This Side Up

There’s got to be a way to outsmart Ollie

Posted 11/25/14

“Quick,” I yelled downstairs to Carol, “There’s a huge owl in the tree outside.”

“What?”

From the kitchen came a prolonged howl. This wasn’t anything ordinary for Ollie. This …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in
This Side Up

There’s got to be a way to outsmart Ollie

Posted

“Quick,” I yelled downstairs to Carol, “There’s a huge owl in the tree outside.”

“What?”

From the kitchen came a prolonged howl. This wasn’t anything ordinary for Ollie. This was a call to hunt that could have rivaled any trumpet.

Carol and Ollie, our spotted coonhound, were staring at me from the bottom of the staircase.

“What set him off?” I asked.

“It must have been the tone of your voice.”

Just as they reached the bedroom window, the owl took wing and effortlessly swooped down from its perch to glide along the bay. It looked like a visitor from the Arctic; a snowy white, like those seen throughout the northeast last winter. It may have never heard a coonhound’s howl, but it wasn’t waiting around, taking chances.

Ollie raced downstairs, anxious to get out. The dog is certifiably crazy. What was he thinking? He could track the giant bird?

This got me thinking. How could our dog be so sensitive to the tone of my voice when he does give a hoot (pardon the pun) for just about every command except “sit, lie down and stay?” That’s his repertoire.

Scent has been his guiding force ever since we adopted Ollie. He’ll jump up from a sound sleep, with nose quivering, and race to the door, ready to patrol. We slip on his “invisible fence” collar that Carol has rigged with a cowbell and open the back door. In a leap, he’s off the porch and on the prowl. On the run, with tail waving and nose to the ground, he checks the perimeter of the yard, jerking to a stop at a scent. Then it’s serious business. Whatever it is, it has his full attention.

Our other dogs we’ve had were similarly engaged by odors. They would fixate on an area and then with solemnity, as if on holy ground, lift their leg and spray the spot.

Not Ollie. He’ll take deep breaths of what has caught his attention and then resume patrol. We can only imagine what it is. Carol is convinced it’s the neighbor’s cat that likes to loll in the yard when Ollie is in the house, watching with uncontrollable excitement. As soon as the cat hears the door open, she’s over the fence in a shot.

It’s not the scent of squirrel. Ollie pays no attention to them. They’ll get out of his way but they’ve learned he’s not after them, even when he attempts to climb a tree. The tree climbing, fortunately not one of his skills, has more to do with the cat or the occasional raccoon.

Ollie will spend hours on patrol, criss-crossing the yard, following the fence line, ever respectful of the invisible fence across the drive and the front yard.

It’s when the cowbell stops that Carol takes notice. She’s convinced that’s when he’s bored and trouble begins. He really goes for plastic. Idle lawn sprinklers have been reduced to shards and the Whiffleball bat is half its original size. Then there are the excavations that appear along the chain link fence that occasionally offered escape. It’s another story when the greater neighborhood is his hunting grounds.

Calling rarely brings him. Carol claps and waves his dinner plate from the porch but, if he’s still on the scent, he won’t pay attention.

When he’s tuned into food or yanking the knotted rope – his pullie – he’s transformed. His attention is unwavering and he’ll heed commands to sit, lie down and stay. So, when Carol suggested Ollie had picked up on my excitement about the owl, I wondered if he knew from our tone it really wasn’t worth coming when called. Pleading and coaxing never works. Shaming him is a turnoff. Yelling has no effect and proclaiming, with a sense of discovery, “Look! Look!” that always brought our other dogs is completely ineffective.

No…I need something more compelling. Maybe “cat” would work.

I should be calling, “Here kitty, kitty.” That might bring him running.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here