Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years

Karla's Kolumn

Things I’ve learned from my dogs

I’ve learned a lot over the years from the dogs that we have welcomed into our family.

I’ll start with things I specifically learned over past few months from our pup named Shadow.

I’ve learned where confetti comes from – it comes from having a room full of paper and throwing in a dozen puppies. Puppies can shred any type of paper in under 5 seconds. They don’t have the special cut outs like at the Super Bowl, but just your standard confetti. It’s amazing how fast paper can be shredded. Also, you don’t need a paper shredder when you have a puppy.

I’ve learned that if you have something you haven’t been able to find in a while, a puppy will find it. You won’t know where she found it, you’ll just notice when she’s chewing on it and it’s nearly destroyed.

I’ve learned even if you think you’ve puppy proofed the home … you haven’t. There will be something on the floor or near the floor you missed that is just within reach of the puppy and good for chewing on. And puppies like to chew on anything, and everything, all the time.

I’ve learned you have to be a great housekeeper (of which I am not) with puppies. You can’t let something lie on the floor for more than five seconds or the puppy will pick it up and either try to eat it or play with it.

Now for dogs in general, I’ve learned that dogs in some ways are just like people. You have some that are more vocal than others. Our oldest dog Sarah has never been much of a “talker” but she does like to sing, especially “Happy Birthday” or “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” She even provided brief background vocals in Basin at a performance in the park when one of the performers sang “Blue Moon.”

Our middle dog, Ivy, well before we got Shadow, we thought she “talked” a lot with quiet little whines when we weren’t paying attention, or when she wants to play “red dot.”

And then there’s Shadow. She’s that “child” that rarely ever shuts up. She whines when she wants outside and if you don’t let her out she’ll come right in your face and bark. She whines when she’s tired, when she’s hungry, when Ivy won’t play with her. She talks to the cats, especially Chuck when they are playing. She talks when she plays by herself or playing with Ivy and when she’s dreaming. And, yes, dogs dream.

I’ve learned that they all have different eating habits. Shadow, for the most part is a scarf and be done with it type of eater especially her puppy food in the morning, but occasionally she snacks and grabs a bite and comes into the living room to check on us while she chews. Sarah is an eat-on-the-go type dog. She’ll grab a bite or two of food and then make a lap around from the kitchen through the living room back to her dish for a couple more bites. Ivy has become our lazy eater, lying down to consume her meal.

I’ve learned that some are smarter than others. Shadow is probably the smartest dog we’ve ever owned. She learns quickly, sometimes too quickly, from us and from her siblings. Case in point, when we were in Basin, I would usually blow dry my hair if we were going for a walk early in the morning and it was too cold to let it air dry. Sarah quickly caught on and would get excited and bark while I blew dry my hair. She knew she got to go for a walk. Ivy learned this behavior – blow dryer on means bark. Here in Worland, I blow dry my hair to style it in the morning. Sarah quickly figured out it didn’t mean a walk here and now ignores it. Ivy still for the most parts run in the bathroom to watch me and bark. Now Shadow does the same thing, not knowing why she does it, but if her sister does it there must be a good reason. If she’s in the bathroom with me — because true to her name she is a shadow — and I turn the dryer on she looks out the door and waits for Ivy to come running in.

And, I’ve learned best of all, just as all dog owners learn, dogs are better than people – they don’t talk politics, they don’t judge, they love unconditionally, they easily forgive especially if you give them treats and they quickly forget you were mad at them.