Trusting Their Instincts...
by Darlene on 03/31/11
I had something curious happen yesterday...
I had a man come to do some work outside on the farm. He's been here several times so far, helping me with some of the work that I don't have the skills to do. He was the one who helped me finally turn my "Just one line" hotwire fencing project into 7 full strands of hotwire, completing that project. Shortly after he got here yesterday morning I had to run out for about an hour and left him to begin the next project. When I got home I got out of the truck and walked over to where he was working. It just happened to be over next to the pasture where Hediye stays with my horse. When I walked up to him to ask how everything was going, he started to vent big time...
"If that dog of yours didn't shut up I was going to 'blahblahblah'...she barked at me non-stop the whole time you were gone...'grumblegrumblegrumble'...that stupid dog, if she were mine I would 'blahblahblah'..."
"hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm", I thought to myself and looked at him and told him simply, "she's doing what she was born to do...protect this farm and my family". His response was still along the lines above and I couldn't help but get a little angry inside even though I presented a fairly calm exterior.
Don't talk about my Hediye like that...it's very offensive to me.
He has no idea how uniquely special she is, and all my dogs are and I did not appreciate him talking about her like she was a piece of trash.
I tried to bite my tongue but the best I was able to do was say, "Let me tell you something. She's doing what she's meant to do...what she was born to do, and that is protect my family and farm". He tried to argue with me a little bit which made me a little madder. Finally I told him quite blankly, "obviously she has a problem with you and if she has a problem with you, I have a problem with you".
Oooooooooops.
It's true though. I learned years and years ago to trust these dogs...to trust their instincts because they have the ability to pick up on things I miss. When I first moved here, one of the movers was a really outgoing and friendly guy...cracking jokes and making us all laugh.
One of my dogs had a real serious problem with him to the point where I had to remove her from where he was working. Later I found out that he wasn't such a great guy...that he really was not a good guy at all and it stunned me that she had picked up on something I had not. Actually, it kind of deflated and concerned me because at my age, I thought I was pretty good at reading people and picking up on things but such is not the case all the time. So it taught me to trust my dogs. If they have a problem, then I need to have a problem with the same situation.
When the man yesterday saw that his venting had not sat well with me, he said, "well, when you got home, she finally quit barking".
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...something bothered Hediye about him while I was gone, yet when I returned home, she felt she was able to relax.
I've been thinking about that ever since then. What is it? He must not be such a bad guy that even when I got home, she didn't continue to issue warning barks, so that's a good thing...but something isn't 100% ok either so I found myself keeping a distance and an eye open as the day went by. The man does great work...he's fast, efficient and very good at what he does. He charges a reasonable price and I can't do the work he is doing. I have another young man that comes every afternoon to help me with feeding all the animals. Hediye never barks at him, regardless of whether I'm here or not so I must have gauged him right lol. But this other guy causes her concern and you know what?
I believe her.
It's things like this that cause my heart to feel comforted because I know my dogs have our back. I'm only one little person and can't be everywhere at one time, so my dogs are very important to me for a variety of reasons...this being one of them.
The man spent the rest of the day apologizing for his vent that morning. I politely accepted his apology as he fell all over himself trying to rectify the offense he knew he had made. Finally I told him, "you just don't understand"...
I don't think I want him to understand either...Hediye and all the dogs here, are the "aces in my cards" that I prefer to hold close to my chest. I trust their instincts and I need them.
Let everyone think they're "just a dog". Nothing could be further from the truth.
