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A Pet Owner's Journey (Pt. 13)

The Conundrum that Is a Dog

By Samantha ReidPublished 6 years ago 4 min read
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Roxy - Almost 5

If you've ever owned a pet you know that they are a bit of a mystery. It's hard to get inside of their heads and figure out what is really going on. We can look for subtle hints and signs, but sometimes there is really no road map to understanding your pet.

Roxy is a conundrum. I don't know if I will ever completely figure her out. There are days when she makes no sense at all. There are days where she confuses me to no end.

Let's start with dog walks. She loves dog walks. She loves to go outside. She will spend hours outside given the opportunity. But there are some occasions where you have to chase her around the house just to get a leash on her. Perhaps it's a game to her. Perhaps she is just in a mood. I don't know for sure.

It used to just be a night time thing and I can understand her reluctance to go outside at night considering her vision, but it has progressed to an any time of day thing. She ran away from me yesterday before our morning walk and then was happier than anything once we got outside.

I don't know. As I've said before, German Shepards have unique personalities. They are often a quirky breed and Roxy is no exception. But some consistency would be nice every once and a while.

Next is her level of affection. One minute she is sitting on top of you because she can't get close enough to you to receive love and pets, and the next minute she is on the opposite side of the room. On top of that, she is whining as though you are the one who banished her to the other side of the room. And no matter how many times you call her back over she will just sit there and look sad.

Again, perhaps this is a game to her. Perhaps she wants to see if she can make us come to her and give her attention. Sometimes she actually succeeds. Most of the time she is the one to cave and come back over to us. But I still haven't figured out why she does this.

The last one I want to talk about today is a recent habit she's developed since she became a yard dog. iI was a bit of a habit before, but it's developed fully now that she has a yard to run around in.

When we used to walk her every night she would tense before we opened the back door and she would let out a string of warning barks into the empty darkness the minute we stepped outside. As we lived in the city, we curbed this habit pretty quickly. She still tensed up, but the barking went away unless there was actually someone or something outside.

Now that she has a yard, when you go to open the door she tenses up once again. However, her tail is wagging and her ears are erect with excitement. It is clear this is a game to her. The minute the door opens up she is off to the races. She runs a full circle of the yard barking at nothing, most of the time.

If there happens to be a dog out in either of the neighbouring yards she will run to the fence and engage in a bark battle with them. At first, I was concerned about the noise. Having lived in cities for so long you naturally become worried about the noise of your pets. But no one here cares.

So I let her bark. I let her play "I'm the bigger dog" with the neighbour dogs, even though there is a fence to prevent them from ever figuring out who would win that fight.

It's nice to see her out running and barking and engaging with other dogs. It's nice to see her barking at them and looking at them curiously and eventually ignoring them. She needs that bit of contact in her life.

There are plenty of things that confuse me about Roxy. These three things don't even begin to delve into the long list. But she is still a wonderful dog, quirks and all.

Dogs are a mystery and we will spend their whole lives trying to figure them out. My suggestions are, just love them for who they are and roll your eyes at the strange things they do.

Thanks, as always, for joining me for another Roxy adventure. I hope you'll find us again as we continue on "A Pet Owner's Journey."

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About the Creator

Samantha Reid

I have been a creative writer for over 10 years, an academic for 7 years, and a blogger for 3 years. Writing is my passion and it's what I love.

Follow me on Instagram @samreid2992

Find me on Twitter @SgReid211

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