Is Sammy Stereo- or A-typical? Adventures with a Squirrel & More!

Sammy:  Atypical? Stereotypical?

Twice recently I "got in my dog's face", figuratively speaking, & expressed some disappointment for what I considered to be stereotypical dog behavior. One incident happened while we were taking a walk. Sammy stopped to sniff at an inanimate object. About the time I recognized said object as the partial remains of a candy bar wrapper & gave his leash a tug--too late! He had gobbled it down. I looked him in the eye & said, "Really? Seriously?? You just swallowed a candy bar wrapper!? How stereotypical is that?" He seemed to shrug, & I was left to ponder whether (a) he didn't care, or (b) he doesn't comprehend the meaning of the word 'stereotypical.' Either way, I was disappointed, because I want my dog to be atypical.

The second incident happened on MON 8/24. It was coming up on 5:00 p.m. I decided to go outside & get the mail. I had my cell phone recharging next to the sofa & didn't want to unplug it. The alarm was going to go off @ 5:00, reminding me to take my "one-hour-before-supper" meds. I opened up the alarm app & turned off what I thought was the 5:00 alarm. As I was walking back from the mailbox, I heard a dog howling. It sounded like a dog from inside our house. Could it be Sammy?

Yes, it was Sammy. He was standing over my cell phone, & the alarm was sounding, because I had inadvertently turned off the 6:00p alarm, not the 5:00p alarm. Sammy was not only standing over it, HE was howling.

After I turned off the alarm, I got in his face again. "Seriously," I repeated. "Howling? Really?? At a cell phone alarm?! How stereotypical." Once again he appeared to shrug, so once again I am left with the possible conclusion that he is a stereotypical dog, not an atypical dog. This distresses me somewhat, in light of other behavior that has seemed to suggest that he is a genius. *
* Let me qualify that. Maybe highly intelligent? **
** Pretty darn smart? ***
*** Smarter than average? ****
**** Whatever.

Sammy & the squirrel

Sammy has met the acquaintance of a squirrel who hangs out at least part-time in our back-yard. How do we know? The other night while Lois & I were in the basement, watching back episodes of Burn Notice on Netflix/Apple TV, Sammy was contentedly sitting between us on the couch [Go ahead, criticize us. It's OUR dog, OUR basement, OUR couch.], he startled us by leaping from his stupor, rushing to the back door, barking hysterically. Something had obviously gotten his attention. It was a squirrel. I let him [Sammy, not the squirrel] outside, & he frantically sprinted down the hill to one of our four pine trees. Too late! Continuing to bark frantically at this wicked intruder, he rushed over to Tree #2, then Tree #1, back to Tree #3, then on to Tree #4, before giving up & returning to the back door. *
          In this particular incidence, neither Lois nor I saw the squirrel, but a quick repeat confirmed our suspicions. Sammy's behavior followed suit, & we did spot the little critter. The next time it happened, we leaped (leapt?) frantically from our seats & joined his hysterical rush outside. We spotted the critter as it rushed up into Tree #3, w/Sammy in hot pursuit. [Technically speaking, Sammy did not "rush" up into the tree, though not for lack of trying.]
          As an aside, I do not like squirrels. In fact, I loathe squirrels, dating back to an unpleasant experience with them while dwelling in our first house in Lincoln, NE, back in the the 1980s. But I digress. It would not hurt my feelings if he caught one & gave it a sound thrashing, but for aesthetic reasons I do not want him to destroy & consume one in our backyard. 
          In any case, the next morning Sammy & I were upstairs in the living room. The sliding glass doors to the deck overlook the back yard. Sammy was perched by the doors, surveying his outdoor domain, & I was comfortably situated in the chair, drinking my morning brew [Seattle's Best Dark #5] & relaxing, ** when Sammy went berserk. As I let him outside, I quickly made eye contact with his nemesis, who was on the ground adjacent this time to Tree #4.
          As Sammy scrambled *** down the deep hillside, his nemesis easily climbed the tree, then scooted over to the nearby power line, which technically lies [lays?] a few feet in the air above our neighbor's property to the north. A new & exciting drama unfolded. The squirrel scampered [Dare I suggest 'happily'?] back & forth along the high wire, while Sammy scampered back & forth on solid ground, barking his fool head off, all the while keeping his eyes firmly fixed on his adversary. Meanwhile, I stood on the deck & laughed. ****
* For a sense of geographical perspective, our backyard is on the north side of the house. The four pine trees are at the bottom of a hill, running parallel to the house, from west to east, #1, #2, #3, #4. You're welcome.
** Reading the Omaha World Herald? Browsing the Drudge Report? Blogging? Conducting my "quiet time?" But I digress.
*** "Scrambled" is probably a more accurate term than "sprinted," given Sammy's size & the force of gravity.
**** Postscript. Sammy eventually came back inside. but the squirrel returned to the backyard twice. Each time Sammy went berserk & I had to interrupt my comfortable repose to let him repeat this nonsense. Then it dawned on me. THE SQUIRREL IS TAUNTING MY DOG! The squirrel is enjoying this! Is Sammy cognizant of this psychological warfare? I bribed Sammy w/a dog treat & put him back in his kennel until I finished my coffee.

Walking the Dog . . . Enquiring Minds Want to Know

My worrisome nature has been bothered by the following. Often, when I take Sammy for a walk, especially the longer walk to the lake, especially when it's warmer outside, it doesn't take long before he starts panting, & his tongue starts hanging out. [When I first mentioned this to Lois, she helpfully asked if it might be possible it was ME doing the panting instead of Sammy. I resented that comment but couldn't deny the possibility either.] I fear that I might be over-exercising and/or under-hydrating him. On the other hand, I can't get him to take a nice, long, healthy drink before we leave for a walk. When we return, the first thing I do is get him a nice bowl of refreshingly clean water, but he won't immediately start lapping at it. On TUE 8/25, when we walked to the lake, I walked him right up to the edge of the lake for the first time. I guess I expected him to sniff at the water & lap at it. Nope. A few quick sniffs, following by total indifference. 
          I've seen videos on YouTube of big cats--lions & cheetahs for example--who, while in a reclining position, exhibit the same behavior--panting heavily with tongues extended outside their mouths, & the explanation is that this is a behavior comparable to "super-inhaling," allowing them to take in even more scents than normal, naturally alerting them to potential threats, potential game, etc.
          The thought occurs to me that maybe Sammy is exhibiting the same behavior. Any comments or insights?

Once & awhile I'll encounter someone during a walk who remarks on what a fine looking animal Sammy is & notes the lab in him. I am always gratified to hear "fine looking animal" but also note that he's a mixed breed & point out that he certainly does not posses the tail of a lab. While walking him several evenings ago, I encountered someone who commented that he had the tail of a beagle, but his tone of voice [the human's, not Sammy's] struck me as being complimentary in nature. Any comments or insights?

I still find it highly distasteful to have to pick up his "comments" & carry them along in a plastic sack [if you catch my drift]. This is aesthetically unappealing to me, & I find it to be beneath my dignity. This is especially true when I'm using a clear plastic sack. * I try to take solace in the fact that failing to pick up after your dog can result in a $500 fine. [It's true! I've seen the signs down the street on my way to the lake; also along the hiker-biker trail around the lake.] Also, I made up my mind some time ago that part of God's plan behind my "enforced sabbatical" was to humble me. This would seem to be a rather straightforward way of accomplishing that plan.
* I think you would be proud to know what we recycle our smaller plastic sacks in this manner, & I've grown quite adept in picking up Sammy's specimens w/o coming into direct contact, although I still find it abhorrent, &, no, I'm not exaggerating when I use that--love that--word. **
** Technically, I suppose it's not really recycling when the plastic sack still ends up heading to the landfill. However, our only other option for recycling plastic sacks in Norfolk is to take them to a box @ the main entrance to Wal-Mart, which we are happy to do occasionally when our supply grows too large. Otherwise, we "recycle" larger plastic sacks for use in our waste baskets in the house ***
*** Yes, I realize that this is technically not recycling them either, since they still would end up in the landfill, but does anybody really know what Wal-Mart does with those sacks?

My Dog, The Fearless Hunter

Last Saturday we had Bentley with us. Lois & I took him & Sammy in the backyard & had great fun. We have a vole [Google them. I can't do everything for you.] infestation, & Sammy started digging at what I presumed to be a fresh vole hole. I say "presumed," because I didn't actually expect him to find anything. I walked over to the site & was amazed to find that Sammy had dug down about 8" into the soil, which did not make me particularly happy. I called Lois over to have her take a look. She, too, was impressed, & went to get some potting soil from a planter, devoid of flowers, that has been sitting on the patio under our deck. Sammy, who was standing by, pridefully I might add, suddenly started what looked to me like "tracking" behavior, back & forth across the lawn, but I didn't see him catch anything, so I didn't give it too much thought. 
          The humans retired into the basement through the patio door, while the dog remained outside. Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw him toss something into the air. I went back outside just in time to see him drop what appeared to be a carcass on the ground. It was--I'm 98% certain--a vole carcass. I spoke sharply, "Sammy!" He quickly grabbed it in his mouth & gobbled it down, presumably under the impression that I would snatch his prize from him & gobble it down instead. [After all, we are both mammals, both omnivores, as far as he's concerned.]
          As far as I know, he's suffered no ill effects. Lois & I hope that word spreads quickly throughout the vole community, & that will be the end of our vole issues. 

A Special Message for My Brother-in-Law

Word has gotten back to me that my brother-in-law, who shall remain nameless *, has expressed some worries about my dog ownership, based upon his recollection of an incident that happened many, many years ago in, as I recall, Ulysses, KS, where he & my in-laws lived. Yes, I remember the incident. I was playing with his dog, & I tossed it in the air, expecting it to land on its feet, just like our cats did. Well, needless to say, it did NOT land on its feet. It landed awkwardly, & it yelped, & it limped away. I felt terrible, & I was dutifully chastened by my in-laws for thinking that the dog would behave similarly to the cats. I also recollect that I apologized profusely, but this incident may have left deep emotional scars, for which I, once again, apologize profusely, because that's just the kind of guy I am.
* It was John.