2 weeks Ago
This gorgeous cool end of summer morning makes for a pleasant morning walk with my canine companion. Winnie loves her strolls around the neighborhood, but she does not have a very discerning pallet. I have to be on the lookout for any form of road kill before she can notice it and try to gobble it up.
Last evening Mike had to pry a crispy frog from her mouth, while she hung onto it as if it was a delicacy! My sweet little dachshund puppy seems to be turning into a full-fledged dog. It was bound to happen sometime, but now she has found that it’s amazingly enjoyable to roll around in anything stinky. I never have quite understood that desire in an animal, but I think I’ll look it up.
According to my research the tendency to want to roll around in strong smelling stuff can be traced back to our pet’s wild ancestors. Pack animals rolled in things that had strong odors to mask their scents during hunts. This made it easier for them to sneak up on their prey for a nice tasty lunch.
It also made it more difficult for their predators to have them for a snack. Dogs have a highly developed sense of smell, and they are naturally curious so this also plays into the equation. Pack animals roll in strong smelling stuff when they are out on a hunt or exploring.
When they return to their pack, the other animals use their sense of smell to discern where their buddy may have been hunting. This is one of the ways wolves can share information with their pack. So my precious little Winnie rolls in the yuckiest things imaginable because her ancestors did? I guess so.
Another thing I understand more fully from my research is just how tough the original dachshunds were bred to be. In the late 17th century, these German bred shorties tunneled underground to retrieve badgers for their pelts, and badgers fought back ferociously with sharp teeth and claws. Winnie loves to chase squirrels and birds in the backyard.
She almost caught a squirrel just yesterday, and I’m wondering if she would turn tail and run if she actually caught one. Her favorite game is to play fight. She barks and lunges at me every night before bedtime in a game of cat and mouse.
This goes on for several minutes before she settles down for the evening. When she whimpers in her sleep, I wonder if she is dreaming of chasing and capturing some creature in the wild or if she is simply chasing butterflies, which she also loves to do. The first official day of fall begins on Sunday, September 22, this year, and it is quickly approaching.
Butterflies seem to have brought their friends to my front flowerbeds. Their numerous colorful bodies flit along from plant to plant dancing to the music of fading summer..
