Archive for the ‘golden retriever’ Category
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I spent the weekend with five dogs all in one house - my parents’ golden and springer, my grandpa and uncle’s two cairns and my mutt. And don’t forget about the cat, always a good sport. Five dogs in one house is pretty common for my family, but it’s too chaotic for me to want that many dogs of my own. I admire those of you who do it (you know who you are … Cindy, Lora, Marie …). With this particular “pack,” each dog has his or her own quirks. The springer loves all attention, good or bad. She wags her tail if she is being scolded. The golden wants to be at someone’s side at all times - she sometimes throws temper tantrums if she is separated. One cairn is easily distracted. There’s no stopping her if she decides to bark for no apparent reason. The other cairn keeps his owner in site at all times, never wandering too far, except for maybe a cat! And then there’s my mutt, flinging drool and concentrating on his toy of choice, most recently a rubber ring. It takes a lot to manage a group of dogs. Anything could turn into a scuffle, although we had none. But it did seem like whenever the cairns were finally quiet, one of the bigger dogs would start in by barking at a neighbor. Or if my mutt wasn’t drooling on someone’s pants or puking up water, the springer was whining to get outside to search for moles or the golden was prancing around with a stolen towel or shoe. During those rare moments when all five dogs were resting, the cat would sneak by to investigate or purposely tease or even bat a sleeping dog in the face. There was rarely a dull moment! But we managed “the pack” by setting rules as well as possible. No lunging at food bowls or the door. Lots of positive reinforcement, walks and of course, play time. How do you manage your “pack?” (My uncle took the photo of my mom and I with the dogs. Notice the drool covering Ace’s nose!)
I am amazed that more schools, hospitals and nursing homes do not allow pets to visit. Such visits can be so beneficial for everyone. My mother was one of the lucky ones in that regard. While living out her last days in a nursing home with terminal breast cancer, she had several four-legged visitors. Our dogs were allowed to visit at this particular nursing home, something I will always be grateful for. Our entourage of pets made their grand entrances! Not all at once, mind you. We were careful to always have just one furry friend visitor at a time. Mother’s cairn terrier Mandi made numerous visits. Being somewhat “high energy” she never really quite felt at ease in this unfamiliar setting. She usually made her presence known upon entrance with a few barks as if to say, “Here I am.” My brother’s cairn Radar probably visited most often simply because by having a very “laid back” personality, he was the most well behaved. He made himself right at home each time and took it upon himself to make friends with as many residents, workers and visitors as he could. My daughter’s mutt Ace also made an appearance all the way from North Dakota (Yes, the same Ace regularly written about on this blog). He is a big, leggy, lovable, black-labbish looking sort of mutt. His only fault is he drools a lot, but even that is not his fault! In fact, it almost makes him more lovable. One of my dogs, Sophie, also made one visit. My other dog would have been just too nervous - you have to respect a dog’s limitations, or maybe in this case it was more my own limitations! Sophie is a springer spaniel with a wonderful, happy disposition. She has the ability to make you feel better by just looking at her. She never quite felt comfortable in that strange room with far too many worrisome smells and sounds. But, she was her usual cheerful self and at least made me feel better with that wagging tail and “smiling” face. We did get our share of looks and even a few scowls (although very few) whenever one of us visited with a dog in tow. Undoubtedly, their presence was far more for our benefit than it was for mother’s. She was pretty much ambivalent toward everything by this time. Still, this little bit of normalcy in such an abnormal situation felt very comforting. Pets, especially dogs in my opinion, can be so therapeutic not only to the terminally ill, but also to the nurses, aides and miscellaneous people in such facilities. I have also read about dogs who attend schools. In one particular instance, dogs came in every day and sat with children while the children practiced reading out loud to them. These children were having difficulty reading and when reading to a dog, there would be no pressure, just a warm body and an accepting audience with no judging! This is such a simple idea that can have amazing results. All it takes is an open mind and some flexible, patient teachers and administrators. Of course, obviously you have to bring in even-tempered, well-socialized, trained dogs who would not be threatening to a child. I truly hope that canine visits some day become commonplace. Who knows what the results could be!
What do you think? Is a dog’s barking sometimes a sign of jealousy? Is that the case with Amigo? I think dogs do get jealous. When I’m playing games with my cats or talking to them, my mutt Ace is always watching. He usually comes over and tries to get my attention away from the felines. He will also bark or cry if he is separated from the rest of us, like if he is put in his kennel or is purposely put in another room. But this has more to do with his longing to be with the pack than actually feeling jealous. Whether Amigo is jealous or not, it sounds like he is trying to control the situation and demand attention. Perhaps he has learned that he gets attention when he barks. Maybe he is protective of one or more members of the family, and most likely he thinks he is in charge. It’s probably cute at this point but could be really annoying or lead to a more serious issue. If it is a problem, it could be corrected easily by making him lie down and wait for a given amount of time. Enforcing more rules with him in general will also help. When my boyfriend Josh and I are play fighting, Ace will bark and try to get in between us. It’s not because he is jealous, it is because he gets anxious by our energy and tries to control the situation. What do you think? Is a dog’s barking ever a sign of jealousy? Email your dog-related question to me at Lindsay@thatmutt.com, and I’ll post it for others to answer. Click here to read all my weekly question posts. (Image is from Roxy’s Reign Ends, a whole blog about a jealous dog.)
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