Identity Crises

Most of our dogs can be considered fairly "normal".  That is, their behavior is in the range of what we expect of dogs of their breed.  Canaans behave like Canaans, collies behave like collies, small podengos (sometimes unfortunately) behave like podengos…

But there are a few that seem to be having a problem deciding on their identity.

The first is Sulpicia, a bracco Italiano.  She is the only bracco that we have, so maybe that is one of the factors that has an influence on her.  She has grown up surrounded by Canaans, and the result seems to be that she thinks she is one.

Braccos are hunting dogs, pointers by profession, and they have to hunt silently, using their excellent noses to pinpoint the game, and then creeping up as close as they can, stealthily, and freezing into a point.  After the hunter has taken down the game, the bracco can be expected to run out and locate it, and to bring it back, carrying it gently in his big soft mouth and not leaving a mark on it.  When they are not hunting, they are friendly and amiable and not interested in much except relaxing and saving energy for the next hunt, when they are immediately ready for plenty of action and have plenty of energy, spirit and endurance.

Sulpicia has plenty of energy, there is no question of that, and plenty of endurance as well.  She also can go to sleep and be oblivious to the world for hours if nothing interesting is happening.  But she has decided that it is also her job to be a guard dog and to bark more than the Canaans, at everything and everyone, and her bark is loud and resounding.  Sometimes she is even the first to bark at something that is happening, and sometimes I think that she starts barking when there is not really anything to bark at, because she enjoys the reaction of all the Canaans, who believe her and immediately start barking as well.

Since she is not employed as a hunting dog, she has decided that her favorite prey are balls.  She is crazy about balls.  She can walk around for hours with her favorite ball in her mouth, and sometimes even sleeps with it.  She loves to chase balls and to retrieve, and she has learned to push the ball with her nose to any people who might be around to get them to throw it again. She is also an expert at stealing balls from the other dogs.  Just set .down on the ground for an instant and she has it

But she also seems to have forgotten that braccos have a big soft mouth.  She holds on to the things that are precious to her with a death grip.  It is almost impossible to open her mouth, only when she is ready to give up her treasure will she relax those steely jaws.  I really don't think that she would do a great job of retrieving a bird…

Our second identity conflict is Merino, our beautiful, young, black Canaan dog.  He looks like a Canaan – a very nice one – and for the most part acts like one, being very alert and guarding well, not being fond of strange dogs in his territory, and with a preference for looking new people over from a few steps away while he decides if they can be allowed to pet him or not. 

Canaans are usually very serious dogs.  They are not interested in silly games, and once they have learned something, showed that they know it, and performed it properly, one or two times is enough. "Been there, done that" can be considered a Canaan slogan.

But Merino seems to think that he is a border collie.  He can spend hours playing with toys – a rope toy, balls, or whatever – and if there is no one who will play with him, he will play with himself. He throws the toys in the air and catches them, drops balls at the top of a slope so that they will roll and he can chase them, and gallops around finding more imaginative ways to play.  If there is someone to play with, he is thrilled, and he will play "fetch" for hours if he has the chance.  Canaans in general are not particularly fond of retrieving, they are much more likely to go off with their prize, but Merino is an excellent retriever.

He is also keen on learning all sorts of silly tricks, like giving paws, ringing a bell with his paw, learning to "sing" for a treat…the other Canaans really don't understand this behavior.  They are usually quite calm dogs, but Merino is always bursting with energy (border collie!).  Whatever identity he may assume for himself, Merino is always very happy and certainly enjoying himself.

Then there is Calimero. Also big, black and beautiful, a very impressive boy who is a very serious guard dog.  Well, he is as long as people are outside the house or the yard.  The minute they step into his territory, he becomes a Labrador.  "Pet me, pet me, pet me!" is what he wants, jumping on everyone as if they are his long time best friends, licking, rubbing against them, and in general doing everything he can to show how much he loves people.  It is rather embarrassing, really, when you have just finished explaining the temperament of the Canaans to visitors, their cautiousness and discrimination, and then Cali comes 

bounding in with a huge welcoming grin.

Shauna is an elegant Canaan girl, daughter of a dog that was brought in from the desert, and very much Canaan in all her behaviors.  For various reasons, she had her first litter only this year, at the age of five.  Canaans are known to be good and devoted mothers, but Shauna has crossed the line.  The two pups from her litter that have remained here are now eight months old and bigger than she is, but she insists that they are puppies, runs after them licking their mouths, cleaning them when they eliminate, and in general treating them like the tiny pups that she so much enjoyed having after so many years of waiting…identity crisis super mom?

Ziva David, on the other hand, is a big, strong and tough girl, queen of the pack of Canaans, and loves being in control of everything.  But she seems to have decided that she is a cheetah.  She goes out in the yard and starts running at top speed all around the available space, not stopping for long minutes at a time, and just to spice things up a bit, taking a few flying leaps to look over the top of the two meter fence, and then back to running again.  Even though she has gotten rather chunky in the last few months, this has no influence on her running, though maybe her speed is slightly less…

Finally there is Habibi.  Habibi has always been a very serious dog, feeling very responsible for protecting me and our property.  He never took food from strangers, and even from people that he knew, he would take the offered treat, walk away with it, put it down and examine it very thoroughly, and also check with me if it was something that could be eaten.

Here in Italy, he has become food crazy (I guess Italian food can do that).  He loves all treats offered, including a plain piece of bread, and is really crazy about the vanilla flavored dog biscuits we have discovered here.  He will act like a silly puppy just to get a bit of biscuit.  It is hilarious to see Habibi, a big, strong, tough boy, rolling around on his back just to get a biscuit.

The other dogs seem to be secure in their normal identities…for now…