It is now just a little over a year since we got Zelda. Some of you may be aware the troubles and trials we had with her and to some extent are still having. She is however a joy and delight to own sometimes! She is fiercely loyal and loving, in fact I have not met dogs of another breed that have the same relationship with their people as Munsterlanders. She loves us so much that she needs pieces of our clothing to take into the garden to remember us by. She is especially fond of socks and underwear. She has developed into a long leggity beastie with the grace of a bull in a china shop when she sits on the sofa next to you but get her into a field and boy can she move with pace and elegance. If she wants your attention she yips and yodels until you give her your attention or tell her that she is too loud. She then throws herself onto her back and squirms at your feet.
She loves to hunt and she has a thing about birds of all types from wrens to herons. She is a thief and a destroyer of toilet rolls, sweet papers and she can unwrap a stolen toffee from its paper without the use of anything other than her teeth and tongue. She is also a troublemaker and a sneak because the toffee papers that she left from the small bag of sweets she stole were left, together with the bag, on the bed that Zeb mostly sleeps on.
She also is partial to roadkill rabbit skins and will sneakily grab one if it is on the path chew it to bits. Live rabbits are pointed and left on command now but my arms are longer than they were before we got her.
Which brings me nicely to the Six Months part of the post. Zeb has now been with us for six months and the effect that he has had on Zelda is remarkable. He has calmed her down and has always been a gentleman with her. There were shouts at first but within a couple of days she had made it clear that her bedroom was out of bounds but the food dishes could be shared. Dad was not to be shared and she still pushes him out of the way if she thinks he is getting too much attention. Since there are two of us as well she always looses th contest for attention seeking.
He is the most gently, clumsy but loving dog. He trusts us completely and will allow hands on anywhere including fishing stuck things out of his mouth. He cannot unwrap stolen toffees and has to have the papers untangled from his teeth. He can be a little scary if he has something he is fixated on which he sometimes does. He gets a toy or a chew that he takes to his bed and he will say this is mine to us, but Zelda can take anything from him, she distracts him and steals it when he isn't looking.. He is so pleased to see us if we have gone out of the room for a few minutes that he rumbles and wooo woos and thrusts his head into your hands to be cuddled then he munster rumbles contentedly.
He has calmed her down with his placid behaviour and shown he what a grown up should do, but she is in charge so when she challenges people she thinks are a risk to her dad he solidly moves into place to support her. Visitors are inspected by both of them and when they are accepted into the house, left alone apart from being hassled into cuddles.
We visited th vets together whe he had a weepy eye and I was a little concerned as to how he would behave with a total stranger in a strange place. The vet asked me how he would behave and I had to say that I had not an idea. He was an utter pleasure to take there in fact the vet commented on his behaviour after the consultation saying that he was one of the gentlest dogs he had ever met and was a real star. He only looked a little unsettlef when we read his chip with a big white thing that went near his head, but he just looked uncomfortable so got a cuddle and he relaxed.
The cats are hunted but are relaxing, sometimes they are chased but revenge happens. The chickens had to go because they were too much at risk from Zelda and Zeb looked as though he would join in the hunt but, after the year of one and six months of the other I can only look forward to the coming year with Zelda calming a little more and Zeb just being his gentle loving self.
It has been a change to our lives and these gentle and loving animals are a pleasure to be with.
