Wednesday, April 11, 2007

What Do Dogs Want???


Keisha The Wonder Dog
This is the burning question for all dog owners. According to the experts, dogs want--more than anything-- to be with other dogs. You would think then (if you were a dog) and your owners agreed to look after the neighbor's dog (whom you already know and have played with countless times, as well as stayed with them when we were away) that you would be happy, if not overjoyed that the easy-going Golden Retreiver next door was coming to stay at your house for four days of canine bliss.

Not so for Keisha.

Keish is a two-and-a-half year old Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever--a breed that was bred in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia for the specific purpose of luring ducks to shore for hunters. They are smart, funny, and quick to learn. Our dog is much more urbanized, and in fact, hates to swim! (But more about that later)

Anyhoo, if dogs can be in love, than the love of Keisha's life would be Hudson, the Golden Retriever who lives next door. A gentle giant, Hudson is agreeable, sweet and quiet. When Keisha sees Hudson out in the yard next door, she wants more than anything to be with him. When we went away to P.E.I. for a long weekend and Keisha stayed at Hudson's house, she was depressed for days after we got home, because she was away from her beloved Hudson.

You would make a logical assumption, then, that having Hudson over at our house would be the best present Keisha ever got.

Nope.

Our neighbors were going to be away for a few days, and we gladly said we'd love to look after Hudson for them. All of a sudden, our wonderful, loving and sweet dog became a little monster--prone to temper tantrums, whining, and upping the annoyance factor into the stratosphere. Every time we even talked to Hudson, let alone petted him, Keisha did her best to cause havoc. We tried to reassure her, but it made no difference. Keisha was jealous.

As for Hudson, he remained the stoic, brave dog that he is--putting up with Keisha's antics as much as he could. He never showed any aggression, but would merely retire to a safe place (like under the kitchen table) where he could have some quiet time.

Have you ever seen a female dog try to hump a male dog? I have. It's a pretty funny sight. We all hear that male dogs are prone to humping pretty much anything. To his credit, Hudson is a true gentleman. He never humped in our house. And when Keisha tried to hump him, he'd just sit down, and she'd slide off his back. (All the subtlety of a steam-roller, my dog...) Smart move, Huds.

Looking back now, I think I know why Keish was acting so crazy. When we first got her (she was a year old) she forged an immediate bond with my partner, Newt (the Alpha male), but was slow to warm up to me. She saw herself as the Alpha female, and didn't really care where I fit in! I had to assert myself over a long period of time to make it clear what the pecking order was in the house. I think when Hudson came into her territory, she went a little nuts because she didn't know where she stood anymore. Technically, Hudson out-ranked her, being bigger and being male. But she knew it was her house and she was next in line after me. If we were a dog pack, Hudson's presence here made HIM next in line after me-- not Keisha. She seemed to get used to it by Day 4, but that night, Hudson's owners were back and he had to go home. I miss the big guy!

All is back to normal now. Keish is back to her old self, and we're glad of it! I'm sure Hudson is lounging around next door, praying that his owners don't plan any trips in the near future...

1 comment:

Julia Phillips Smith said...

Sounds like an intense case of Pecking Order-itis. Amazing how annoying a Duck Toller can be. And I've only got a partial Duck Toller. But she's given me some grief when she's gotten her nose out of joint.