Okay, “hate my dogs” may be too strong. Our mother taught us that we “don’t hate anyone.” Today, I strongly dislike our dogs.
It’s fair to say that 99% of the time I not only love them, I really, really like them, too. I still love them, but today they’ve proven difficult to like.
Parents may feel the same
Neither of us has human children, but we suppose that parents feel the same way. You always love your kids, but there are days you’d like to take a break.
It’s not all the time. It’s probably rare. We’ve even arranged our lives so that when we take a vacation break, our dogs go with us. Non-dog friends have asked “Don’t you want to get away from them?” And our usual response has been “We have dogs because we want to spend time with them!” Except for right now.
Schedule disruption
It probably started on Friday, when the schedule around here went haywire. We’ve said a kabillion times how much dogs adore routines and schedules. This weekend ours descended into chaos, with a family function starting mid-day on Saturday and continuing through the evening.
Consequently, we didn’t arrive home when we regularly do, they didn’t get their walks and dinner when they’re used to getting them, and they didn’t know what the heck was going on.
And then, when we did let them into the yard for their before-bedtime walk – there was a rabbit in our yard.
We always go outside with our dogs. Our yard is fenced, but our neighbor’s dog is hostile, and a couple of our dogs have a tendency to eat dirt/grass/leaves and then puke if we’re not there. And sometimes attempt it when we are there. So we always go.
The chase
I (Hope) was still inside when I heard the rabbit scream. If you’ve never heard it, I don’t recommend it. And then Fran screaming for “drop it!” “Leave it!” Probably a few unpublishable words, and lots of general chaos and mayhem.
So I dashed outside and grabbed for a collar – any collar. We finally disentangled dogs from rabbit and got the culprits inside. Except Tango, who was calmly and obliviously eating dirt out back. We thought the rabbit escaped out the gate, damaged, but alive.
Dogs are true to their nature. They are predators and our lot all have that instinct to chase and kill. Except Tango, who would rather eat dirt.
Overcoming the instinct to chase and hunt, especially when there’s no warning and no chance to prepare, is difficult at best. Had the dogs been on leash, in a training situation, we could probably have gotten them to ignore the rabbit. Unfettered, in their own yard? Not a chance.
The aftermath
So we spent the next half hour cleaning blood off of our dogs’ paws and faces and checking for wounds. We’re not sure if rabbits bite, but we know they can inflict damage with their nails. And one of our dogs could have nailed another in the melee.
Fortunately, everybody seems okay. We got everyone calmed down and went to bed.
This morning, Booker was obsessed with the area. And we finally figured out why. The stupid rabbit that shouldn’t have been in our yard in the first place, had crawled under our grill to die. So there was that clean-up to do, too.
Today – not crazy about our dogs. We’ll get over it, but it’s a reminder that they’re not actually civilized. Today, I hate my dogs. But I’ll get over it.
omg, i should not have read this
i have been involved in rabbit rescue for over 15 years and this story makes me cry. the bunny was probably grazing in your yard (does your yard have any grass or greens? bunz are vegetarians), and didn’t know it shouldn’t have been in your yard in the first place, when your dogs went out. if there had just been one dog, the bun would probably have been all right. but a pack of dogs, the bun had no chance. of course your fur babies were acting on instinct, on their prey drive, but this story still makes me ill. i pray that the bun didn’t suffer too much but i’m afraid that he did
ugh. a sad story all around. and yes, bunz do bite
p.s. this is linda, i sent you pics of my dog ezra and my guinea pig gilbert. i’ve had many rescued bunz in my house, my own and a bazillion fosters, and even when i had 3 yorkies things went well. the bunz were in at least 24″ tall x-pens and i watched everyone like a hawk. naturally, it’s not the same as dogs suddenly discovering a bun in their territory, not in an x-pen…i should not have read this story
Awww, Linda. I’m so sorry for causing you any grief. I felt terrible for the rabbit. We’ve done what we could think of to protect them, motion-detector lights to frighten them away, going out with the dogs always. And we honestly did think that rabbits would avoid yards that smell of dogs. It’s just sad. I wish we could have saved it.