Water Bowl Scrum

A Tale of Two Packs

When I do an overnight in Austin, I usually stay with my friend Kim. She's got a big rambling house in south Austin and six dogs of her own.

The first time I showed up, I think I had three terriers with me (I've traveled to Austin with as many as four). Kim and I were on full alert as we introduced the two packs that first time. But to our surprise...nothing happened.

Sure, we are careful to feed them separately and pick up food bowls and other resources, but this is just basic multi-dog management anyway. Every single time I stay at her place, we marvel at how well the two packs get along.

It really shouldn't happen this way. My pack is a tight unit even though Mimi and Gracie have to be separated. The world of the smooth fox terriers is large (they travel, stay in hotels, go to tournaments, get dragged to exotic locales, etc.) but their energy and attention are focused on me first, then each other. I think the same is true for Kim's pack.

It is interesting to watch the two packs interact because there is very little direct interaction at all. A smooth fox will brush past a border collie in passing but neither one reacts. Two or three dogs might race to sniff the same spot in the back field, but there's apparently plenty of smell to go around. The two packs don't blob together and form one large pack. Instead, the two groups interleave, winding in and among each other yet still behaving as two packs.

Kim has a large field behind her house accessed by gates in her backyard. All of the dogs love racing around this field. There is a great frenzy of pushing and shoving among the dogs as we open the gates, and they are obviously excited, but everyone behaves.

Three smooth foxes and four of Kim's dogs moving into position at the gate.

My terriers are pretty reactive in nearly all other situations so I can't figure out why Kim and I have been so successful at putting them all together. Is it because all the dogs are so fabulously well trained? Can't say that for my dogs, no. My dogs may be on good behavior because Kim's place is obviously not their turf nor turf they can reasonably claim. But it is more than that. There just isn't any tension at all between the two groups. The dogs take a surprisingly pragmatic approach to the situation.

Aaand they're off!

I've been thinking about how this applies to us, the humans. Perhaps the lesson is that we too often focus on us versus them, on differences, instead of what brings us together: the joy in running across an open field in the morning sunshine, the pleasure in being together with friends.

The Pack

I'm back home from my conference and the dogs are back home from the kennel. As expected, the tan and whites are all limping, but no bloody paws this time.

I always feel such a sense of relief when I get all my dogs back together in one place again. I think they feel the same. They are exhausted from the kennel but still follow me from room to room as I unpack and straighten the house, unwilling to let me out of their sight. As I write this, Jack, Gracie, and Dyna are clumped together on dog beds near my feet. Harry is on my bed, but he only has to lift his head to see me. Earlier, I was stretched out on the couch watching a bit of TV and Mimi was curled up between me and Jack with her head on my shoulder. Two of the cats were wedged in there too.

The world is right when all of the pack is home together.

But for me, the pack is not whole. It's been almost a month since I lost my Iz. I miss her terribly.


Harry has also been mourning. I'm not surprised by this but I don't think I anticipated the depth of his sadness. He gets up to eat and go out to potty, but lays back down as soon as he is done. He has been like this since we said goodbye to Iz. His body language expresses sadness, not the constant electric joy and engagement that fox terriers should have. There is nothing I can do or say to explain to him what happened. He knew she was sick, all of the dogs did because they were treating her differently towards the end. But how can I tell him Iz is not coming back, that the pack, that old pack, will never be whole. That we need to settle into a new pack.

When I'm asked how many dogs I have, I have to pause now and remember to say "five".

Every daily routine has a hole in it.

I'm still mourning too. Unless I'm at work with its endless distractions, I feel sad most of the time. But I have five dogs depending on me for those daily routines. And I have to look at the tired fox terriers scattered around the house tonight and think that it is good to have them here, tired and happy to be home with me too.