Ivy Takes Care by Rosemary Wells

Author:Rosemary Wells [Wells, Rosemary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6363-6
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Published: 2013-09-03T04:00:00+00:00

Inca was happy to drink his water after his big run. Contented, Inca curled up in his cage with his pillow without once putting his teeth into it.

“That’s enough for today,” said Mr. Burgess. “We’ll leave him here in my room and let him howl while we go to the big house and eat. He’ll learn that yowling gets him exactly nowhere.”

In the morning, Ivy played tug-of-rope with Inca, so he knew to play with the right toys and not chew up anything belonging to people.

Ivy could hear Mr. Burgess’s screen door squeak open at six a.m., much earlier than any of the other ranch guests. He fed Inca outdoors and kept him out until he relieved himself so he didn’t mess the house.

“The dog’s master or mistress is in charge of what goes in and what comes out and when,” Mr. Burgess explained to Ivy. Every time Inca was about to relieve himself, Mr. Burgess said the word go very loud. Then he praised Inca when he got it right. The first day was a Monday. By Wednesday, after hearing go! so many times, Inca got the picture. Go! was a clear command. He did not once mess up the house.

“All this eating and drinking and going to the bathroom outdoors!” said Ivy.

“That’s the way,” said Mr. Burgess. “It’s a day’s work training a dog, and you have to be as fair as a nun on a hockey field.”

It was Billy Joe who took Inca for his big run every afternoon. It was Ivy who did the obedience training. She learned to loop a choke-chain collar the right way so it didn’t hurt Inca’s throat and taught Inca the command heel so he’d walk nicely at her side and not pull.

Ivy pushed down Inca’s backside and taught him to sit, each time giving him a tiny bit of dried liver, which in Inca’s mind seemed to be the snack food of the gods. When Inca got it right, she smoothed his soft red ears between her fingers and told him what a good boy he was.

“Oh, I wish you were mine!” Ivy whispered to him, but she knew there would be no expensive German shepherd show dogs in her future.

Ivy didn’t give Inca too much to remember at once. Heel was easy. Sit took a few days, because Inca’s tail was so waggy and he sat on top of it while it was going like a windmill, and then he’d fall over and bite his own tail to get it to stop.

Everyone in the guest lounge at the Red Star Ranch laughed at this, but Mr. Burgess held up his hand.

“No, please,” he said, “dogs hate to be laughed at, so you’ll just have to chuckle into your root beer so he can’t hear you.”

Mr. Burgess showed Ivy how to make Inca lie down by putting the treat between his sitting front feet and giving it to him only when he lay down. Down! was hard. Inca was a big, squirmy puppy, and when Ivy pushed him down, he rolled over and kissed her.

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