A random thought that we had one day as we worked was: he's not a rottweiler.
Rufus is the exact opposite of our many beloved Rottweilers. Here's a few fun examples, in no particular order:
1.
He eats a LOT less food!
When it was just Apollo, he would eat a huge bag of food in about 3 1/2 weeks. Many years ago we had two rottweilers and a black lab, three big dogs. I can't even remember how often we had to buy dog food. Rufus gets about 3/4C twice per day. His large bag of food lasts 6 weeks.
2.
People want to pet him when we take him on outings.
Most people would shy away or walk on the other side of the street when we took our rotties out in public. Just the opposite with this little guy. Kids and grown ups alike want to give him hugs and pats on the head.
3.
He gets our attention in a different manner.
Apollo, our
large huge 140 pound Rottweiler, would gently lay his head on our lap when he wanted our attention. Rufus, our much smaller 20 pound Schnauzer mix, gets our attention by
ramming his nose into our legs! Sometimes he does it when I'm not expecting it. I get the feeling I may just end up with a bruise if he rams me one more time...
4.
He won't run out of play toys for awhile.
Apollo had only a few toys, a tennis ball and two large chew toys. Rufus really likes the squeaky toys and he has a big tub full of them at the house and more at the shop. We even have some out of sight so we can switch them up from time to time.
 |
| they all have squeakers in them :-) |
5.
He doesn't shed!
I had to vacuum the entire house once a week just to keep up with maintaining a decently clean floor when we had our rotties. The white tile in the kitchen consistently showed a layer of dark dog hair around the edges. Although I still vacuum the same, the canister now has hardly any dog hair in it after my vacuuming session.
6.
He's small enough to carry.
Ever try carrying a 140 pound dog?? It's such a delight to be able to pick him up when needed or simply to give him a hug and kiss. He likes to lay on the couch or in our laps at the end of a busy day. The big dogs weren't allowed on the couch because they'd take up enough room for two people.
7.
He has a way of entertaining us during the work day.
Apollo came to the shop with us often. He would usually nap while we worked, although he did occasionally chase after a ball if we threw it for him. Rufus is constantly doing something funny and makes us laugh, which is a great way to pass the time away. He'll bring us his tennis ball (yes, it squeaks too) so we can throw it across the shop. He'll run after it, sliding on the slick cement floor at the end of his run to avoid hitting anything in his path.
8.
He crawls around, in and on top of the craziest things.
Apollo was too big to fit in some of the places where Rufus goes, like under the tables (yes, he really does this). There's about a 6" gap at the bottom and he'll chase his ball under there to retrieve it. Again, he's quite entertaining. He also likes to take a break and chew on his toys while laying on the lower level of our carts. It's never a dull moment with Rufus around!
 |
| he decided this looked like a good resting spot... for about 5 minutes |
We're happy we have Rufus in our family. He can be stubborn at times, but he makes up for it with his cuteness and his fun loving personality!
