To set the scene, we have a morning routine, as I guess most of us have. Briefly, ours is - dogs live downstairs - OH gets up and comes downstairs to take them out etc. I have a shower then come down to feed dogs, then us. After that, OH goes for a bath and I sit at the pc to check emails etc. - we work from home - and this is Molly's cue to trot over to me, put front paws on my lap and welcome me and the new day with lots of kisses, hugs and wagging. Lately Sam has started to join this ritual, bless him. This is where things can appear quite strange. Usually Molly is very determined to get her hugs and will even climb up and dab me on the shoulder and make adorable grunty noises to get my attention if I'm distracted. HOWEVER - if I've already got a problem to deal with, or am struggling for one reason or another, she (and Sam now) will just approach me, tails all awag, lick my hand and then trot off to their beds. I say nothing different and this is within seconds of my sitting down at the pc. No jumping, climbing or shoulder dabbing. So sensitive to us these dogs aren't they? Puts our clumsy instincts to shame I think
What gets me is the decision process that's going on in these situations. They never cease to amaze me.
Dogs are amazing, this little story I’m about to tell happened a few weeks ago. It was a particularly nice afternoon after all the rain so I drove to some woods that we visit on a regular basis. We entered the woods and the path goes in a V, I took the right hand path, Mabel wouldn’t move. So I thought okay let’s go left so off we went, incredibly slowly and she kept looking across the undergrowth to the other path, after about 50 yards I thought this is no good. I popped her on the lead and she pulled me all the way to the car. I then drove right round to the other side of the woods and we did another walk, no problems. Two nights later my husband came home from work and told me, one of the guys he works with, and happens to live by the woods said that a women had been threatened with a knife and had her car stolen at that very spot where I parked on that very day. I really think Mabel kept me safe.
I'm convinced that's what it is. Doesn't that put us to shame? How easily they read our body language and what rubbish we are at reading theirs?
Ella sulks when I start putting work clothes on but if I put walking clothes on she prances around the house after me
It also reminds me of a disturbing even that happened when we had our first lab, Benson. We rented a house down the coast and from the moment we arrived Benson was agitated and he was a very chilled-out dog. When we left him in the backyard to get groceries he scratched his face trying to get out of the gate and we had to take him to the vet. It was very puzzling. That night I had a very upset tummy so decided to sleep on the couch as it was near the bathroom and I didn't want to disturb Steve. Benson would not go to bed and would not leave my side all night. Sometime in the middle of the night there was a loud noise and my husband ran out of the bedroom with me and the dog behind him. I can't explain what we saw, it was so unreal and then it disappeared. The next day we noticed the owner had a lot of books on witchcraft and had a pentagram on the wall. I don't believe in that stuff for one minute, but I still can't explain what we saw. Bottom line was Benson sensed it and wanted to protect us. We packed up and left the next day.
Yikes - we seem to be getting on to some very strange stuff here To me, it just seems our dogs are far more sensitive than we sometimes give them credit for. They pick up on our body language when we don't even realise we are 'showing' anything. Yet, despite their gentle attempts to tell us how they are feeling - if they are scared or worried - we blithely carry on ignoring their patient signals. Then, when they have had enough, who gets blamed? Not us thickos - our dogs do.
