We have a dog now. We really wanted an outdoor dog to let me know if anyone was poking around the house, to scare away possums and deer, and to help keep our chickens safe. Our next-door neighbor, who has been farming there for 46 years, recommended that we get something without a drop of birding blood in it because a bird dog would be more likely to go after our chickens. A corgi would be good, or an Australian Shepherd. Get a neutered female, he added, because the males tend to roam, even if neutered.
We got an unneutered male yellow lab. We didn't try to – our friends couldn't take him with them when they moved to a new place, and they have two little boys that love the dog. The whole situation just broke my heart. Besides, the dog is an outdoor dog, which is exactly what we wanted.
The dog is no longer an outdoor pet. A couple days after we got him, we took him to the vet, who amputated part of a crushed foot that had been bleeding for about two years. Because we were ordered to keep that foot dry and clean for 10 days after the surgery, we barricaded the dog in the front porch so I could care for him more easily. About halfway through his healing process, the big guy vaulted over our barricades and split his foot wide open again. As a result, the vet decided to tie up the injured foot in a sling, and tie a big plastic cone around the dog's head so he can't lick himself. When the dog walks outside, he lurches around like something on the brink of death, and his ridiculous plastic collar scrapes up bits of snow with every step. We are torturing the dog for its own good, but I just can't bear to think of him being lonely and scared while going through all of this. So he is lying in the kitchen right now (even though this is the cause of some family tension).
The whole problem is that this is the dog might qualify for sainthood. St. Francis of Assisi apparently said that one of the two things people can do to please God is to bear frailty with patience. If the same is true for dogs, then God must be delighted with this guy. In spite of everything, he remains unwaveringly gentle and cheerful. He gazes up at us with affectionate brown eyes and doesn't even chase the cats. I am completely in love.
My husband and I are concerned that our handling of this situation serves as a yet another sign that we won't be able to move past our city ways and be good farmers. This dog and our cats are a huge drain on time, money and energy that I could be putting into farm planning. That is a real problem.
Still, I couldn't imagine dealing with this any other way. I pray that if God wants me to go about this differently, then God should please consider changing my heart.
We can always pray to be shown a way forward that includes both what our hearts tell us is right, and also what keeps us in business —!
ReplyDeleteBut I am glad to learn you are proceeding with kindness. My wife and I would want to be the same way.
Good prayer idea, Marshall!
ReplyDelete--Elizabeth
Fret not. In my experience, the two biggest factors in how well a dog works are the dog's temperament (something that you have little control over, but given how he reacts to cats, seems to include a low enough prey drive that perhaps he'll work out with your chickens) and how well socialized he is. Spending time with you indoors will give him a close bond to you, and a strong desire to please you. The more time he spends with you, the more he is likely to train himself.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying that no formal training is needed. But I remember that our English mastiff, a retired show dog, came to us with no training at all in even basic commands like "sit" and "stay," and that within a week, she'd mastered those AND taught herself to heel as we walked--because she figured out all by herself that I liked it. (I hadn't even had a chance to begin formally training her.)
Dogs are used to living in packs, and they will figure out routines by watching you go through them. And, while there are shepherds out there who limit the amount of time they spend with their dogs so the dogs will bond with their sheep, sheep dogs are kind of a specialized human/dog relationship.
In reality, dogs that spend time indoors with their humans, at least at night, are healthier, more secure, and easier to train. I recommend The Monks of New Skete for training advice, if you're interested in a good book--some find it too assertive, but I think it's the perfect blend of strong discipline and strong understanding of what dogs need from us to be happy AND good dogs.
All of our dogs have slept in our bedrooms, in a crate or under the bed. They breathe in the smell of the pack all night--and are fully socialized in the routines of our household by day.
In this case, I think that it's less a city/country divide than a modern/older philosophy about dogs. But as long as you don't spoil your dogs by not training them or allowing poor behavior, bringing the dogs inside with their pack--you--is a wonderful training idea. (Read what the monks have to say about it! It's wonderful how well-behaved the dogs they train become.)
I bet I would like that book by the monks!
ReplyDelete