Canine Capers: What’s My Place

by Lesley Liddle

Lesley Liddle is a certified service and pet dog trainer. First Mate Lulu is a Corgi/Red Heeler with spots like a baby harbor seal; Crewman Leonard is a Chihuahua/Doxie with tall ears like a rabbit. Both dogs have very short legs and were originally found in California shelters.  Lesley has average legs and can be found on Orcas Island.

I agree with Caesar that a well grounded dog must know his place in the family hierarchy, but I’m not certain that it must always be beneath all human members. It just depends on the dog and the situation.

I have a story to tell that supports my thinking. When my brother and I were very small we lived next door to a doctor who owned a pair of unaltered adult male german shepherds named Baron and Bart. They were always free and visited us daily. My mother explained to us that Baron and Bart were older and very wise. We were always to respect them. We therefore both considered them our elders and came to love them deeply. The two dogs met us after school and played what we thought was “football”, with them tackling us and us chasing them all over the yard depending on which team got the ball. They knew how to settle us down when we got too wild but they never hurt us. Sometimes they just sat with us and we talked. Baron and Bart were gentle but firm teachers and companions; Baron was Bart’s father and he was our master teacher. The dogs kept us in our yard and I suppose mother used them as babysitters. When the doctor came home in the evening they immediately left to greet him.

Sometimes it is appropriate for a wise dog to look after a small child in a protective sense, and that dog has an elevated status. I am thinking about the dog that learns to stand fast and keep an autistic child from bolting, or a guide dog that stops his blind partner from hitting a low hanging beam or the assistance dog who wakes the parents of a child having a seizure. These dogs are mature and have learned to monitor and take charge in certain situations, even to disobey their human companion if necessary. There are many documented stories of dogs who have been capable of thinking on their own at critical times and acting with great heroism. These are not dogs that should or need to be at the bottom of our pecking order. My brother and I learned to love, respect and value our wise canine companions. We learned to be very grateful for their watchful, devoted presence, and we learned never to treat a dog in a disrespectful or humiliating way.