Thursday: December 27 - Coyote Sighting!
We had a beautiful new layer of snow fell over the evening and it was absolutely stunning on our walk this morning. Simon headed out to one of our favorite places to walk - a place where it is ok for him to be off leash and to run and roll in the snow to his heart’s delight. Yet, soon after heading out I spotted a coyote crossing the pond below us. I decided to clip Simon’s leash on, pretty sure that when he caught the scent of the coyote he might want to investigate a bit closer than I was comfortable with! The coyote crossed the pond, and started up the slope opposite of where Simon and I were walking. She/he looked back at us and paused a number of times. We, in turn, did the same. The coyote spent a bit of time with her/his snout in the snow and then she/he settled down in a sitting position facing back across the pond towards us. I’m not sure if the coyote was waiting for another to join her/him, checking out Simon and I a bit longer, waiting for a small mammal to betray itself under the fresh layer of snow or just enjoying the day. I decided to keep Simon on his leash and we continued on our way. As I predicted, when we got to the place where the coyote had crossed our path, Simon caught the scent and went wild with interest. Meanwhile the coyote sat and observed. When we looped back, the coyote was no longer sitting in the field. I am so grateful to live in a place where I see wild animals and today’s sighting was enhanced by the mist rising off the ice covered pond, the fresh snow cover, the trees laden with snow, the quiet, the sun just starting to shine and being with Simon. As we neared the end of our walk we came upon a couple walking their two dogs off leash. All the humans gave the indication that all dogs were ok to meet other dogs. Simon approached in his usual manner - getting low and moving slow and indirectly to greet the other dogs. One of the dogs was a puppy who came bounding over and she and Simon hit it off well. The other dog was a spaniel type dog and came over to greet Simon. While the puppy was to my left, Simon and the spaniel were to my right. When I checked to see how the greeting was going, I noted that Simon’s body was somewhat curved and then Wham! the springer sprung towards Simon grabbing his hind flank. Seemed like the springer had a pretty good bunch of Simon’s flesh in his mouth but I was quickly able to move Simon away from the springer. Unfortunately, the springer came at Simon again before his owner’s could react. In short order we had the two dogs separated and no one appeared hurt - although both the springer and Simon were quite aroused. Simon was not following in the paw prints of our previous yellow lab and rolling over on his back, he was fighting back as our previous chocolate had done. Good information for me! The guardians of the springer were most apologetic. My goal was to keep the dogs separate and decrease their arousal. I did notice that after the dogs had been separated, the springer’s owners had done an ‘alpha roll’ with their dog. This is a practice that has the potential to increase a dog’s reactivity/aggression/arousal (this is supported by science and the latest work and research with dogs). Not a good idea to do this with ANY dog at ANY time, but particularly dangerous to do to a dog that is already in a high state of arousal. So what happened here? This type of encounter usually happens so quickly that we humans often miss a lot of the canine communication (dogs often communicate using subtle movements of their bodies) that leads to such reactivity. We had three dogs meeting, two off leash and one on leash - so already there is an imbalance. When Simon is on leash and meeting other dogs, I am always working to keep his leash very loose so that he is able to use his body to communicate his good intentions to other dogs, could I have inhibited his ability to do this? Was the other dog protective of his humans or of the new female puppy? Simon and the springer are both un-neutered males- was this a factor? Did the springer have a history of this and could he have been managed better? Lots to think about. One conclusion I had, is that I will definitely add a loud whistle or “canned horn” to our dog walking kit. Such a device can be used to startle fighting dogs who might be difficult to separate. It is good to have a plan and to be mindful of not getting in a position with fighting dogs that you end up being bitten. It is also important that when dogs fight it does not make the initiator a “bad” dog, but it does provide critical information that a guardian must keep in mind for all future dog to dog encounters. Also- NEVER, NEVER, NEVER do an ‘alpha roll’ on a dog!
