Its Friday and I’m blogging while I wait for my videos to upload onto Youtube for my upcoming Boundary training course. If all goes well it will be up and ready by this weekend (I’ll let you know). While I write, both Elsa and Riggs are passed out in the office. They had a big run with Dad this morning then video shooting with Mom, it’s been a day already. Ahhhhhh the struggles of being a canine celebrity. ;)
I love dogs, I know, bit secret…not. I don’t know how many times a day that they amaze me. I know they are amazingly intelligent yet I am still blown away by the things they do, know and exhibit. Just this morning Riggs came into the bathroom while I was getting ready. He head to the shower and was standing turning his head at the closed shower door. “You want in there?” I asked him. He did, so I opened it and he stretched out to see the shower head off of it’s regular position and lying on the floor. Hmmmmmm. It was making a weird noise, a hissing sort of noise. He looked at me, looked at it several times as he attempted to show me that there was a problem.
“I know, it’s making a weird noise” I said to him. He left and came back again and right to the shower head, this was not okay with him, this needed attending to. Riggs is a specialist, highly intrigued, advanced perception and communication skills which makes him a specialist in his field (that of an extremely intelligent canine). He likes to know what is going on at all times and is concerned when things are not right. This shower head was clearly not right and he needed it fixed.
“I’ll fix it, just a minute” I told him as he stood at his ‘shower down’ post. I smiled and reached over his head grabbing the shower head and put it back where it should be, in the holder. He gave me direct eye contact, wagged and left the bathroom; all was well now in his mind. Riggs is extremely sensitive to everything around him, he doesn’t miss a thing; which is why he has a few more quirks than the average k9. It is his attention to detail that occupies much of his time.
Some dogs go through life just sort of coasting through, not noticing much of anything really. These are typically the easy dogs, not likely to notice or worry about much in their environment. Riggs on the other hand sees everything, smells everything and vibes everything. Heaven forbid I gasp during a movie; he’s on me immediately making sure that I’m alright. Just the other night a woman was creeping through a house; slow and hesitant in her movement, he started to growl at her. Crazy.
Each and every dog is an individual, they are their own dog and that distinctiveness sets him apart from others. He is a funny guy and I know him well; so when he exhibits a behavior of trying to show me something, I pay attention. Getting to know the dog inside of your dog is who they are. Sure they look stunningly handsome or beautiful, but who they are is on the inside. That is what has drawn me to them for so many years, what’s on the inside. They are truly fascinating.