First some background. I am the so-called "pack leader" of a pack of dogs. I have 6 dogs in total and they are all at different levels. Different ages, different needs, different personalities and basically as a pack leader I see to their needs as best I can and strive to keep and make them happy. I am aware of their quirks and issues and deal with each of them accordingly, I also make adjustments as needed for each of them. I observe their behavior and when necessary I reprimand, and equally dish out love in many forms. In the form of love, in the form of care, in the form of leadership. They all rely on me heavily for the most part. Because of their varying personalities, some do not submit to the others, but all... for the most part submit to me. I realize this may be a difficult concept to understand if you are not in my position, but this is my life, and I enjoy it on one hand immensely. There is much reward when my dogs are obedient and listen well... on the other hand, when they disobey or go astray it is frustrating and sometimes makes me wonder why I do this in the first place. It is fleeting I'll admit it, but I would be telling a story if I said I did not think it from time to time.
So let me introduce you to my pack, in order of joining my pack, not age:
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| Chase |
Chase -
Breed: Pomeranian (Old School: German Wolf Spitz)
Age: 12
Gender: Male
Method of Operation: Sweet disposition, very watchful and patient. Known for "Ninja Vanishing" at opportune moments. Opportunist, enjoys rolling in stinky things. Tolerates baths.
Pack Affiliation: Independent
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| Ocean |
Breed: Australian Shepherd
Age:estimated to be about 10 years (she's a rescue)
Gender: Female
Method of Operation: Sweet disposition, very watchful and impatient. Known for mistrust of strangers. "Guilty until proven innocent." Obedient, loyal, bossy. Enjoys being with people, loves being groomed, despises nail clipping sessions.
Pack Affiliation: Aussie Posse
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| Ty |
Breed: Australian Shepherd
Age: 7 years
Gender: Male
Method of Operation: Sweet disposition, very watchful and a little shy at times. Obedient when humans are around, disobedient (sometimes crazily) when humans are not around, loyal, dominant. Enjoys being with his people, loves being groomed but doesn't like his humans grooming others.
Pack Affiliation: Aussie Posse
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| Ronen |
Ronen-
Breed: Australian Shepherd
Age: 6 years
Gender: Male
Method of Operation: Son of Ty and Ocean. Sweet and sassy. Insanely watchful and terribly impatient. Known for mistrust of strangers. "Guilty until proven innocent." Obedient when convenient, disobedient when incovenient. Loyal, compliant (if you can catch him), fast, playful, sporty, LOVES swimming, loves hunting, loves activity. Enjoys being with people, enjoys being groomed, tolerates nail clipping sessions.
Pack Affiliation: Aussie Posse
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| Natsar |
Natsar-
Breed: Italian Maremma
Age: 5 years
Gender: Male
Method of Operation: Youngest pack member. Sweet disposition, very watchful and patient. Wary of strangers, but stand-offish, not confrontational. Independent. Enjoys being with people, enjoys being groomed.
Pack Affiliation: Independent
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| FSU |
Breed: Old English Bulldog
Age: 7 years
Gender: Male
Method of Operation: Sweet disposition, bossy and impatient. Known for being "too friendly" I mean entirely TOO friendly to strangers and often gets in trouble for being too forward with said strangers. Obedient when he wants to be, disobedient as it suits. Independent, fussy, whiny, emotional. Enjoys being with people, enjoys being groomed unless demodex wipes are involved.
Pack Affiliation: Independent
The Story
With those introductions out of the way here is the story. As of late my focus has been on my Aussie Posse, they don't tolerate change well. They will adjust but they take longer than most. They tend to protest their situation as it fits. I've been so consumed with dealing with issues within this "mini pack" that I had not noticed the independents growing increasingly restless. FSU shows his upset by choosing to not eat or just whining and complaining a lot. Natsar has been protesting by not returning to his "post" in the barn without me fussing at him about it. Chase has been "Ninja Vanishing" at every opportunity and rolling in things. We suspect that there must be a dog in the neighborhood that is in season for all these guys to start acting like fools like this, but there is no way to verify only we notice that our guys sort of go haywire for about 3 weeks, then all settles back to normal.
So this morning I let the dogs out of their kennels as our usual morning routine only I (I will take the total blame on this one) forgot my newest rule for Chase. He has been doing his disappearing act every chance he gets and so my new rule is that he goes out on leash OR he gets tied out. Well I was focusing on the Aussies and so I put Chase out without implementing my "safety" rule. When I let the last dog out I suddenly remembered that I had not followed through with my rule. A quick glance around the barnyard turned up no Golden Dog. I began to call him, and he did not respond. I jogged up to the kitchen door where my daughter was doing her chore of unloading the dishwasher and reloading it and let her know that we had a "Ninja Vanish" episode and that I could not find Chase anywhere. I went to the barn and called him, still no response. I wondered where he could be, of course if he was going potty possibly he could not respond right away. So I gave him a minute and went to feed the horses. Up by the horse area I had a new vantage point of the field, the place that Chase had previously snuck off to on a different adventure. I scanned the field and saw nothing. Now my daughter was on the scene, I sent her back to complete her chores and I took a hike up to the manure pile at the top of the hill, another place that Chase might venture. The Aussie Posse accompanied me, but I did not call out. Last time I did and Ronen hunted and found Chase for me. This time I wanted to catch Chase in the act. I wanted to find out what the boy was up to.
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| The last hill... |
So as I crested the last hill right before the manure pile I saw the Golden Dog come strolling out of the FOREST! What a lil' stinker! He had his tail up and was on a mission. He knew where he was going next (I didn't) but then he realized he wasn't alone when a quick scan revealed that myself and the rest of the dog pack were standing there observing him. Quickly his countenance fell as he realized he was BUSTED and in deep doo-doo (literally, in the manure pile, lol). I was quite upset, it always upsets me when Chase runs off. The other dogs don't normally do so, and IF they go out of eye shot they always bound back when I call, but they rarely go out of my eyesight which I am thankful for their obedience in this matter. But Chase... well Chase is another matter! I had calmed myself on my hike up the hill, but when I went to get Chase (I had no leash) I was going to pick him up and carry him to his kennel to let him KNOW that I was SERIOUSLY DISPLEASED with his decision to take himself on an excursion. If ONLY he could know the extreme and very real danger he puts himself in every time he takes one of his little jaunts through the woods. Just two days before he came back from the pond in the front with water up to his chest. I wonder what he was after, I wonder if he fell in. He is not a strong swimmer! Plus he is getting old and does not have the stamina he used to have in his youth! I worry about the possibility of him running into a Coyote, a stray dog, a Bob Cat, a Bear!!! I realize he can not comprehend these issues and my very real concerns for his safety but in any case I need him to understand that his behavior displeases me very much. When I picked him up he turned to bite me, I happened to have the horse feed scoop in my hands because I had walked straight up the hill just after feeding the horses and didn't want to forget the scoop as I would need it for the next feeding. So I had it in hand and was able to deflect his bite. He settled down, on the way down the hill I told him he was a bad and very naughty boy. I took him to his kennel and put him in and covered his kennel with a towel. A serious time-out! Our normal routine would consist of everyone coming upstairs to hang out with the fam, but not now, he would miss this socialization time. He wanted isolation... he was going to get it. Even though he is independent in his thinking, he still enjoys the company of others. Interaction is not a necessary event for all dogs, Chase is one of those.
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| Boundaries |
I breathed a prayer of thanks, once again, for us finding him safe and sound. All the events made me think about how God's relationship is with each one of us. We have no fences out here, and God certainly doesn't put up fences around us necessarily, but He does prepare boundaries. Lines we are not to cross. When we are in rebellion and we go our own way, we cross those lines and we are then subject to the coyotes, wolves, and bears, etc, in this case it would be considered to be demonic activity. We have a choice, if we CHOOSE to be obedient to God, he can offer safety and protection. If we CHOOSE to stay within the boundaries He lays out for us, we are safer than we would be on our own. Now we can walk in the woods, but we go together, there is safety in numbers and together we are safer. Anyhow, I appreciate the life lessons I get from my animals. I appreciate each of of my animals and family members and most of all I appreciate my Abba! I appreciate the rules, boundaries and guidelines. I only pray that I will always be found in favor with Him! :D
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