Old and Tough

The long morning walk on the trail was finished and we headed back to the car, me thinking of coffee and toast, Abby thinking of her breakfast. 

As we passed the gas station, the car in sight, I heard a dog bark across the road to my left. Of course,  Abby responded. Ferociously as usual. 

It was a German Shepherd, the pretty kind with the mostly black face, and I just knew it was going to be a male. I didn't notice if he was intact because I was focused on the fact he was likely going to cross what is normally a busy road. Thankfully, early on a cold, cloudy Sunday morning, even Tim Horton's wasn't that busy -- so he was able to cross safely to check out Abby. 

She endured thirty seconds of his sniffing her backend, then she told him off. I heard him yip, and we sent him home with blood on his nose. 

That'll teach him. 

This is the second time in six months that Abby and I have been "greeted" by a loose male dog, and both times, when I started to insist we ALL cross the road to return him home, she told him off. Put him in his place. And both times, the male backed off and respected her authority. Her dominance. 

Abby! My girl. 

She learned this from Stella, my old girl who died in 2015 and who was with me through a lot of upheaval from the time I picked her up as a puppy in 2002. A couple of years ago, I read in a book that if you have issues with your current dog, you might not want to get a puppy because the older dog will simply teach those issues to the young dog. 

As soon as I read that, I knew that had happened. That Abby's protectiveness and barking was taught to her by Stella, who was exactly the same. Given the emotional rollercoaster I was on for much of Stella's life, I guess she felt I needed protection; but it's not the same with Abby. 

But seeing her in action, watching her "put the boots" to a friendly but forward, and unknown, male dog, I'm grateful for her strong protective streak. I appreciate her taking control of the situation. After all, neither male dog was listening to me; they were much more interested in sniffing Abby's backside. So she helped us get rid the nuisance, motivated by the fact we needed to get home for breakfast. 

My girl!