Posted on 02/23/2005 7:00:44 PM PST by SweetCaroline
Max is our dog. He is a cream-colored miniature poodle, one of a breed that is believed to be high on the canine intelligence scale. We consider ourselves fairly intelligent, too, so we often enhance our efforts at communicating with Max.
At times it appears that Max is trying hard to communicate with us as well. This occurs mostly when there is something specific he wants but his human housemates are just not comprehending his request. The scenario goes something like this:
Max approaches one of us, stares us straight in the eye, and waits. We usually begin with the basics like "Do you want to go out?" and wait for confirmation. Silence. We look around and sniff the air, wondering if there is some tasty morsel in the vicinity that we have forgotten about. Nothing. He couldn't be hungry or thirsty because his food and water bowls are full.
In the face of human ignorance, Max tries to help out. He barks once and waits, keeping his eyes glued to ours. We take a closer look at him to see if something hurts. I run my hands over his warm, furry body to search for sensitive spots, and his eyes widen in wonder. Another bark.
"What is it, Max?" we ask in frustration. Now a sequence of barks. And we are still none the wiser.
"Show us what you want," we plead. Max stands resolutely on all fours, head at attention, and stares some more. His tail is not wagging. We rattle the box containing his favorite treats. He gives it a millisecond's quick, careless glance, then looks back at us.
"What is it, Max?" we ask again with mounting distress. Why can't canines learn to speak? Max is certain of what he is trying to tell us. And we sincerely want to understand. But the human/canine twain are not meeting.
Finally another dog trespasses on our front yard and Max speeds off to defend his territory. We all enjoy a temporary reprieve from the canine guessing game.
There are times when the previous situation is reversed. Like many dog owners, we had visions of our companion going out each day, tail wagging, to fetch the morning paper and deliver it to us. (The evening slippers would be nice, too, but we knew that was pushing it.)
I began by showing Max the folded paper and trying to put it in his mouth. He lifted his floppy ears to 45-degree angles and stared at me with rapt attention. I threw the paper, hoping that would stimulate some instinctive retrieval response. Max looked at the paper, then at me, in what appeared to be amusement. I showed him how I pick up the paper and bring it to the kitchen table, while enthusiastically calling "Fetch!"
"So what?" his expression seemed to say.
After several more tries, with and without tasty bribes, I admitted defeat and left Max to wonder about the strange behavior of humans.
Despite our frequent communication flaws, sometimes we are definitely on the same wavelength. Max knows instantly when one of us is sad or worried. He sits close by, offering the intermittent lick or cold nose poke, both of which never fail to comfort us. He is equally good at sharing joy - jumping and running exuberantly alongside us as we walk along the beach or in the woods.
And then, without any need for explanation - we are connected.
A child psychologist acquaintance of mine was contemplating a career switch to dog psychologist. "Don't bother," said his vet. "We can never really know how dogs think."
Slowly but surely I resign myself to the fact that Max (or any dog) and I (or any human) often do not understand each other. But it doesn't really matter. Trust and companionship do not require mutual comprehension. Joy and love and loyalty can be shared in our clueless states. It works between dog and man. Maybe it could even work among humans?
I figured you would have already checked. GOD bless ya' for taking him in. My shepherd's ears produce a whole lot of nasty wax and need very regular cleaning; luckily, they've never given him problems, but they do require considerable attention...
Congrats on your new family member! Homer is a great name for a dog of "depth". I thought pups were in your future (you said that last summer)...but you've got something more here.
Yeah - no pups now.... if you dawdle long enough around here, any pet vacancies seem to fill themselves. We got ecurbh's horse and Homer instead.
We have a horse at the barn who had very severe ear infections a long time ago - but he STILL doesn't like his ears handled. We have a special clip release on the left side of his headstall so that we can unclip the bit and let it drop out of his mouth. Then you unbuckle everything else and wait until he drops his head to signal that he's ready - then swiftly run your right hand under the reins and the top of the headstall and he backs out of the bridle. He has to do it on his terms.
I had to braid this boy for a hunt (for my daughter, she is learning how but her braids still look lumpy) - it literally took me two hours. Instead of braiding head to shoulders I braided him backwards, gradually working up towards his head. By the time I finally braided the last braid just behind his ears and his forelock, he was totally bored and had realized that I wasn't going to hurt him. Now he lets me scratch his head just behind his ears - I haven't tried scratching his ears yet because it would probably undo all my good work - but next time I braid him up I'll give it a go.
Have you tried gradually stroking around his ears and giving him his favorite treats at the same time? I wonder if he might not have had an episode like this horse - a bad infection that is gone but he still remembers the pain?
In that picture of Homer above, he wouldn't look at the camera... even in day time, if I pose him and try to take his picture, he turns his face away because he thinks it's going to flash.
Untranslated: Bark Bark Bark Bark Bark Bark
Translated Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey.
He's gotten better about it.... we can now cup your hand over the whole ear and rub, the way labs like, if you do it careful. He doesn't enjoy it, he gets this worried look on his face and looks right at me, but he'll tolerate it. We can pet over the outside of the ear in stroking his whole head. But if we grab the ear flap at all (when I grabbed it the first time, it was to rub-flop his ears the way my old lab used to like) he cries out and recoils.
I knew when Tonya did this she wanted me to tell her which of her numerous toy's, piled in her bed or tucked in a special place, that I wanted her to get so we could play. She new the name of each one and exactly where it was.
All you can do with a pet with a "history" is be extra nice to them to try to make it up . . .
We haven't had him fully vetted. My horse vet looked him over briefly soon after Homer showed up here. We wormed him because I could see tapeworm segments coming out of him, but we haven't had him in for shots yet. I don't panic about shots in older dogs as much as we would a puppy. We don't have any rabies or distemper around here to speak of, and if he hadn't already had shots in his life he wouldn't have made it to 3 months old without Parvovirus vaccine. Adult dogs don't get it.
Our vet budget needed a break after the winter teeth and sheath appointment for the horses. We'll take him in when Gidget is due for shots this spring.
Shelley has been an expensive dog this year, what with the snake bite, tearing her side open on the agility field, and then a nasty tummy bug (which thankfully is on the mend - I never thought I would rejoice so much over a Normal Bowel Movement . . . < roll eyes > ). When our vet walked in the examining room, she led with "We've got to stop meeting like this!" All I could say was Amen. And the cats have had their fair share - my big Siamese male had to have all his remaining molars pulled due to gingivitis and gum infections, it's given him a new lease on life, he even plays with the kitten and stares down the dog - but OMG the bill!
My vet has a brand new toy - a fiber optic scope to look inside the ears. Shelley has the usual recurrent Lab ear crud . . . and the vet gave me a tour of her ears, it was neat - full color and the resolution is so good that you can see every little detail of the ear, including the eardrum. I'm sure if there were scarring in there from an old infection, the camera would pick it up.
Protected the family well. Would not let another man in the house if I was gone. Would not let anyone out of their car if the kids were home alone.
Had a wonderful philosophy of life - If I can't eat it or screw it, pi$$ on it.
I had a lab that would do this, even if it was my husbands best friend who lived right nextdoor. If my husband was home when he came over he and the dog would play and ruff house, if my husband wasn't home he would stand between us.
Couldn't do anything if we wanted to with him around!
Thanks, cute story and observations. My German shorthair Sparky does the same thing. My first question also is "do you want to go out?" I will not ask if he is hungry....HE;S ALWAYS hungry!!
But especialy now since he is 14 1/2 I wonder if he is feeling bad or if it is old age. I thank God everyday for him. I know God has given Sparky a good long life and a mommy who loves him dearly.
I have lots to do and do not get all of it done because I really want to be with Sparky in his last days.
Thanks, cute story and observations. My German shorthair Sparky does the same thing. My first question also is "do you want to go out?" I will not ask if he is hungry....HE;S ALWAYS hungry!!
But especialy now since he is 14 1/2 I wonder if he is feeling bad or if it is old age. I thank God everyday for him. I know God has given Sparky a good long life and a mommy who loves him dearly.
I have lots to do and do not get all of it done because I really want to be with Sparky in his last days.
I have lots to do and do not get all of it done because I really want to be with Sparky in his last days.
....enjoy him while you have him, just do the things that are necessary.
Don't expect to come home by yourself! :)
YEA, I know, that's why I'm putting it off. Gonna cost money to make an area for potty, cause we landscaped in all trees and rock.
Well, congrats on Homer...oh, yeah, and your other big news today too!
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