Cassi Creek Dogs seem
to have their own set of operational rules that vary from dog to dog and must
be taught to them in puppy school.
Our previous
dog, Shelly, had several games she seemed to have invented. The most unique behavior involved a toy frog,
which she would throw into the pool. The
frog would travel around as the filters pulled water. At some point defined only in a dog’s brain,
she would trot around the pool and grab the frog. Then, she’d drop it into the pool for another
circuit.
She also felt
compelled to stick her head between fence pickets and metalwork.
Tova was
compelled to bark incessantly for no apparent reason.
Loki, current
resident dog, fights a never-ending battle with the squirrels over possession
of the platform bird feeder. The
squirrels are allowed to be on the deck floor, on the uprights and rails, and
on the ground beneath the platform feeder.
Loki will watch them and do nothing that threatens a squirrel. The minute one lays a paw on the feeder, she changes
from guard to attack mode. She begins
,muttering and growling, goes to the door, and waits for us to open the door so
that she can chase the rodents away and pursue them. It seems to require about four pursuit cycles
before the squirrels give up for the morning or afternoon. Loki will play this game, with her own
defined limits until she’s worn out or until the rodents give up for the day.
We’ve made
attempts to modify her game. When she
enters pursuit mode, she will leap after her targets. Only the need to choose between multiple
targets running in multiple directions has kept her from catching one of them. If there are squirrels at the foot of the
deck stairs, we can get her to the door but her game changes and she merely
walks out to the stairs, looks at the running rodents and then at us before
turning and reentering the house.
Dog rules
seem never to be the same from dog to dog.
Your dog’s rules may be as unique as ours.
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