pet connection

Bashir is my six year old Australian Shepherd and regular readers of this blog have read about him many times. He’s my intellectual; a bright thinking dog, calm and steady, affectionate and devoted.

I’ve also written about Walter several times. He’s a cocker mix owned by Kate Abbott, my very good friend and partner at Kindred Spirits Dog Training. Walter is also very intelligent, affectionate, and loyal. He’s a fun dog with a great smile. He loves to do tricks, and like Bashir, he’s a wonderful therapy dog. He’s also a busy dog,  impatient, quick to anger when he thinks he’s been wronged, and he won’t hesitate to express his opinion.

Bashir and Walter, within months of each other in age, grew up coming to the training yard five to six days a week. Somehow, for two totally different personalities, they have formed a wonderful friendship. A friendship that is now six years old and only growing stronger. Kate and I both love watching the two boys as this friendship has grown and matured.

If Kate arrives at the training yard before me, Walter knows the sound of my van and waits at the gate for Bashir. If we arrive before Kate, Bashir barks his head off when Kate pulls up. The two dogs then greet each other with muzzle licks, wiggles, and a dash around the training yard. When Kate or I open the gate and let the two boys out into the three acre portion of the training yard, the two dogs run and run, side by side, a black tri Aussie and a black cocker mix — a canine odd couple for sure.

Having grown up with Bashir, Walter seems to think he’s an Aussie — a small Aussie for sure and one with a funny coat, but an Aussie just the same. We even took him with us to a herding instinct test with the Aussies.  He tried to herd livestock — sheep and geese — and went through the motions, but he didn’t have any instinct as to what to do. He seemed quite disappointed.

Walter knows Bashir is bigger than he is and when worried or threatened, he’ll bark and provide a threat display but he’s bravest when backed up to Bashir. He knows Bashir has his back.

Walter is impatient when the bigger dogs get too rough with him when they’re playing. Again, I think it’s because he doesn’t understand why he’s so much smaller. But when one of the other dogs runs into him, plows over the top of him, or steps on him, Walter gets angry. He’s come up with jaws snapping and he’ll drive the bigger dog away.

Unless the bigger dog is Bashir. Now granted, usually Bashir is aware of Walter and is not so rough, but in the heat of a retrieving game even Bashir will go over the top of Walter sometimes. In these instances, Walter will let Bashir know what he’s done but rarely does Walter lose his temper with Bashir. If he does, Bashir is patient. He seems to know his friend is somewhat of a hothead and he lets Walter do things he won’t allow another dog to do.

Bashir tends to be a serious dog. He tries very hard to do everything just right, whether it’s something I’ve asked him to do or something he’s doing on his own. But Walter believes in having fun. Walter has a great laugh; he opens his mouth wide, throws his head back, and wags his tail wildly. No one can watch him and not laugh with him. Walter has shared that with Bashir and has taught him to sometimes relax, laugh and have fun. Now when Walter is acting silly, Bashir will, too, and it’s wonderful to watch.

A few years ago, Bashir taught Walter how to hunt. Some mice had moved into our storage shed and Bashir was seriously hunting them. Walter hadn’t figured out what Bashir was doing but was willing to follow him and watch. Then Bashir caught and killed a couple of mice.

Somehow, some way, there was some communication between dogs and Walter began mirroring Bashir. He stood next to Bashir, did what Bashir did, sniffed where Bashir sniffed, and soon he caught his first mouse. However, Bashir killed the mice and dropped them. Walter caught the mouse and ate it. Let’s just say the pink tail disappearing into the mouth of a black dog is very visible. I was laughing so hard when I told Kate I could barely get the story out. But where I was laughing, she was horrified — her city dog was turning into a country dog!

Bashir has continued to teach Walter hunting skillsm although not all hunts are so successful. They regularly chase lizards, dig for gophers and pursue rabbits. Luckily we have no shortage of wildlifem and for the most part the wildlife easily escape.

Walter and Bashir may be a canine odd couple but their friendship is also a wonderful example of what a friendship can be. Two individuals who are really more different than alike can also share a real liking for each other. They have fun together, share adventures, are patient and tolerant, enjoy each others’ strengths, and put up with each other’s weaknesses. What an example for us!

Photo: Walter and Bashir. By Liz Palika.

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