So you thought Dakota had a fun winter with his new Forever Family. You ought to see what fun he’s having with spring. At the end of this month he will have welcomed in his 11th spring. I have no idea, of course. how he celebrated the first ten, but if this year is any indication, he’s had a whole bunch of fun experiences through the eleven years of his life.
It really is so rewarding to see a dog this age act like a teenager. I don’t think anyone ever thought to tell Dakota how old he is because age means nothing to him. The snow brought out the best in him this past winter. He couldn’t get enough of it. He rolled, played with his teddy bear in mounds of it, he used his nose to blaze a trail of scents everywhere, and he threw mouth-fulls of it everywhere.
Enter spring. Dakota has been like a kid in a candy store. Of course he continued to enjoy rolling – IN THE MUD! But when the grass grew lush and thick, he was in his glory. He had a game that included me and there is no end to playing it. First, of course, it has to rip out the door, fly across the deck, sail over the stairs, and land on that green carpet while tossing teddy bear into the air and catching it again. Then it is time to roll and roll and roll. Wet grass is even better than dry. And Oooo it feels so good. That is when the game starts. He jumps up, grabs the teddy bear and heads for the house just as fast as he went out. About a foot in front of the door, he slams on the breaks, looks at me with a huge smile, whips around, and takes off to the yard again. This whole process is repeated at least three times, maybe even four. When he senses I’m not amused anymore, he starts he trek around the yard to check out all of the new and old scents. This takes quite a bit of time. However, with spring, he’s not at all interested in breakfast. This was not the case over the winter. So, I just leave the door open and go on with my chores, watching him change with every new smell. Finally he comes in to eat, get his eyes cleaned and take his pills. Then it’s off to the backyard again. He won’t go with me to get the paper, turn on the TV, or pour my coffee. Nope, it’s the backyard that grabs his attention and delight.
Then there are the animals. The winter didn’t hold much in the way of animal entertainment, but spring – that’s quite a different story. He was delighted when he caught his first glimpse of his chipmunk. He sat in front of the window in the family room and watched intently while chippy gobbled up seeds and rushed by to his home. At first Dakota followed him by running into the kitchen and looking out the door. I think he was worried that the little fellow wouldn’t come back. But he did, so Dakota settled down to watch until the dish of seeds was depleted.
Then there is that issue of the ducks in the trees and on rooftops. They landed in the yard a couple of times but didn’t stay. Suddenly papa Mallard is back and cruising around the yard unconcerned about a dog. Unfortunately I didn’t see him at the time I let Dakota out. Now there was a sight to behold. Papa Mallard flicking his tail feathers and one huge Golden quietly stepping out the door and looking like a tiger stalking his prey. Oh, did I mention the patience? This dog has the patience of Job. First of all he’s big for his age [I couldn’t resist that one]. Most of that is in length. When he crouches like a tiger, he is sleek and every muscle in his body is in perfect harmony. Even with his thick, long coat, you can see it. There he stands waiting for the duck to make the first move. Evidently not sensing trouble, the duck decides to move on. Bad decision. Dakota explodes off of the deck, barely touching the stairs, and leaps toward the duck just as the duck takes off. This is poetry in motion and oh how I wished I had a camera to capture the moment.
Then there are the infernal rabbits. I’m beginning to believe they are smarter than the squirrels but that’s stretching it. Our fence allows the creatures entrance into the yard if they are clever enough to figure out how to defeat the fence. This has been going on since 1970 mind you. At the beginning they weren’t too talented. But I think that generations of breeding have inserted this ability into the gene pool. Then we tried a short wire fence covering the wooden fence. That stopped them for a while until they realized they could chew their way through. This was a banner year for them. Dakota quickly learned when he moved here that he had a job - that of chasing the varmints out of HIS yard. It became part of his daily SOP. However, he had only one or two he had to deal with. That is until spring arrived. One day I came downstairs to find six creatures holding a convention under the crabapple trees. I couldn’t wait to see what Dakota would do with so many. He followed me to the door and quickly caught sight of them. Now the biggest mistake rabbits make is to freeze right where they are when they sense danger. Normally this is bad procedure when dealing with a Springer in the house. Melodie was an outstanding rabbit chaser/catcher and proud of her accomplishments.
I quietly opened the door just enough to let Dakota get out. As he did with the duck, he slowly, paw by paw, crept out of the house. There he stood in all of his beauty, stalking position, and ready to fly off of the deck for a rabbit. Notice I said “a rabbit”. One rabbit, one ear twitch, and Dakota was off like a slingshot. Alas he hadn’t taken into account there were six of them. They scattered in every direction like a burst of firecrackers on the fourth of July. He stopped dead in his tracks, looking in every direction. There was a brief moment when you could see him processing this in his brain. He pulled himself up to full height and trotted off to sniff for moles around the tree as if that’s what he planned on doing all along. So much for rabbits!
Currently he’s busy checking out his chipmunk homes, chasing moths and June bugs at night, and lounging on the deck waiting for his next adventure. He seems so happy and is enjoying spring to its fullest. Winter life was pretty quiet. Spring brought about more noise, moving, and a certain sense of possible insecurity. But he seems to be moving past that as a new routine sets in that he can trust.
The winter of work on noise and thunder fear has worked a bit, but it’s far from over. The early spring rains didn’t make him uncomfortable. He actually loved being out in them and getting soaking wet. Some light, short thunder didn’t affect him either. However, now that the summer storms are moving in, he is falling back on his fears. He has tried to get under the table, behind the couch etc. He prefers to sleep at the head of the bed during a storm instead of at the foot. This is a challenge. But I do think he is a bit calmer. I plan to take it step by step and continue with his storm fear CD. If he’d only stay awake during it, he might make some headway. But the storms pass, the sun comes out, and it’s back to his chipmunks, rabbits, ducks, and rolling in the grass. Life is good! And another birthday on the 28th isn't going to slow him down one bit.
