In early October 1994 a coworker
told me that her sister had a female Rottweiler who was about to have puppies
and she was going to buy one. Like a fool, I committed to purchasing one as
well, though I had no idea why. Perhaps it was just another step to adulthood
since I had a good job and was in the process of purchasing a home. Regardless of
the reason I had made the commitment. Being a typical stupid twenty-something
male I then told her to pick out a big aggressive one. Looking back I shake my head at my
ignorance. Seriously, what was I
thinking? I had never seen a Rottweiler in real life, and my only experience
with dogs was our ranch dogs who were more like four legged free loaders who
followed us around on the ranch during chores. My knowledge of dogs was so
limited that the first thing I did was go out and purchase a book called Rottweilers: A Complete Pet Owner’s Guide.
With a newly read book and not
much else, I waited expectantly for my dog to appear. I had already decided that I would name my
dog Taz regardless of the sex. Being an
avid fan of the Tasmanian Devil on the old Bugs
Bunny and Road Runner cartoons, the name seemed a logical choice. During
that time I learned that my coworker couldn’t keep her dog where she lived so I
agreed to keep her at my house, another fateful decision. So here I was expecting two eight week old
Rottweilers with not a clue as to what I was getting myself into. The weeks
after my fateful decision flew by, and the pups were born October 28, 1994 with
no males available so I knew I was getting a female. The pups weren’t available until after
Christmas so I arranged to visit my mom out in Portland for the holiday,
figuring I would be limited on my travels once I became a puppy parent. After
Christmas I flew back home on December 26th, the very day the dogs
arrived. There before me were two black and tan balls of fur and curiosity. Taz
and Mickey were my first experience with puppies, let alone Rottweilers, and
the lessons I would learn from them would transform my life in ways never
imagined.
Over the next twelve months I
went through the painful process of house training and learning of the
destructive habits of puppies. After a
year my coworker realized she couldn’t keep her dog so I was now the proud
owner of both of them.
It was while playing with them
and simply watching them grow and explore that I realized there was something
different about them from other dogs I had known. They were thinking, scheming at times, they
were, for lack of a better description, not normal dogs. It was then that I
started down the path of researching more about the breed and their unique
traits. They certainly were not like the mutts or cattle dogs from my ranch
experience.
As Taz and Mickey grew older I
found myself changing my lifestyle to accommodate them. I quickly learned that if they were bored or
not exhausted from exercise then they became destructive. To this day I believe that there is no more
destructive force on earth than two bored Rottweiler puppies. So, long walks
and play sessions became the norm. This
grew the bond between us, so much so that I found myself wanting to get home
from work to spend time with my dogs instead of going out with friends. The
reason was simple enough, I was finding my time with dogs more enjoyable than
humans, or at least humans who didn’t like dogs.
My dad struggled with my new
devotion to my dogs, not being a man that thought more of dogs than, well, just
dogs. I was starting to see these
powerful, intelligent, exuberant pups as companions, even starting to refer to
them as my kids, something I never thought I’d do. This disagreement came to a head
one weekend when the dogs and I drove the two hours back to the family ranch
west of Helena, Montana. Taz and Mickey
had accompanied me many times before and had always stayed with me in the house,
but for whatever reason my dad said my dogs couldn’t stay inside anymore. I told him that my dogs sleep indoors with me
and dad made it clear again that they were not welcome in the house. I said, ‘okay’, and didn’t discuss it again
during the night. Come bedtime, I went
outside with my dogs and all three of us spent the night sleeping in my truck. The next morning my dad saw the dogs and I
exiting the truck and asked where I slept.
I told him in my truck and he asked, amazed, and why I would do that
when there was a perfectly good bed in the house for me? My response floored him.
“I told you, the dogs sleep where
I sleep.”
I don’t recall the exact words my
dad replied with but I’m sure ‘stupid’ and ‘dumb’ were mixed in his tirade. My
dad never grasped the connection that had formed between my dogs and me. It was similar to the bond I shared as a
youth with the ranch dogs, barn cats, and horses on the ranch. Those I will detail in future blog posts. It
wasn’t that I was adverse to my dogs sleeping outside, it was just that I had
come to realize that my world was full of many things: family, friends, job,
hobbies, and many other things, but for my dogs, their entire world was
me. I had never had a living thing so
trusting, so dependent on me for its existence, and it wasn’t something I was
willing to discard or treat in a cavalier fashion. For that I was willing to
make sacrifices, including sleeping in my truck.
Months passed and during that
time I heard all the rumors about how Rottweilers became aggressive and turned
on their owners as they got older. I
couldn’t imagine those being true as I watched my now 18-month-old dogs
play. At nearly 90 pounds, though, they
were starting to be intimidating even if still exhibiting some of the
uncoordinated antics that puppies do.
Then one summer night my worst fears came to fruition.
My dogs slept on the bed with me
and while in a deep sleep I heard deep growls unlike anything I had heard
before. I opened my eyes and in the darkness I could see and feel the shape of
one of my dogs standing over me. I heard
the growl again. Dear God, they are going to kill me! I couldn’t believe that the rumors were true.
I struggled to figure out a way to fend off this beast who was standing over me
growling. My arms were pinned under the
covers; I truly felt helpless. I heard
the growl again: deep, throaty, and menacing.
Then I heard something else, voices outside my open window. My condo was right next to Montana State
University, so a steady stream of students passed at all hours of the day and
night. As my eyes, ears, and mind
adjusted to consciousness I realized that Taz wasn’t growling at me but she was
protecting me, giving that ominous growl that Rottweilers do oh so well. I
finally freed a hand and patted her side, telling her it was okay. Seeing I was awake, Taz went back to the
playful, loving pup she always was.
Again, I realized my dogs were not what I had known dogs to be. One minute sleeping, then the next a fearless
protector, and then back to loving companion.
I have never forgotten that night
and the lesson learned about the loyalty of dogs. Over the following years I learned a lot from
Taz and Mickey. I also made a lot of
mistakes, which thankfully didn’t result in me having to put them down or
losing my house in a lawsuit. The
biggest lessons were, first and foremost, the understanding of how a canine
pack functions. It is critical that we interact with and communicate with dogs
in ways they understand, as dogs, and stop trying to interact with them as if
they are humans. This was where the name
of my consulting business, Think Dog Consulting, originated. For me to have a healthy relationship with my
dogs I had to think like a dog. The
second lesson was patience. Getting angry over deeds done hours before did
nothing to help train the dog. I learned
to roll with the punches, so to speak, and remember that Taz and Mickey were
learning as much as I was.
Taz died unexpectedly at age
four, the cause never determined.
Mickey, the dog who was never supposed to be mine, ended up being a
faithful companion and protector for ten years. I miss them both very much, as
they taught me more about life than is possible to convey here. They also were the reason I expanded my interest in Rottweilers and eventually started Big Sky Rottweiler Rescue, that story I will detail in my next blog.
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