Dog Community

Ever had a Lassie moment?

Posted : 12/12/2006 3:13:29 AM

I swear, I have a Lassie in my house, only he's small and not very domestic and happens to be a hare.

I bought a new water bottle because one of them was wearing out and the stem had fallen off once or twice, tipping water all over Bonnie's cage. I couldn't get the same type as the last ones I'd bought, though, so I got a different style and brand. I gave it to the hare, Kit, because I thought he was less likely to chew the plastic on it because he's so busy chewing his litter tray to pieces right now. Anyway, I was cleaning the cages out today and noticed that it looked like Kit hadn't drunk any of his water since I'd filled it up last night. Strange, I thought, but maybe he doesn't like the new bottle. He's a creature of habit.

When I got to cleaning Kit's cage out, I took the litter tray out and went to remove his mat and cardboard. Usually at this point he decides he needs to be out of the cage and hiding under the bed, but today, something quite remarkable happened. Instead of running away, he very deliberately crossed the cage to his water bottle, crouched, licked the ball a few times, then pointedly poked the bottle through the bars of the cage with his nose and gave it a frustrated nibble. Then he sat back and looked at me expectantly. I checked the ball of the bottle and sure enough, no water was coming out. The useless thing wasn't working. I guess Kit had been trying his darndest to get water out of it all night and he seemed quite annoyed that it wasn't working. I obediently gave the bottle a squeeze so the water started to flow and Kit sat there for the next few minutes filling his belly with water. If I let go and the water stopped flowing, he'd bring his head up and mouth the bottle's plastic screw top until I squeezed again.

I was so blown away by Kit's ability to communicate something as complex as "Look, my water bottle isn't working; I need you to do something about it" that my anger at the stupid water bottle that didn't work was quite overshadowed. It was one of those Lassie moments. He was just so incredibly clear about what the problem was. Who would have thought a wild hare would know to wait until he had my full attention and then show me that his water bottle wasn't working? The little frustrated nibble at the end was the icing on the cake. I've never seen him do that to anything before. My dog can tell me when something is wrong, but only in a vague sense. She won't seek me out, just try to cope and I'll know something's up because she's not her usual self. What really amazed me was that Kit knew what was wrong and knew he needed me to fix it, and on top of all that, he found a very human way to tell me all this. How neat is that?

He was peeved with me, though. I tried to give him an apologetic pat and he flicked his ears into an aggressive position, snatched himself away from me, and growled at me. Yes, hares can growl. Sometimes I think I've got a furry human in that one.

Any one else have a Lassie moment with one of their animals?

janetmichel3009

Posted : 12/12/2006 6:43:01 AM

hmm, can't remember anything like that happeneing with me... but that is pretty neat! are you sure that is a hare you have? [

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spiritdogs

Posted : 12/12/2006 7:26:09 AM

Dancer had many Lassie moments. Once, I went to speak to a group of senior citizens about therapy dogs and service dogs. During my presentation, she plunked herself down next to one lady and sat there for the longest time. Later, the resident services coordinator came to me and said "How did she know?" Apparently, that lady had lived in the building for quite some time, had never before attended any of their events, and was known to be quite depressed. But, when Dancer picked her out of the crowd, she was patting her and smiling a big smile. There were lots of those....Dancer moments.

twelvepaws

Posted : 12/12/2006 8:30:08 AM

That's really neat. I've been hearing lots of wonderful things about what good pets Rabbits make lately.

My Isis is very smart, but not Lassie smart. Her smart is all self-serving (no Timmy's in the well stuff). She has learned to vocalize with her little attention getting noise (half bark/half howl, but soft) and then uses her head (nose) to point at what she wants. Usually it's the refrigerator.. Snack please.....

Dash is definitely Lassie smart. Or, as we say, a narc. He constantly "tells" on the other dogs. Once when someone had opened the gate in the yard, Dash gave his clear "distress" bark and I came running to find him standing at the open gate, showing me that those naughty dogs (his opinion) had left the yard. He comes to get me whenever he thinks something needs attending to. I guess that's natural since he really is a farm collie.

brookcove

Posted : 12/12/2006 8:36:22 AM

The Maremmas are good to come tell me if something's wrong with the sheep. That's kind of part of what they do so it doesn't stand out to me as "Lassie" stuff - it's good livestock guardian dog behavior.

Maggie has put herself between the kids and possible danger twice, that I've seen. Once it was a dog that was acting aggressive towards them, and another time it was a man who appeared to have evil intentions. She's definitely the "Lassie" of the family. She also used to alert me if my seizure dog was about to have a fit, and for other things she does the stare into my eyes and the dancing and making weird noises thing.

Ben brings his food dish if he's hungry. I have a house full of Border collies and he's the only one who even remotely does a Lassie thing. [8|]

Lindsay- Bernie's Mom

Posted : 12/12/2006 11:26:08 AM

Corvus,

Kit is a beautiful (er... handsome!) hare. I love rabbits, I have 4 right now, and I am a huge fan of the Belgian Hares (even though they are a breed of rabbit and not a true hare). My rabbits have also shown me when water bottles had stopped working. I've gotten into the habit of checking them every day, cause I just don't trust the darn things. People are always amazed with how much personality my rabbits have. My old man, Styme, is 9 years old and still doing great- but it will be a sad day when he goes. He doesn't let anyone past his cage without giving him a head rub, or a piece of a treat. [

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Katie M.

Posted : 12/12/2006 10:56:10 PM

We have Lassie moments all the time - we're Collies! [

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Mandy Thompson

Posted : 12/12/2006 11:12:50 PM

my pookie-cat puts his paw in his water bowl and makes it clank around so i know he's out of water, he also pees in my shoe when i get the cheap litter,letting me know that i can't fool him(not sureif thats a lassie moment but i sure know what he's saying)
ivy, my horse, flicks the light switch in the barn when she wants company or food
my bearded dragon runs around his cage like a maniac and practically jumps out when he has to go the bathroom(he will not mess in his cage only in his bath)
i have so many stories but i don't want to be too long...lol

corvus

Posted : 12/13/2006 2:48:21 AM

ORIGINAL: clarzoo

Kit is a beautiful (er... handsome!) hare. I love rabbits, I have 4 right now, and I am a huge fan of the Belgian Hares (even though they are a breed of rabbit and not a true hare). My rabbits have also shown me when water bottles had stopped working. I've gotten into the habit of checking them every day, cause I just don't trust the darn things. People are always amazed with how much personality my rabbits have. My old man, Styme, is 9 years old and still doing great- but it will be a sad day when he goes. He doesn't let anyone past his cage without giving him a head rub, or a piece of a treat. []

I'M amazed at how much personality rabbits have! When I picked Kit up as a baby, I never in my wildest dreams imagined what I was in for. I thought rabbits were cute, but boring, creatures that lived outside in a hutch and ran mostly on instinct. Boy was I in for a surprise. Kit has surprised me over and over again. I'm in awe of him. And then I got into domestic rabbits and am constantly astounded that so much character and personality can fit into one small prey animal. I tell cat lovers that they don't know what it's like to be a slave until they've owned rabbits. Most rabbits seem to think they're high society. I have a theory that every baby rabbit is told by their mother before they leave the nest that every animal secretly wants to be a rabbit. [

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Kit's a magnificent creature with a grace that takes my breath away. I wanted a Belgian hare to keep with him, but the breed has died out in Australia and we're not allowed to import bunnies anymore. [sm=sad.gif] It's illegal to keep them in one state, and you can be fined $30 000 for having one. It's tough for many rabbit owners in this country.

corvus

Posted : 12/13/2006 2:56:11 AM

Twelvepaws, Penny is a policeman, too. She does the same thing, running to the spot in the fence where the other two dogs escaped and barking. She doesn't like it when other dogs are being naughty! [

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Pyry managed to communicate to us that something was not right with him when he was harbouring a potentially deadly paralysis tick on his body, but wasn't able to work out exactly what was wrong. He has a history with sore ears, so he was scratching his ears and whining and pushing up against us. He was certainly trying to tell us that something was wrong, but he didn't seem to know what it was himself. It was fascinating, though.

Brook, I know a pair of maremmas that spend most of their time at their next door neighbour's place instead of guarding their own property and the animals. It's hilarious, though, because they seem to be shirking duties, just hanging out and playing with the favoured neighbour, but the moment someone goes near their property, they belt back home and raise the alarm. As far as they're concerned, they're simply doing their job from more comfortable surroundings. It cracks me up that they guard their home from next door. [

] No one would ever get in without them knowing, though.

I'm enjoying people's stories. They make me laugh and surprise me at the same time. [

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olinda

Posted : 12/13/2006 3:39:59 AM

Romeo never fails to know when my dad is going to suffer from an asthma attack at night, and always makes sure to wake my mother up, one night my mom had taken some medication and nothing Romeo did worked, well he jumped up on the bed (usually never does) and started blowing in my father's nose, needless to say this woke him up and my mother up and was able to get his tank on time.

I

Lindsay- Bernie's Mom

Posted : 12/13/2006 10:25:09 AM

Kit's a magnificent creature with a grace that takes my breath away. I wanted a Belgian hare to keep with him, but the breed has died out in Australia and we're not allowed to import bunnies anymore. It's illegal to keep them in one state, and you can be fined $30 000 for having one. It's tough for many rabbit owners in this country.

That's a shame Belgian Hares have died out in Australia- they are such a neat breed. They aren't that common in the US either, but they are around. My friends just bought a trio of Belgian Hares to Florida last month- the first in the state in years! I'd love to have one of their babies someday soon.

You are right about rabbits thinking they are royalty- what a good way to put it! I call my doe, Fiona, princess all the time as she cops a 'better than thou' attitude if things aren't just right. She throws anything out of her cage that I put in there that she doesn't approve of, and will only sleep on her resting mat. She is due to have her first litter of babies any day now and I am so thrilled. She's done so well on the show tables, I'm sure her babies will be as gorgeous as her.