" A " for effort... but otherwise, a housebreaking fail

A friend who recently lost her beloved dog called me today, and we moved, as often happens, from sad stories of long-gone dogs to laughing at the things those same animals did while they were alive.



We started out discussing whether or not we let our other dogs see and sniff the body of a dog who has died, which might sound a bit macabre to some but has actually led to some heartwarming moments and, we both think, better grief processing on the part of the surviving dogs.



That reminded me of one of my favorite stories about such a moment, when my hyper little cattle dog/Chessie mix, Scarlett, first sniffed and then walked on the body of my mom's dog Doughal.



"That has to be the most perfect Scarlett thing to do, ever," my friend said, laughing.



I agreed, as anyone who knew Scarlett would have to. But it reminded me of a very different kind of moment during the life of my deerhound Bran.



Like nearly every deerhound I've ever owned, Bran hated going out in the rain. (And yes, I have explained to them that it rains around 300 days a year in Scotland. They usually reply with something about castles and serfs and royal dog of Scotland, and continue to hold me personally responsible for all things meteorological.)



When we lived in the country I had a dog door to a safely fenced area, and my dogs had access to it through a dog door in my living room wall. I lived in the area with the second highest rainfall of any place in California, and one day, during a particularly bad storm, the wind was blowing, the rain was coming down in sheets, and my dogs (except, actually, Scarlett) were lying around letting their bladders stretch and swell and refusing to go outside.



Finally, Bran had enough. He stood up and marched bravely to the dog door, stuck his head outside, walked a foot or so into the deluge, and stopped.



His head and shoulders were in the storm. His back was covered by the flap of the dog door. His hindquarters were still inside my living room. In his mind, however, he was outside, and so he peed.



Not a minor pee, either; this had been building since the night before.



And what did I do while my hardwood floors were being soaked with dog urine? Did I shove my dog out into the rain and minimize the damage?



I might have, if I hadn't been first stunned and then laughing so hard I almost peed myself.



Remind me to tell you about the time I had to carry an umbrella out into the yard and hold it over my deerhound Lillie before she'd potty for the first time in two days.

Comments

[Lisa]

Apparently all dogs that hail from Scotland learn to hate the rain once the memory of their homeland fades. Many's the night I've hunkered over in the rain, holding an umbrella over one of my Scotties so that she or he could pee--while my own backside got thoroughly soaked.



Lisa in Cape May County, NJ

[Annette]

that's hilarious! and you even managed to make my dour today hubby smile.

[Colorado Transplant]

I am virtually speechless after your story!



Yes, I went to the Bran link, too.

[Susan Fox]

One of the first questions we often get at the shelter about a dog is "Are they housebroken?" So many of them are, it's kind of surprising. And they do their best to not to do their business in the inside part of their kennel where they sleep. I've taken dogs out for a walk and been stunned at how long and how much they've peed. I just stand there and stand there and marvel at their determination. They must be So Relieved.



If women could hold it half as long as some dogs, there'd be no need to provide any ladies restrooms at all at sports stadiums ;-).

[Christie Keith]

Lisa, we can wonder why they do it, but the more pertinent question may be: Why do we? ;)

[straybaby]

Dot won't go anywhere near an umbrella in a rain storm. The noise freaks her out. She's ok with some storms. The water needs to be the right temp, lol!~ Of course we don't know if it is until we get downstairs. If it's too cold, she plasters herself against the door while I stand in the rain and try and get her to go to her spot (literally right in front of the building!) To anyone walking by, I'm sure it looks like I'm one cruel owner the way she's glued to the door, tail tucked and head down . . . and if the same person walked by during another storm, there she'd be dancing and rolling in the puddles . . . she's actually stopped traffic with her rain dances, lol!~



Thankfully, cats have litter boxes :)

[Christie Keith]

This is clearly a Scottish dog problem.

[Sue Cosby]

This is EXACTLY what my rescue dog Meggie did when she first arrived - but it wasn't even raining! She was from (the not-nice part of) the city and quite possibly had never seen trees waving in the wind and leaves blowing in her short six months of life. Our yard was probably terrifying. We figure she stuck her head out and thought "For dogs sake I'm outside ENOUGH let's get this over with".

[Dana]

Hah! And for years, my family and I thought our Border Terrier was the only one to have pulled that stunt. He started doing that as he got older, and I've always thought of it as a perfect example of 'dog-logic.'

[Christie Keith]

Yes to both.



Her name was Ch Crannoch's Jaylynn and she is the great grandmother of my first show deerhound, Lillie.



She is also behind Rebel, but further back...



Photo of her at around 12 and a half years old here.



Karen Blixen (who wrote Out of Africa under the name Isak Dinesen) had deerhounds. The two most famous, who she wrote the most about, were named Dawn and Dusk.

[eastofeden]

My Cairn who was bred and raised in the Pacific Northwest HATES the rain. So yes this is clearly a Scottish dog problem :+)



This morning I had to leash him up and literally drug out to the yard so he would do his business (It's raining)...unfortunately he would only pee....so the poor pitful guy has to stay in his crate today until I can get home at lunch time to drag him out again.

[Dorene]

As long as we're keeping the thread going -- Christie, I've got "Out of Africa" on TIVO -- is the dog with Meryl Streep a Scottish Deerhound? Any relative of yours? :-D