Pet owners love to talk about their pets. The eyes of non-pet-owners tend to glaze over when they do. But our dog
is really interesting. No, really. Intelligent, aggressive, frightening and eccentric to the point of freakishness,
but never boring.
People with "normal" dogs may not understand what its like to have a sketchy beast in
one's home. If your ankle biter really bites, people are likely to say "Isn't Fluffy cute?" while wiping the blood
off their feet. Even if you have a big dog, its more likely to be a hulking, slobbery 100lbs of love than a dangerous
timber wolf. But that's where Fido comes from.
"Alpha" dogs in any litter tend to be the most intelligent and assertive.
Nature makes them that way so that they might someday wisely lead a healthy and well-fed pack. Sometimes they
make great working or guarding dogs. Sometimes they don't make easy or possibly even safe pets.
Trying to socialize an aggressive dog is quite literally a matter of life and death.
If someone is bitten, the owners may be sued or forced to have the dog put down. A lot of alpha or aggressive dogs
are euthanized anyway. Sometimes this is because their owners weren't willing to put in the effort, or because they
were worried that the dog might really hurt someone. If you're responsible at all, you can't simply take it back or
farm your problem pooch out to somebody else. Some pet owners consider it a matter of responsibility; "You got the
dog, you raised her, its up to you to try to see her through." It's a tough moral dilemma. Hope you are never faced
with it.
My sister and brother-in-law decided to try the tough route. They've read books,
talked to vets, bought expensive training equipment and gone through some sleepless nights. They bear anxiety
and frustration and sometimes a little bit of social ostracism in their community for Holly.
Why do they bother? She's a hoot! She's really the smartest, funniest dog any of
us have ever met.
Well, that's a good question. She is what is known in Texas as a "Yella Dowg." Les & Bob had been told that she was a Lab-mix and
indeed many of her litter-mates are very Lab-like. We thought for a while that she as a Black Mouthed Curr, a
hunting breed often seen in the South. Our latest theory is that she's part Boxer, part hound. She looks a bit
like a shorter Greyhound and has the bow-wow bark and food guarding behavior of many hounds.
She's about the size of a Boxer, 60lbs, yellow with a white bib and black nose and
pointy ears that stick straight out of her head like Yoda. But she's got a long nose like a Lab. Actually, what she really looks like is an Australian Dingo
without the fuzzy tail. We've also theorized that she's some strange transgenic experiment from some clandestine
Arkansas lab that involves canine, feline and kangaroo DNA… She's a beautiful dog. Odd as Hell, but beautiful.
Bob had a wonderful dog named Cocoa. A saintly Chocolate Labrador with a fine brain and
an angelic temperament. She died at the age of 10 of stomach bloat on Christmas day 1999. We still mourn her.
Les and Bob waited a year to get a new dog. They knew that there would be no replacement
of Cocoa. Dogs are like people, everyone is different. They just didn't know how different.
Les and Bob hoped for an intelligent dog, one who would be smart enough to deal with the
being on the road and having a new home every month and a half. When they saw Holly and her litter-mates, she was the
first one to come up to them. "Aaaaawww, how cute!" It was cute. Its also the sign of an alpha dog. They're usually
the smartest, bravest ones in the litter. But they can also be the most aggressive, too.
There's been a lot of work involved, but the truth is we've been very lucky that she's
never badly bitten anyone. But, she has nipped people. With the ability to inflict several hundred pounds of pressure
with their jaws, it's never an accident when a dog bites but does no damage. It's something they do on purpose. To make
a point.
Les, Bob and I have all been nipped, and a few of our friends as well. When it happens
to you, it may not hurt your skin that much, but it hurts your feelings as if a friend had suddenly screamed at you for
no reason. When it happens to a friend, its not only frightening and disappointing but mortifyingly embarrassing as well.
In hind site, we were able to figure out why most of those situations happened and taken
steps to prevent them. They were usually situations where she was startled or thought someone was going to take food
away from her. That makes it understandable. That does not mean its OK or acceptable behavior. We do NOT let her
anywhere near children.
As I said, Les & Bob got her when she was a little puppy. I hope it goes without saying
that my family or I would never abuse a dog. My rant on the odious, despicable, craven cowardice of such a practice
would undoubtedly take up more memory space than my host allows me for this monthly fee.
Were someone to try to abuse this dog, they would have to catch her first. I'm sure
there are Greyhounds who are faster, but it's hard to imagine how they could be... Besaides the lightning quickness, she's
incredibly agile. She's also a really, really tough pooch. She goes zooming around in overgrown fields and
comes back with her belly scratched up by thorns she didn't really notice.
But that's not to say she hasn't had some puppyhood trauma. Holly and her litter-mates
had been left on a vet's doorstep in an open cardboard box in Arkansas 30 degree weather. Even a pile of 6 week old
puppies can't generate much body heat. To this day, Holly loves to bathe herself in 100 degree TX sun.
She also has some scarring that might indicate some type of predator tried to eat her when she was little. She doesn't
like people to reach down at her, especially when she's sleepy. Do you have any idea how hard it is NOT to pet a dog
at your feet? Try it sometime.
TO BE CONTINUED
