Well, it looks like it's almost time for Sandy to move to her next home. A place where she will be safe, have more room to roam around and get proper medical care. And a place that will not kill her.
She is becoming difficult. It happens when she is tired and mainly at night. Tonight for example, we were sitting on the couch and I was talking to her gently and petting her. Touching her tummy, rubbing her ears, praising her. I woke her up when I sat down next to her and she was very happy. Wolf kisses, laying on her back, nuzzling into my arm and nose up my sleeve.
Gradually getting more wound up and playfully biting me through my shirt, jumping down off the couch and back up. I began to stop her from biting and she ramped it up. I pinched the back of her neck, NO!, and she quieted down.
Time to go out and she peed immediately. Then digging in her heels and pulling on the leash. I relaxed the leash and she stopped pulling. I say "in!" and she pulls again. ("In" means back into the house and usually she goes right in). Finally after trying to calm her down for several minutes, I just dragged her in. She didn't want to be picked up. Snapping. In the house my wife, Liye, put on gloves and picked her up. She put her in her box and the battle began. Scratching, scratching to get out. I was talking to her and remained right there with her so she would not feel like she was being an outcast. More scratching. Finally she got her head out and forced the opening enough to get out. I tried to pick her up and she would not let me close without a clear threat of being bitten. Not attacking, but not accepting an approach to her.
That's the key to all of this. She won't allow anyone to get close when she is in this state of mind. So I picked her up by the leash and deposited her into her box and put the lid on to hold her.
More scratching for a minute and then silence as she fell asleep.
This behavior is happening over and over, in the late evening. She gets tired and cranky, even if she had a nap right before. Or it's just her time to be out at night on the prowl, hunting, like I hear them do all around my place almost every night.
She goes from completely docile to uncontrollable in a slow ramp up. Mainly around putting her to bed. It seems she wants to play and play and tear up everything with biting, pulling and chewing, especially at night. All puppies want to chew, I know, but she is like a little kid that gets sent to bed and throws a tantrum.
At night she seems different outside than she is during the day. Day she is wary and hides if there is a barking dog or a strange sound or if a stranger appears. At night she wants to pull on her leash and get away to run, even if there is no disturbing noise.
So, what does "wild" mean in terms of observed behavior? Not a sudden stealth attack, like a cat might do. Not a mindless, frantic, banging into things panic. But wariness that can be much more intense at times. Never a bark, but a wild scared look in the eyes. She seems to frantically avoid confrontation and tries very hard to get away from the leash or out of sight under the deck. When she is in that state of mind, even those she knows well and trusts become part of the problem and must be held at bay.
Then the night is over, she is rested and eager to get out of her box. She goes out to pee and, once again, loves to be touched. Has a bowl of breakfast and a drink of water. Attempts to play with the cat, who doesn't want anything to do with her. Romps around with Bei Bei. Gets snarled at by Eddie. And all is back to normal. A few wolf kisses and a few torn pieces of paper. Lots of romping around and curiosity. My shoes carried around and an old glove chewed a bit more. Typical puppy and all others in the house deal with her in their own way. Bei Bei reminds her who the Alpha dog is a couple of times. Liye and I reduce the intensity of our concern. We chat about it during the day.
Then the long day ends and she gets tired and cranky and wary and???here we go again.
To keep her much longer would seem to mean these problems would be coming from a bigger and bigger dog. A stronger and stronger dog. I have been wondering how I'd deal with her health care during such a fear driven state of mind. Muzzle her? Sedate her? How? I can fence in a nice big yard and set her free in there with lots of sand and bushes and water and food and bunnies and snakes and squirrels, etc. But that really doesn't solve the problem of health care or strangers. And at 35 lbs or so and living part time in the yard, can we trust her with the other dogs or with us if she gets upset?
We love her. I respect the healthy, beautiful, honest, powerful and successful animal she is. If there was ever a strong and healthy animal, it's her. Just imagine dogs in the wild. Only the strong survive. Constant competition. Adapted through thousands of generations, where only the most fit survived, to be perfectly fit for her environment. Perfectly tuned for the task at hand, survival. It means everything works perfectly. Body, mind and hardwiring. Plus a bit of luck to avoid predators. It means her parents were perfect to. Perfect in their health, their timing, their choice of a den, their hunting skills, their location amidst water and food.
All of that world is going on right now as I write this. Right now, this minute.
And one of those creatures that crossed paths with one of us got swept up in an adventure that affected all concerned. An ambassador. An unwitting teacher. A fun pal. An inspiring beauty. A myth slayer. A misfit. The very definition of a helpless little creature. A powerful survivor.
We were able to give her all she needed for a while, but not for much longer as she accelerates onward. She is not adaptable enough to our world and we are not adaptable enough to hers. Still, it's a close call and under a bit more favorable conditions, would work.
Now, the mechanics of the move. A long car trip. Negotiations. Liye's tears. Plans to visit. Thoughts of another dog we can keep, but not yet. (we were not looking for a dog when Sandy showed up and never realistically entertained the idea of keeping her. But we wanted to see for ourselves why it was a bad idea. Besides, I don't take advice from fear driven folks who have no experience in the area they're advising about)
My long running curiosity is now somewhat satisfied about wild coyotes, but I will seriously miss her. Always on a quest to understand them better, always loving dogs, I've found out they are all and more than I thought. Better than I dared to hope. She will be remembered.
Now, after another struggle this evening and some decisions made, she's lounging in the dog bed with that old glove. Quiet, busy and peaceful. Right in the middle of the room. Occasionally noticing the cat or getting up to visit Bei Bei. Seems idyllic, for now.
Then she needs to go out and the night turns her into a wild thing. She won't come in on her own and won't let me pick her up. Once in though, she's a playful puppy jumping and chewing. She's back in her safe zone and OK to approach. Soon she's asleep with the glove under her chin.
Liye would love to get a full night's sleep and hasn't for weeks. We've been traveling back and forth between the Bay Area and Northern Nevada. I'm building our house in Nevada and working in the Bay Area. Lot's of irons in the fire. And a coyote has been going with us wherever we go! It's getting to be a bit much. Too bad we can't just take her back to the spot our neighbor found her and let her get on with life in the wild.
This story and the many other posts only touch on the high points. The most indicative. Everyday life with her is filled with so many fun events. Plus the bigger picture of the natural world brushing up against the, so called, civilized world. We built our home in her world and found her practically in our back yard. Meanwhile, jackrabbits and cottontails by the hundreds, birds, voles, mountain lions, bears, dear, mustangs, squirrels, antelope, lizards and snakes, among so many other creatures are roaming all over the place nearby. We even have toads here in the high desert! Not to mention all the sheep and cattle. How could one baby dog affect us so much?
I'll follow up as things progress. Thanks for all the thoughtful posts!
