What Was He Thinking?
And why words could be so helpful, if only…
I often say, “I get dogs.”
By that, I mean I can intuit their mood, know how to manage them, receive and give back their love, and even help others with a dog they can’t manage well.
But then, sometimes, I run right into the brick wall of confusion. This happened three days ago.
Here’s the backstory and the story itself.
I have a 6-year-old Goldendoodle named Teddy. He is what my husband calls an “overlap dog.” We chose to bring another dog into our family when our 11-year-old Goldendoodle (Nemo) was seeming old and increasingly frail. My smart husband anticipated that adding another dog we could love would help quiet the pain when Nemo went to Doggie Heaven.
Yes, I believe there is such a place as Doggie Heaven, and I hope that when my time comes, the good lord lands me smack in the middle of the pack.
Nemo and Teddy loved life together for three years before Nemo ascended to Doggie Heaven. During that time, Nemo was always the boss, and Teddy was the happy and youthful accompanier wherever Nemo took him.
When Nemo passed, we realized how bereft Teddy was. He was constantly licking my face, which did have a steady stream of tears, so I didn’t mind. We were grieving together.
I kinda mind them now, but fortunately, the tears and the licks are way less.
When Nemo passed, Teddy wouldn’t go near his bed, which was the better bed we had bought for Teddy that Nemo immediately took possession of. With Nemo gone and Teddy not going near it, I took Nemo’s bed to doggie daycare for other dogs to enjoy.
I am told that to this day, when Teddy is at Doggie Daycare, he walks around Nemo’s bed and shoots the “occupier” a look as if to say, “Don’t you know that is Nemo’s bed?”
We increasingly understood that we had a gentle and sensitive soul in Teddy, no matter how he presents. Teddy is large, loud, and runs like Willie Gault. His bark is deep and resonant and is used to ward off impending dangers, which include dogs he doesn’t know, delivery people at our door, strollers, which we think he mistakes as a creature, noisy wind, and any weather-related sounds.
Teddy, the gentle soul, has also taken on the role of educating unneutered male puppies. Teddy makes it clear that he is not play material. He will first bark at them, then if they don’t understand and still try jumping on him (they usually do), he will likely pin them down and scare them and the owner.
We tightly manage this tendency, but when we tell people, “Teddy is really a gentle soul,” they look at us in a weird, incredulous way.
My moment of panic when words would have helped
Yesterday, I noticed Teddy lying outside in the “hip abductor pose” with his legs splayed out and his belly on the ground for quite some time. This is not the most comfortable pose for this very tall dog.
No big deal, I thought. He is cooling off.
From the upstairs window, though, I took another look and noticed two small legs dangling out of his mouth.
EEK! EEK!
I ran downstairs (as if I were Willie Gault), opened the door, and shouted so the whole neighborhood could hear me, “Drop it!”
He looked confused, as in, “What have I done wrong?” but thankfully, he dropped the baby bunny, who was completely intact and nestled in Teddy’s soft mouth.
He never took a bite.
I noticed another small bunny, not moving, also intact, next to him. Not sure what happened to that one or even if Teddy had a role.
You guessed what comes next!
What did I do once I screamed my bloody lungs out?
I brought Teddy inside. He still looked very confused.
I called my husband and said, “You must come home at lunchtime and scoop up the bunnies.”
I brushed Teddy’s teeth (I do this usually twice a week, but this week will be more because of that lingering memory).
I thought, “Why did this seemingly ferocious dog choose to softly hold a baby bunny in his mouth? Where were his instincts to take a bite?”
Does anyone who knows dogs have an answer?
Does anyone who doesn’t know dogs have an answer?
Signed,
A confused dog owner still in trauma
I wonder why you're assuming he would have taken a bite. Why would he? This is not his regular meal, biologically. Dogs don't bite / eat living creatures, as far as I know. I also think, like David, that he was exploring them.
What a sweetie. I think certain dog breeds are just like that. When my husband was a kid, one of his dogs brought over a baby rabbit, unharmed. The dog was worried and wanted the humans to help. Dogs are the best.