The Pest and The Passive One

If you've been keeping up with "Living with a Dog Named Pest", you know that The Pest is only one of our two Rottweilers. The Pest IS a pest and his best buddy is The Passive One.

The Passive One is almost 4 years old, birthday greetings should be sent in September. The Pest however is just past his 1 year birthday. The Passive One is an adult. The Pest is still just a kid, a kid brother, the kind that wants whatever you are playing with, takes your toys and won't give them back. The kind of kid brother that does things just to get under your skin and make you upset. Teasing, poking, doing the annoying "I'm not touching you" thing. Pestering.

We own two of the most loved and prized orange rubber balls. That way each dog can have his own to play with. Yesterday afternoon The Passive One had his ball between his front paws laying on the floor like The Sphinx, relaxed and resting in front of the TV. The Pest, who avoids relaxing at all costs, rapidly chews his ball passing it noisily from cheek to cheek pacing and plotting something diabolical.

To my surprise, he doesn't just pounce. He's feeling wicked and so taunts his prey by swaggering over to stand right in the face The Passive One, like a western gunslinger calling him out into the street. He juts his chin forward and up making his eyes haughtily staring down his nose at his victim. Then he waves his head left to right teasing in a sing-song way "Lo-ok wha-at I've got". He pauses a second only to find that he is getting no reaction. The Passive One might as well yawn right in his face.

The Pest "harumphs" but is still unthwarted. He pokes the ball roughly into his pal's muzzle and gives it a good rub over the nose sassing daringly "You can't stop me! Neener-neener-neener". The Passive One answers the challenge with a roll of his eyes and loud exhale. The Pest hopes for a break-through and throws himself into the quest. He spits out his ball and pounces onto The Passive One, gnawing his forehead and repeatedly chomping on one ear after the other. Then in a playful frenzy, he whips himself around to attack his back, haunches and feet. At the height of his zeal his gives a thorough chomp down on the scruff of The Passive One's neck, and attemps to give it something resembling a shake.

The Pest is now standing over him facing toward the rear so The Passive One wears a canopy of The Pest's rear legs. Ying and Yang. The Pest is panting and grinning, boasting like a champion. The Passive One, meanwhile, silently edges one paw over and rolls the other orange ball smoothly under his chest. Now he has possession of both of the two orange balls. Above The Passive One's smiling face floats a smug cartoon bubble that says "Take that, little brother".