Counting Coup...On the Vacuum Cleaner

Brady, like most dogs, is terrified of the vacuum cleaner.  Whenever I get the Oreck out of the closet, he runs to his kennel and hides.  

He ventures out cautiously if the ferocious beast is roaring in another room.  He holds his ground as I make my way from the back of the house to the front, moving ever closer to his "turf."  He watches the vacuum vigilantly, ready to dart to the safety of his kennel at the first sign of danger.

It doesn't help that our vacuum has headlights.  When I turn in his direction, the lights glare fiercely at him, and he runs for cover.

Today, in a great show of bravery, he darted quickly at the enemy, nipped the vacuum bag, and darted away again, only rising for the briefest of moments from a defensive crouch.  When I realized what he was doing--counting coup on the vacuum cleaner--I nearly laughed out loud. 

But biting the vacuum is not behavior I want to encourage, so he got his scolding, and a trip to his kennel.  Inside I was laughing, though, and he probably knew it.  

We humans like to think we're special, but animals do so many of the same things we do, and we can learn from each other.  In this case, both dogs and humans have a practice that reminds them that simply by touching the strange other we call our enemy, we can conquer our fear.

Herding with Brady

Throughout this past winter, most Saturdays you would find Brady and me herding sheep in Wasilla at Sunset Acres Farm. This photo was taken last summer, when it was actually hot enough to wear a t-shirt! Right now around here we're beginning to think it will never be spring, let alone summer.

Learning to herd sheep with a dog is a difficult skill, and perhaps even a spiritual discipline. It teaches humility, patience, consciousness--yep, sounds like a spiritual discipline to me.

In this photo, Brady is coming to the head of the small group of sheep, something he's not really supposed to do. So he's learning where to be, and I'm learning how to tell him where to be.

Herding can be frustrating and funny all at the same time. When the Brady's barking and running circles around the sheep, and the sheep are pushing past me and through me. When Suzanne is yelling commands to me across the arena, and my brain is sure that she's speaking French. When Suzanne takes over with Brady and through her expertise and confidence he turns into a little herding angel.

So why do Brady & I go to herding lessons? First and foremost, because "a tired dog is a good dog." And because he loves it, and was bred to do it--it's in his genes. But also because it's an ancient skill, and we're losing ancient skills as quickly as we are endangered species. It's good exercise. It forces me to connect with the physical world, something this daydreamer needs to do. It is, as Martha says, a good thing.

Crazy, Sweater-Herding Dog

Brady and I have been going to herding lessons for the last three weekends, and he's really getting "turned on" to the sheep (I suppose that's a technical term!).

So turned on that today when I wore my Icelandic wool sweater for the first time this winter, he decided I was a sheep. Guess there was something in the wool that got him going. Funny, but not OK.