This story actually comes from my brother.
When Strider was a pup, I was bartending at a local restaurant. One of my weekly shifts was Sunday day, and my brother volunteered to watch the big man for a little while so that he wouldn't spend the entire 7 hours alone. It's funny that more people are so willing to help when there's a puppy involved. That's not to say that I don't have a great network of friends and family to watch him when I need it, but people literally volunteered when he was a baby.
He was six months old, which in dog terms means that he was coming into his "terrible twos." This is a big transition period for puppies. They're getting to the age that they still move like puppies, but have an adult body structure, which makes for some very awkward moments. It's also when they figure out that they can reach things that they weren't able to reach before.
Strider has always been a drinker. I don't know why, and I've never seen anything like it. I was told by my vet that this could lead to a condition known as bloat, which is life threatening and would have to be treated with immediate surgery. Even to this day, his water is regulated more than your average dog, which usually just has a bowl of water sitting around for unrestrained use.
When Malik came to watch the pup, I let him know that when he was ready to leave, he could just put him in the kennel and to make sure that he didn't drink too much water. I went to work knowing that he was in good hands and was surprised to see my brother show up a couple of hours later.
He told me that he had been sitting in the living room watching a basketball game when he heard a strange noise coming from the kitchen. He muted the television and recognized the sound of running water from a sink faucet, and found it kind of spooky since he was the only person in the house…except for Strider.
Malik got up from the recliner and went into the kitchen to see what was going on, but was not expecting what he saw when he got there. That puppy waltzed himself into the kitchen and jumped up onto my 4 foot counter (which is quite a feat for a six month old puppy). He somehow figured out how to flip the handle on, and was drinking from it like a water fountain; his snout underneath the faucet and long tongue trying to bring the running water into his mouth. There is a dual sink in the kitchen and he had his front two feet in the left sink while the faucet was hanging over the right, and is two back feet on the counter in the laydown position. He took no notice of Malik, who immediately shot into a grin and said, "Hey!"
Strider stopped drinking and, not realizing that he was really doing anything wrong, looked at my brother with that cocked sideways look that puppies give when they're caught doing something they're not supposed to be doing, and went back to drinking the running water. After standing in awe for a few seconds, Malik realized that maybe he should stop my puppy from doing such a thing, and picked him up from out of the sink after giving him a firm "No!"
Oddly enough, he never did it after that. There are behaviors that I've had to repeatedly get him to stop doing before he finally got the idea that it's not okay. For example, to this day he will, without fail, sprint through the back door after a walk and stick his entire head into the large trash can that we keep on our porch (ironically enough, to keep away from him), and rummage for whatever scraps he may be able to find in the half second that it takes me to walk in the back door and find him. When the bag is low, he will be digging so deep into it that his front paws will be off the ground so that he is supporting his weight on his neck. He's always had a mind of his own. I'm pretty sure it was the second week I had him when he fell asleep on his bed under the pool table and I sat in the big chair in my living room that has a full leg extension ottoman. A half hour later, I heard a picking sound coming from the ground. I glanced down to see a little black face coming up over the side of the ottoman to join me on the chair. Sitting up, I saw that he had dug his little nails into fabric on the side of it and was pulling himself up like a wall-climber; with all four of his paws dug in and clinging for dear life. A single puppy cry let me know that he needed some help, so I picked him up and he finished his nap on my chest…which is where he still sleeps nowadays; all 95 pounds of him.
I've never found him coming even remotely close to doing anything like he did when he drank out of the sink. Before that, he had never shown any interest in it and nor has he since. Whatever got into his head that day has never come back. There's never a dull moment with puppies.
Until next time, give scratches behind the ears and happy training!!
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