pet connection

Harper is a glutton for attention, even for a Cavalier. So when she saw Twyla sitting in Jerry’s lap yesterday, she was frustrated. There’s room for both of them in his recliner, but unless Harper is there first, Twyla snarls at her if she tries to get a spot on the chair. So Harper walked around for a couple of minutes, debating whether to brave Twyla’s wrath. Then all of a sudden she started barking and ran toward the top of the stairs. Twyla immediately jumped off Jerry’s lap to help protect our home from intruders. You can guess the rest. Harper turned, ran back to the chair and jumped in Jerry’s lap.

It’s not the first time I’ve heard of dogs tricking their compatriots. One of my favorites of the many stories I’ve been told was about a Shetland Sheepdog, a breed that’s often described as too smart for its own good. Sheltie owner Kim Schive of Carlisle, Massachusetts, said one of her females, Kia, believes it’s her job to keep the yard free of squirrels.

Whenever Kia sees a squirrel on top of the fence, she does her squirrel dance, which consists of running at the fence, jumping at it, hitting it with all four feet, doing a half turn in the air and another quick half turn on landing. Then she stamps her feet five times, all the while barking furiously and raising her hackles.

“Penny, a younger bitch, could mimic this routine perfectly, right down to the number of foot stamps and barks,” Schive told me. “During the dead of winter, while all the squirrels were hibernating, Penny would periodically launch into Kia’s squirrel dance. I think she did it just to get a rise out of Kia, because when she saw it, Kia would dash around the yard madly for 15 or 20 minutes, looking for the nonexistent rodent while Penny watcher her with clear amusement.”

In Native American lore, Trickster is a coyote, but clearly Coyote is not the only canid who plays jokes on his friends.

Bella worked very hard Monday afternoon, supervising the dismantling of the Christmas tree. The picture is of her in action.