Ramsey. Pablo. Suvi.

All photos taken by Karin Newstrom Photography.  Check out her Facebook Page for some amazing pet photography!

On Friday, May 11th, Animal Planet made a visit to our house.  They spent the day filming all of us for an upcoming episode of Bad Dog!

Now, I know what some of you are thinking…who is the “bad dog”?  The fact is, each of the dogs have their moments.  Don’t get me wrong – none of them are truly bad, but they all get into their own little versions of trouble now and again.

Suvi.  What can I say about Suvi?  She’s a piece of work.  At not quite three years old, she’s the excitable little kid in our family.  Suvi  has so much energy and she hasn’t mastered the ability to harness it quite yet.  She occasionally likes to jump up on people or sneak a sloppy wet kiss on an unsuspecting  victim.  She’s also been known to play a little too rough with other dogs – not with Ramsey or Pablo though.  Ramsey has enough momma bear in her to put Suvi in her place if things get too physical and she obliges every single time.  Suvi is amazing with Pablo.  Pablo antagonizes her on a regular basis and she just looks at him like he’s crazy (which he is).

There isn’t an ounce of viciousness in this pit bull.  I truly believe that.  Suvi is a little rough around the edges and we work with her daily on this.  She’s made huge strides over the last year and there is nothing more amazing than seeing such progress in an animal that some view as a killer, but most of us know they only kill you with kindness.

Ramsey.  In all the videos, Ramsey appears to be the patient, angelic doberman who merely tolerates Pablo (and now Suvi).  Truth be told, Ramsey has her devilish side.  This includes, but is not limited to treat stealing.  There are times where I’ll give them all a treat, and Pablo may not quite be ready to eat it.  In these cases, he’ll hide it in his blanket and then go back to sleep.  Ramsey patiently waits for Pablo to start snoring and then she’ll gently use her ant eater-like snout to find the treat and steal it away from Pablo.  It can be comical to watch, yet there are times where I don’t see it happen.  This leads to Pablo waking up and spending a significant amount of time looking for his treat which is now halfway through Ramsey’s digestive tract.

And then there’s the whining.  When Ramsey feels as though she’s not the center of attention, she’s capable of entering into a fit of whining so epic, it must annoy the dead.   If you think this is cute, you clearly don’t own a doberman!  Okay, so I’m joking (kind of).  Sometimes we have fun with it, but usually it’s just plain annoying and she has a knack for doing it during your favorite television show.  Unbelievable.

And finally, we have Pablo.  Animal Planet decided he was the naughtiest of the bunch.  This is true.  He is.  Pablo walks around like he owns the place.  Much of this is my fault.  I’ll admit that.  But I’ve always struggled with the fine line that separates aggressiveness and simply just standing up for yourself.  You see, Pablo will growl and bark at Ramsey and Suvi if he feels as though they might be a threat to his hidden treat stash or if they get too close to him while they’re wrestling in the house.  Given Pablo’s size, I’ve afforded him a little more slack when it comes to this behavior.  He’s had his treats and toys stolen many times.  Over the years, he’s learned what he needs to do to keep this to a minimum, and since he’s never EVER come close to biting or nipping Ramsey or Suvi in anything other than a playful way, I let him do his thing.

But this isn’t Pablo’s only interesting habit.  Pablo has decided that he’s the resident watch dog.  When the door bell rings, his initial thought is KILL.  It’s my theory that Ramsey, Pablo and Suvi have actually discussed the perimeter protection hierarchy.  Pablo has accepted his roll as the bait.  He’ll lure the perpetrator in the house, but he won’t go down without a fight.  Should the unlucky suspect make it past Pablo (and I doubt that), they would likely rethink their decision after seeing Ramsey and Suvi – the epitome of “visual deterrents”.  Long story longer, Pablo is less-than-social until he feels comfortable around strangers.  This is also something we’re working on.

These traits, along with many other have affectionately given Pablo the title of “Bad Dog” according to Animal Planet and according to our household.  We all love him to death and I often refer to these quirks as “personality”.  Dog trainers would probably disagree, but our household operates in harmony and each of the dogs are well-loved and know their places amongst each other.

So look for Ramsey, Pablo, Suvi, Brandy and I on an eight minute segment in season two of Bad Dog! late summer or early fall.  Stay tuned for exact show times and dates.  I’ll post them when they’re official.