Kisses from Griffin is like deja vu all over again

Griffin is the only Rottweiler I ever had who gave me as many kisses as Ruffin. Most of the time the kisses are just little gestures of love. Like these.

 

 

But quite often those kisses are not as gentle. I wrote today on my Facebook page:

I have just been attacked by a psychopathic kissing Rott. I did nothing to instigate this. This animal is the strongest and stealthiest attacker I have ever encountered. I was sitting at the computer when he comes into my den with his crazy girlfriend and the next thing I know he has a foot in my lap. Within a second he is on top of me and I am having great difficulty laughing and trying to take his picture at the same time. Then he almost broke my eyeglasses in the crush. The photos aren't the greatest but they show the quick sequence of events.

 

 

 

 

Bedroom battles.
Bess has become a finicky friend. She makes me wonder if she ever really wanted to sleep on my bed when Ruff was alive. I used to keep the bedroom door closed after we went to bed so Ruff couldn't wander around the house and maybe get hurt. Now that Griffin sleeps on my bed every night I keep the door open and Bess has decided to sleep on the couch. 

This morning when I woke up Griff was sleeping at the foot of the bed and Bess came in and jumped up on the bed and laid down by my pillow. Griff didn't like anyone laying in one of his spots so he stood up and came over and laid down on top of Bess and effectively shoved her out of the way. Bess then went to the foot of the bed and took up her usual spot before we got Griffin.

And Bess is enjoying her new friend very much. She spends hours playing with Griffin both indoors and outside. She hasn't run around this much in years.

 

The coincidental timeline between Ruffin and Griffin

All Rottweilers share similar qualities but each has a distinctly different personality. I know this for a fact having lived with so many for over 20 years.

More than a few people who have known Ruffin all his life and especially several long-time followers of this blog have commented to me how much Griffin reminds them of Ruff.

Ruffin and I had a special bond between us ever since the day I picked him up from his whelping box and brought him home. I am one of those dog people who always talks to my dogs and Ruffin and I had many conversations every day of his life. I can tell you that he was a great listener. I used to call him my Best Friend Forever, my BFF, and I knew he understood what I said. Not a day went by where we didn't share dozens of hugs and kisses. I used to get so many slobbering kisses from Ruff that I started telling people I had acquired Rottweiler DNA. We had a bond between us that made us seem inseparable. Until those few times we were when one of us was sick. In Ruff's 11 years of life we each had two hospital stays.

Something strange happened when Ruff died. For two souls that were so bonded together, I did not feel the depth of sorrow when he died like I did for the other Rottweilers who died before him. Then a few weeks later I began to understand why. I did not feel the sadness because Ruff had not gone too far away. Something was keeping him here. Then I started piecing together the timelines.

The Pawsitive Warriors of New Carlisle, Ohio Rescue Group told me last night that Griffin (Bruno) was surrendered to them for adoption on August 22^nd the day before Ruffin died. Griffin wasn't abandoned or mistreated, he was raised in a loving home. He was surrendered to the rescue group by the adult children who thought he was getting too big for their Grandmother.

After Ruff lost his eyesight he became even closer to me than he was before. We would share dozens of hugs and kisses every day just so he could recharge his batteries. I am certain that when I went into the hospital he thought his world was coming to an end but he must have known I would be coming back to him. The day I came home he seemed to have come back to life. He was so filled with joy to have more hugs and kisses from me.

The timeline looks a lot more coincidental when all the dates are placed together.

On August 19th, two days after I went into the hospital, the babysitter told me that Ruffin had stopped eating and wouldn't come out of the bedroom.
On August 21st, two days before Ruff died, I came home from the hospital. 
On August 22nd Griffin (Bruno), a 15-month old intact male Rottweiler, was surrendered to the adoption group. Just a side note but Ruffin was still intact when he was the same age. On the same day Ruffin became sick again.
On August 23rd at 5:45 AM Ruffin died in his sleep. I stayed next to his side that night and laid down on a mattress on the floor next to him to keep him company and let him know I was there.

The day after I got home I took Ruff in to see our Vet and I asked her if Ruff was going to die. She told me that he would tell me when. I know Ruff must have realized it was his time but he managed to hold on until he found me a replacement.

I think my big puppy Griffin loves me

It seems strange to refer to a 115 lb Rottweiler as a puppy but being only 16-months old that is exactly what Griffin is. In every way his behavior is the same as a puppy. He leaps around Bessie is shear joy as he tries to get her to play with him. And he always wants to climb on to my lap whenever he can.

Griffin is strong and energetic and sneaky. He will cozy up to me and casually place his paw on my knee and the next thing I know he has elevated himself and placed both paws on my lap. If I am sitting on the furniture in the family room this isn't anything to be concerned with but on any other chair in the house, in the kitchen or in my den, I worry he collapse it or knock it over. So I have to be wary of his initial overtures.

Once Griff has gotten both paws on my lap it is fairly easy for him to raise himself up and place his paws over my shoulders. Once he has me pinned he begins to lick my face. And there has been only one other Rottweiler that has ever done this to me before, my BFF Ruffin, who passed away a month ago. All of which gives me an eerie feeling because Griffin was turned over to a rescue group only a day or so after Ruff died.

So this is what happened last night. Yes, these photos were staged. The first time Griff did this I diodn't have the camera set up. So I set it up on the remote and got Griff to climb in my lap again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Restarting an old family tradition.

The power of Peanut Butter. Its almost like medicine.

I haven't done this in the last few years but every time we came to the end of the peanut butter I would use a spatula and scoop out the last dregs from the jar and let the Rottweilers lick it off. I decided to introduce our newest family member Griffin to check his reaction. But ladies go first.

 

 

 

 

 

The last time we did this was back in July 2015 when we had Bess, Axl and Ruffin.

Griffin's new adventures

We've had two more days of rain here and at times it was coming down faster than the ground could soak it up. The sidewalk you see in this earlier photo was covered with a 2-inch deep puddle of water. Griffin ran outside in the rain to find a pee spot and stopped in the middle of the puddle with a curious look on his face when he noticed the water he was standing in. And then he went happily on his way splashing through it.

Just watched my first new TV program for the Fall season and Bess and Griff followed me into the TV room. Bess climbed up on the couch and laid down next to me but Griff kept walking around exploring. It was then that I realized I hadn't turned on the TV in the 3 weeks since Griff arrived and he had never been in that room before. He was very curious and went about touching his nose to everything especially the floor speakers. Then he laid down in front of me and watched the TV before falling asleep.

Before I turned off the computer to go watch TV I found my two companions sound asleep in my den.

An old friend quietly joined us in bed during the night.
I found this at 7:50 AM when I got out of bed. I was aware that Griffin had been sleeping toward the bottom of the bed so when Bessie came into the bedroom during the night she found plenty of space on the bed. What amazed me was she got on the bed so quietly it didn't wake me up.

Bessie and Griffin are making progress playing tugs. It only took 3 weeks for the two of them to get the idea how to play with the tugger I bought. Up until now Griff didn't seem to know he had to pull on it when Bessie offered it to him. I don't think he ever played with another dog before. Bessie has been doing her part trying to get him to play. She offers the toy to entice him to take it. I was lucky to capture this one effort because later on Griff didn't seem to know what to do.

 

Never underestimate the power of bacon

I don't often use the slang "OMG" but a few minutes ago I did.
 
I just observed THE POWER OF BACON.

Since Griffin arrived here 19 days ago he has been introduced to a whole different kind of life that he had before. New sights, new sounds, new smells and new tastes. Today was another first. The smell of Bacon.

I decided to cook a couple of slices of bacon in the microwave to make a sandwich for lunch. Griff and Bess always follow me to the kitchen and enjoy some dog treats while I eat lunch. But when the bacon was finished cooking Griffin started acting really crazy. Jumping up on me and jumping up on the countertop and trying frantically to grab the paper towels that I wrapped the bacon in from my hands. This was a first for me, too. I have never seen any of my Rottweilers act this way over the smell of bacon. And, yes, I gave him a piece of my grilled Swiss Cheese and Bacon sandwich.

A bedtime story

Meet the morning crew.

Yesterday was a big day. I have been promising myself for almost 2 years that I was going to buy a new mattress for my bed and I finally did. I found just what I wanted, an extra firm orthopedic mattress, at The Original Mattress Factory, made locally in Cincinnati. Matter of fact, the mattress was manufactured the day before it was delivered. So after all the excitement of watching the delivery everyone was anxious to help check it out.

Griffin spent the entire night sleeping next to me but Bessie jumped off my bed as soon as Griffin climbed on it. She slept in the family room all night either in her crate or on the couch.

Sometime between 7 and 8 AM this morning Bess decided to join us. You could imagine the results since I was sound asleep. For me, this was a bit too early to be rudely awakened. The time on the alarm clock says I took these photos at 8:05 AM and now I need to take a nap.

 

 

 

 

 

Something wonderful arrived in the mail

Found this wonderful letter in my mailbox yesterday.

Someone who has been quietly following my Living With Rottweilers blog for the past 10 years took the time to look up my postal address and write me a letter that I will always treasure.

I don't know your name but I want to say to you how much your letter touched my heart. I posted photos of your letter on my Facebook page because I wanted to share your wonderful comments. Many followers on my Facebook account commented how much they liked it.

Click the image for a larger view

Rosie Ann DeLuna - Carpenter
You never know who's heart you are going to reach. That's a great letter.

Amy Valentini
That makes all those blog posts so worth it, Nelson. I know how it feels because sometimes you think you're just talking to the wind. You're not and this is proof.

Kelly Looney
This is so precious

Theresa Howard
Told you it needs to be in a book

Carey Smith
Oh wow! That’s really special. I would treasure it too!

Deloris Gonzales
That letter is totally awesome Nelson. I just love it.

Dawn Anderson
What a wonderful gift of an unexpected "atta boy" and little bit of kindness in a hard, hard world. God bless the heart behind these words.

Angela Lee
I like the sentence: "I am not the only crazy rottweiler person out there!" Precisely how I felt when I 1st came across your blog all those years ago before I came to be a part of the FB madness! And all the rottie families.. Totally concur!

Bette High
Beautiful and heart felt letter which indicates how positively you have affected the lives of those you have touched over the years. Regrettably, I was late to the party but having found you, I understand completely the sentiment shared. Thanks for being you!

Trials and tribulations. Part 3

Wish I could post the video here that I uploaded to Facebook this morning. For one thing, it might make this post easier to understand. This morning Bess and Griff had a some rough house play in the family room. I caught it on video. Then a little while later I wrote.

Suddenly the quiet has become deafening.

One thought leads to another. I had to get up and see what was going on because it has become so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Griffin is sound asleep in the foyer and Bess is quietly resting outside my den. She has a look on her face that makes me think that proverbial light bulb just went off over her head. As if to read her thoughts, "Now I know what Ruffin wanted. He raised me to have NO FEAR. I am invincible."

 

Trials and tribulations, Part 2

Morning report from the front.
Truce declared, all is quiet.

I think I may have entertained the thought at one time or another that I always wanted to hear the pitter-patter of little feet around the house. Last night I got what I asked for in droves. The wild and overly enthusiastic play outside that I've written about, made its way indoors last night. While it works well on a wide-open grassy lawn it does not work well in a room full of furniture. Happy to report that Bessie held her own against the younger, bigger and stronger baby boy. She has some spunk for a girl. 

It got so rough that I had to bring Griffin into my den and close the door. Also good to report no one got hurt and nothing got busted.

Trials and tribulations

Late last night there was an attempt to overthrow the Queen. At least the attempt was aimed at her throne. I don't know if the this was a silent coup or not because I was watching a movie on Amazon Prime using my headphones and did not hear any commotion. When I walked into the family room to check on Bess and Griff I discovered the stuffed brown dog bed that Bessie uses had been hit by a bomb and the foam pellets scattered all over the floor. Needless to say I was not pleased at this wanton act of destruction and made my feeling known to all. Mr. Griffin had a muzzle put on him until bedtime but since we never go to bed feeling angry we are still friends. I didn't think to take any photos.

Tonight I thought I saw some improvement. My big baby Rottweiler is slowly revealing his history. Poor Griffin came into this house and acted like he never ran around and played with another dog before. He knows what play is, he gets so excited outside with Bessie that he leaps all around her but she isn't into the rough stuff like boys are. I bought a bunch of toys when he arrived and one was a long tugging toy for two dogs to play with. And finally, tonight I saw Bess and Griff playing with it. When it looked like Griff was going to overpower her, she ran into her crate with the toy and Griff didn't know what to do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All about love

Bessie becomes the Queen.

I have yet to capture the full extent of our young and powerful adopted Rottweiler boy as he leaps (literally leaps) with joy around the very pretty Rottie girl he found living in his forever home. 

In plain language Griffin has been acting like a clown to get the attention of a girl.

But the pretty girl happens to be the future Queen of his new home. And she must learn to wield the power of her throne as she is doing in these photos today.

 

 

Fear not, they still love each other very much.