Poor Chester doesn’t know he isn’t a little dog.  He’s taken to sleeping in what once was Buddy’s bed.  It’s maybe 26″ across.  He squishes himself into it and will stay there for hours.  I found this out a couple of weeks ago when I was carrying the bed home in the back of my sister’s car intending to have it at the house in Enfield for Bud to snooze in.  Chester was in the car for a couple of hours sleeping in that bed.  He normally has the whole back of my hatchback but thought this was much cozier.

Young dogs always learn a lot from the older dogs around them, unfortunately for Chester (or me) he’s only been around Miniature Schnauzers.  He doesn’t understand why Sophie and Buddy can sit in our laps and he can’t.  On the occasion when someone has picked him up his tail wags like it’s one of the most momentous occasions of his life.  You know he’s been feeling neglected because the little dogs get that snuggle time and he doesn’t.  Every morning he gets onto the loveseat where I’m sitting, drinking my coffee, and leans against me.  It’s sort of a hug.  Mind you I also have at least one other dog sitting in my lap, usually Sophie. It’s cute but he’s large and doesn’t realize it.  He thinks he’s doing what he’s supposed to do.

He and Sophie have become fast friends.  It took over a year for her to warm up to him but in the past few months they have started to play – a lot.  There is nothing funnier that watching them go at it.  When Sophie is on her hind legs  she comes up to his shoulder.  They play tug of war or just wrestle around on the floor.  Chester knows all the tricks to get her to let go of the toy.  He just realized that if he can find the squeaker she will let go – she hates any toy with a squeaker.

All in all it’s fun having a dog with size confusion issues.  He makes me laugh every day.  Most of my dogs have made me laugh intentionally but I think Chester just thinks he’s being a normal little dog.