Some of us are more sensitive than others. Some of us are so sensitive that we sense what others never even notice. And some dogs are like that.
Take for example the girl on your left, Luna. She came with that name. Coincidentally, there was a full moon on the night I picked her up. Luna’s got special sensing gifts. For one thing, it’s really interesting how she’ll notice an insect or lizard on the ceiling when none of my other dogs do. And those ceiling dwellers annoy her. She’ll stare and grumble at them, bark too, until they disappear or we leave their company.
Now when a thunder storm comes along, she’s very uncomfortable. It hasn’t always been that way, but as the years rolled by, storms have disturbed her sense of well being more and more. I do what I’d do for anyone who’s upset I comfort her till the storm passes.
Our electricity sometimes flickers off and on. No matter how fast the electricity exchange takes place, Luna is not amused. She gets upset, comes to me, and trembles. Comfort, comfort, comfort. It can take a while for her to come back down to earth from the upset she feels from the situation. I can’t imagine what that initial trigger feels like to create the tremors in her.
I thought this was about visual and auditory sensing, but Luna surprised me last night. Somewhere in the middle of sleeping, she stood up by my head, and the whole bed started shaking because she was. I couldn’t figure out what had happened. I didn’t hear thunder, didn’t see lightning, and it wasn’t that cold! The air conditioning was not on, neither was a fan, and the windows were closed. She does tend to shiver when she’s cold, hence the blanket I keep on her. So I told her to lie down, covered her up, comforted her, and I dozed off as her shaking subsided.
By morning I’d almost forgotten about the incident until I went to turn on the stereo. Flashing lights on the thing told me that the electricity had been off. It’s what the machine does every time we lose power. Resets itself and displays a panel of dashing lights.
So THAT’s what happened last night! The electricity went off, and doing a little further investigation, I knew it was off for one of those split second incidents. My Sirius radio receiver, which is on 24/7 because it’s so hard to get it back on once it’s off, was still on. That only happens when there’s a flicker. So Luna, even in the depth of slumber sensed that electric snafu and reacted. Impressive, but also unfortunate for the anxiety it produces.
Another interesting tidbit about this girl is she is the dog to go over to another dog who’s been rude to her and ask for an apology. She seems to get hurt feelings and needs to know the other dog didn’t purposely bump into her with painful intent, which is usually the offense. Now this is my interpretation, but I’ve seen her do this enough times to say she wants the offender to make things right.
The girl also smiles. And air chops. What can I say? She’s a sensitive dog being. I’m on the sensitive side of human being myself. Maybe that’s why Luna and I crossed paths and bonded. We’re a nice fit, we two are.
Take a look at the things your own dog does. Perhaps you have a sensitive living under your roof, too.
By Helen Verte
Certified Pet Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed, Certified Trick Dog Instructor
Sensitive Dog Trainer, Ft Lauderdale, Broward County
