both AMAZING dogs! We're actually second cousins. But we're polar opposites. In a good way ... but it's interesting. Now, I'm not just talking about the fact that I'm a stunning pearl tri rattie with hauntingly beautiful eyes, and Opal is a lovely jet black tri rat with pitch black eyes. I mean we're really different. Mom says she couldn't be happier, because we're both such wonderful dogs, and we complement each other SO well. But really, Opal and I operate in different realities, even though we're practically inseparable.

Focus: I am INTENSE. I take the concept of a one-track mind to the next level. For instance, if I'm playing with something and loving it, but it's not a Mom-approved play-item, she'll take it and replace it with either a toy I love or a super-great treat. So what? I want that chunk of concrete. If I can smell the object of my desire, I will stand stock-still, pointing at it, for upwards of 45 minutes. I cannot be distracted. I know what I want, and I will not be dissuaded. It's mine. Give it to me now.

     Opal on the other hand is so easy going. If Mom catches her chewing on, say, the boxwood hedge in the front yard, Mom can pick Opal up, tell her "no" and put her down somewhere else in the yard and Opal WON'T GO BACK to the boxwood. Look, I don't chew on hedges myself, but I don't get it! Opal's just like, "Oh, okay. I'll just find something else to do. Thanks for the tip, Mom!"

Obedience: Opal and I are both headstrong and very "alpha" with other dogs, but we react very differently to human authority. Opal believes in obedience at all times. She only has to be told "no" once. Ever. And anyone she's been properly introduced to can work any command with her (any command she knows, anyway). We are alike, however, in that neither of us "do" strangers. We don't want anything to do with strangers unless Mom introduces us to them ... and strangers may NOT enter the house unless Mom opens the door and lets them in. You should have seen the look on the face of the guy who replaced the hot water heater recently. He was dumb enough to waltz through the door unannounced and unaccompanied by Mom. That guy sure as heck thought two smallish dogs were about to rip him a new one until Mom called us off. He he!
I do NOT believe in obeying humankind. I obey one person and one person only. My Mom. Well, and Grandma if she sounds mad. Sometimes. But generally, I don't "do" obedience. I only obey an alpha higher than myself, and the only alpha in my world is my mom. The truth is though, that we have such a close bond that Mom never really had to train me. Sure she explained or demonstrated the meanings of different "commands" like sit, stay, wait, stop and the like to me. But mostly Mom just talks to me. And I generally understand what she wants or means. It's probably more about body-language and word recognition than language, but people comment all the time about how it looks like Mom and I have actual conversations. But leave me with anyone other than my Mom and you WON'T have an obedient pup on your hands. I won't "come." I won't "sit." I won't get "down." Screw you. Get off your lame homosapien duff and go get my Mom! Bring her back and bring her back now! Then and only then will I do as asked.

Food: Opal believes in eating regularly. I'm usually too busy to eat, unless Mom removes all distractions and gives me something with sweet potatoes, chicken and broccoli mixed into it. Just chicken won't do it. Just broccoli or sweet potatoes won't do it. It MUST be all three. That is of course unless it’s my birthday!!! I’ll tell you about that later in this article. Opal, however, eats 4 squares a day (puppies eat pretty often, you know). She knows when mealtime is and even looks forward to it. Weirdo.

Toys:  I have lots of stuffed toys. If they're furry and have squeakers, they're my friends. I LOVE my toys. I play with them a LOT. But I never, never shred my toys. Ever! The only way I've ever killed a toy is by wearing out the squeaker in it.

     Opal has toy issues, though ... let me tell you. She can and WILL destroy a stuffed toy in about 2 minutes flat. Her goal is to unstuff anything that's stuffed. Mom had to give Opal her own toy basket filled with hard rubber toys, balls, and heavy duty rope-type things. The little wack-job isn't allowed anywhere near MY toy basket, which overfloweth with fluffy, squeaky delights. I told Opal to stay the heck away from my stuff. And Mom let me handle this bit of discipline myself. Luckily, Opal got the message and sticks to her own stuff. Well, and it can't hurt that I always put my toys away after playing with them. And that's another thing! The little brat leaves her stuff strewn all over the house! We're dogs, not pigs!

Intelligence: Opal and I are both really, REALLY smart. Mom says the difference is that I'm scary-smart and Opal is easy-smart. We both got house-training really quickly. And Opal is smart enough to learn most commands from watching me and seeing that I get either a treat or lots of praise for performing Mom's desired behaviors. But Opal doesn't get into anything! When I was her age, I was busy opening Mom's dresser drawers and rearranging her socks. By the time I was 6 months old I had mastered the refrigerator door. Opal doesn't do anything like that. She just learns stuff Mom asks her to learn. Oh well, guess I'll have to keep covering the innovation end of intelligence around here.  Just pointin' stuff out, and now its time for my birthday story but my mom will tell that one.
Sterling

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     So, Sterling turned a big 1 year old on June 6th! It was a big event around here ... we had a little party (silly maybe, but lots of fun). Most of Sterling's human friends turned out, and Opal and Ruby (my brother's Pharaoh Hound) were there too!

     Of course, I made Sterling a cake ... which was totally dog-friendly ... and all the dogs LOVED it. Mainly, it consisted of rolled oats, peanut butter, honey, and shredded carrots. I "iced" the cake with low-fat cottage cheese. It was pretty cute. :)

     One of the pictures is of Sterling "blowing out" the candles on his cake. Well, not really ... I blew out the candles for him ... he's actually tasting the cake. ;)
 

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