Administering the Ladybug Hug
By Jay Stoeckl, April 24, 2025
So… after Jennifer left on the Cherry Blossom Trip, I took on the puppy feed duties. The process is simple.
Let the puppies out.
Walk the puppies.
Clean puppy poop.
Put in fresh water and food.
Urge puppies back into kennel…
…Go find Ladybug.
In case you’re wondering, Ladybug is Jennifer’s pick from the Cherry Blossom Litter. She’s not for sale.
She’s all black except for a touch of white on her forehead and a splash of white on her chest. She also has silver sox on each of her four paws. (Socks are what people wear, sox are what puppies wear—in case you’re wondering).
Ladybug is one of those overly intelligent puppies who find it fun to evade the will of the adult. She had little interest in going in for feeding. It was much more fun to scramble out of reach beneath the deck or behind the fir tree.
While searching for Ladybug, I realized that the puppies, though down to five in number, were due for a larger play space.
Expanding the space makes the brood more likely to want to return for food and fresh water. If they like their space, they will want to be there.
Would this have a positive effect on the Ladybug chase?
Admittingly, the best of the group was Maggie’s singleton Paul Revere. For reasons none of us can fathom, Revere loves being close to his person more than the rest. During walks, Revere was the one who wanted my attention the most.
And he’s the one who stays near my steps as I walk.
This is Paul Revere.
He has the most striking gray eyes. And he’s gaining that wolfy look more and more with each passing day.
He is a quiet observer. And time after time, Revere would be the only puppy to follow me into the kennel when the food bucket went in.
What a good boy!
The rest I had to urge back in. I would walk up to one playing with a stick or pinecone, scoop him up, and place him inside the gate. One after another, I got most of them into the kennel space straight away.
But not Ladybug. I have to emphasize the word BUG in Ladybug!
My final task: I would go in search of Ladybug. She knew the game. She had no interest in my calling her. She had no interest in my petting her. And if given the chance, Ladybug would stay outside the whole night.
I would have to be disingenuous to catch her. And she thought she was more clever when she attempted to crawl beneath the deck to stay out of reach. I would find her back legs within reach and have to pull her out of her sanctuary hovel.
In my arms, I would pet Ladybug repeatedly, hoping she would find my affection enticing enough to come with me the next day. This is what I call the Ladybug Hug. And on the next day, did she come?
NNNNNOPE.
This was the Modus Operandi:
—Search for Ladybug.
—Find Ladybug.
—Grab Ladybug.
—Administer the Ladybug Hug.
—Place Ladybug back into kennel.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
But yesterday, I did this: I expanded their play space.
I decided that a larger play space would make them more content to be inside.
During this process, I let all the puppies play at will outside. OH, they loved that. Still, they were curious.
I dragged each of the panels into place. I twisted the butterfly nuts that clamped each panel. A few of the puppies watched as I adjusted them into their exact position.
Then came in the fresh water in the bucket.
Then came the food.
Paul Revere was the first one in. He volunteered.
Then I realized others became curious enough and they too volunteered to go in. I did not have to urge them. Things that are new are always in the highest regard!
I closed the gate and…
…you guessed it…
…went in search of Ladybug.
Ladybug was sure to be beneath the fir tree or scrambling out of site beneath the deck.
But there was NO LADYBUG!
Where did she go?
I went back to the kennel and began to count. There were five. The right count. And there in the middle of the cohort, Ladybug, with her silver sox, was playing and romping with the rest of them!
Ladybug had been among the first to go in!
What a good girl!
Problem solved.
IF you’re interested in any of the Cherry Blossom puppies including Paul Revere, Go to: https://direwolfdogs.com/dogs-for-sale/puppies/
Jennifer Stoeckl is the co-founder of the Dire Wolf Project, founder of the DireWolf Guardians American Dirus Dog Training Program, and owner/operator of DireWolf Dogs of Vallecito. She lives in the beautiful inland northwest among the Ponderosa pine forests with her pack of American Dirus dogs.
Ladybug
Paul Revere from the early America litter