Not all dogs like puppies, and it’s not hard to tell why. Puppies lack manners. They nip. They jump. They have seemingly endless piles of energy. Ask anyone with a puppy and they’ll tell you that nothing is more difficult than training a new one. What makes us humans think that grown dogs would feel any less irritated?
Pot Roast, however, loves puppies and is wildly tolerant of them. So when my parents got a new French Bulldog puppy named Brass Knuckles (Knuckles for short…I kid you not) we knew we had to get them together for a visit.
My parents were nervous. Pot Roast has such big jaws! Pot Roast might not like him! Pot Roast might get jealous! Pot Roast might protect food and toys!
Instead, what happened over the few days my husband and I visited was an endless parade of cuteness. While Knuckles jumped in the air to bite at Roast’s face, the bigger dog would just turn away and look at us like, “Who does he think he is?” When Knuckles stole a toy or treat, Roast let him. And at night, when they crawled into bed together and shared a famed “Bully Pile” of sleeping pooch, it was the stuff adorable dreams are made of.
It’s been fun watching my parents experience the stubbornness of a bully breed, and also seeing the dogs interact under close supervision. Knuckles follows Pot Roast like an aimless little brother looking up to the big one.
“Does he bully run?” I asked my mom from the couch as the fur boys sniffed around the backyard.
“What do you mean?”
And just like magic, the dogs took off.
If you own a bully breed, then you know what I’m talking about. It’s the Hucklebutt. The Bully Run. The tail-under-foot-scramble of mania that bursts through the living room and around the backyard like little bats out of hell. Pot Roast and Knuckles scurried around like Tasmanian devil duos of destruction, tearing up grass, knocking over plants, tripping themselves and rolling to a stop.
Owning a dog, a puppy especially, isn’t always fun. But it’s moments like the Hucklebutt that make it all worthwhile. And above all, are good for a hearty laugh.