Solving the Dog Fight Mystery

Last updated on: June 3, 2015 at 4:16 pm by Rebecca Frech

Solving the Dog Fight Mystery 2015-06-03T16:16:46-05:00 Rebecca Frech

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Last week, we introduced a new dog into our family only to have a giant fight break out and have him leave just as quickly. There were a lot of readers who took a personal interest in what had gone on, and even though I’d sworn off writing about our dogs again – I have new information.

I heard from Gus’s new family yesterday. (If you’ll remember, he was a rescue dog.) They finally got him to their vet who discovered that he has a partial, but significant, hearing loss. We all think this is the reason for the animosity and ultimately the big fight. He was unable to hear her.

When we first introduced them and she growled to ask him to back off, when she barked to let him know she wasn’t a fan, when she gave him all the clues that dogs give which let their pack know that they really are-not-having-it-right-now…he didn’t know. He can hear sounds in the upper registers like playful yips and whistling, but the deeper get-the-heck-away-from-me sounds not a bit.

I talked to the rescue, and they didn’t have him listing as a special needs dog because of how well he responded to the staff member in charge of him (crazy high Minnie Mouse on helium voice) and, we suspect, visual cues.

I suspect that his hearing loss was what made him so appealing to us – didn’t really bark, wasn’t startled by the commotion of my children, was a perfect gentleman even at the CrossFit Box with the loudness of dropping weights and blaring music, and paid no mind to barking dogs when I took him on a morning run. We had thought him to be exceptionally well trained, and he is, but he was also perfectly suited to the way we live – everyone except Grace, and she had seniority.

What does that mean for all of us? Not a whole lot. Gus’s new family is working on training him with hand signals, Grace is still being the head dog, and we’re wondering if our search for our next dog (once Grace’s time with us is done) might just have “deaf” on the wish list.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

June 1, 2015

It's Gimp Day

Next Post

June 4, 2015 I Could Never Leave the Church, It's My Family

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which book includes "A time to weep and a time to laugh"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Malachi Judges Ecclesiastes Genesis