And I am sooooo glad I did!

When I (finally) got to bed, I was going to title this "what numbskull walks their dog at 3:50 in the morning" We went to bed late -2 ish, as usual. I brought Ami in around 12:30 thinking it was going to rain.

At 3:40 in the morning, he starts scratching furiously on the laundry room door (that I had sanded and re-stained last year due to his scratching    ) We both woke up and came running fast and furious, and worried - this was not like Ami. Wayne's thinking - maybe he has to go. I'm a little skeptical - the big boy looked full of life and pep and vinegar. But, I let him out and he did pee within a minute, so I'm thinking that was it - let him walk around a bit in case he needs to poop, but, no - he just lays down in his spot in the driveway. So I bring him back in. And this time put up the cardboard in front of the door.

Fifteen minutes later, we hear whining. We both get up, Ami is pacing, and a bit zoomie - back door to front door.

Now - late yesterday afternoon, we went out for errands, an ice cream (yup, he got one, too) and then to a park south of us with music, a car cruise-in and a dog park. I took Ami to the dog park for a while, he splashed in the pools, drank lots of the pool water though I distracted him from that with the hose and we did about 2 miles around the pond. Then home. He stayed outside except to eat his dinner until he came in for the night after midnight. I thought he might be looking for his evening walk but since he had the walk at the park and I was tired and was having muscle spasms in my "drive-train" I sort of ignored his walk and threw a ball for him instead.

So when he got us up at 3:45 I figured, just desserts, lazy bum that I was. All the windows were open, it was really windy out and I could hear dogs barking around us, so I figure he's just excited - the wind always does that, like he is answering an archaic call.

In resignation, I put my clothes on, leash up the big boy, and, quite grumpy, off we go. He's walking with purpose, directly into the wind which made me think that was it - just the "call of the wild" so to speak. Walk actually was lovely, the sun came up, the birds woke up and were singing, the roosters were crowing and no human sounds at all. When we got home, I gave up and let him stay up - both of us thinking, maybe we'll have to let him stay outside at night though I'm not comfortable with that.

Fast forward to this morning (early afternoon, I just got up    ) Ami is sound asleep under the rhododendron (in the mammoth crater he built for himself)? And what is that in the driveway

Yup. The biggest pile of dog diarrhea, ever. Looks like a cow pie.

Oh, so lucky I was. So, I say again, always listen to your dog. Even if you don't like what you hear and cannot fathom what is going on in that doggie brain!

FYI I read the title as "Always Listen to your Poo!!".....

Playing with the Big Dogs wrote:

FYI I read the title as "Always Listen to your Poo!!".....

That is gross However, in this instance...apropos Did you note the part where I said it looked like a cow pie? After looking closer at the enormous pile and its "splat" contours with a LOT of grass material - and it did not smell like dog poop, I called my neighbor.

Sure enough, one of their cows was out this morning - and remember I said Ami looked super excited? Seems like Mr. Cow was roaming really close to the house - the "present" was only 10' from the front door.

Moral of the story: Listen carefully to your dog - he also may be warning of an intruder - 2-legged or 4. And the poo has a story to tell, too

Amy, that is an ending I didn't see coming, haha.

I remember back when I was just a kid, my Malamute woke me up at like 2 in the morning and went racing to the back door...I figured he needed to pee really bad so I let him out, I went out with him...no sooner had I stepped out the door did I notice the water in the pool starting splashing up against the sides (it sounded like when you're at the beach and the water is hitting up against the shore) and the ground felt weird. We were experiencing an earthquake! Ever since then, if my dogs get me up at a weird hour to go outside, I let them out!

Jimmy - I'm beginning to wonder if maybe we should do what dog days and ask questions later like when the captain of the boat gives an order...

When I was a teen-ager, about 17-18, I was working the families old sugar bush (that's where maple trees are tapped for sap and boiled down to make syrup).  The only "building" (used very loosely) there was nothing more than very old boards - I'm surprised that it stood for as long as it did.
I stoked the fire up, both for heat and to boil down some sap and crawled into my sleeping bag.  Sometime during the night Kim (GSD I've written about elsewhere) became very agitated, pacing, snuffling at the wall below the window.  She knew where the door was (opposite the window) and it was obvious she didn't want out but since the sugar bush backed a swamp whatever was out there - well, it could have been anything.
The next morning I went out behind the bush to see what had been visiting and found bear track - apparently one of the swamps resident black bears had come visiting - I'm really glad he decided not to come in 'cause all I had was a .22 - it made noise but wouldn't have stopped him.  I'm figuring that it was Kim's noise - and she was noisy - made him decide to continue on his journey.

I may not know what the problem is, but when one of my dogs starts acting nervous, I start paying attention.

Probably good advice, Al. I've mentioned I keep bees. And we live in Black Bear territory which are notorious for taking out bee hives. When we first put up the invisible fence for the dogs, I was worried about a potential bear encounter with the dogs since the hives are such an attractant and bears are spotted frequently on our road. I was really surprised to find that even a small terrier's barking is enough to send a black bear running (and relieved, otherwise I would have to put up an electrified bear fence around my garden to protect my hives - bears don't just eat the larvae - they destroy the hives getting to them and 1 hive is a bit of an investment!)

Just 5 minutes ago Amy, I watched on TV a Timber wolf mom protecting her pups from a Black Bear that wandered into their proximity. She was by herself (the rest of the pack was out hunting) and she drove the bear back into the woods. It was amazing. Apparently the bears have a blind spot to their rear so the wolf mom "attacked" exclusively from the rear.

Haha I always listen to middle of the night dog callings. Lycus is VERY good about holding it in so if he's waking me up in middle of the night to go outside, I know it's serious.

That was a great story, to read anyways lol. I'm sure cleaning that up wasn't as fun.

Jimmy... when I was first researching black bears and dog encounters, I came across a video of a black bear being chased  away by a little dog about the size of my ski boot   I was afraid for my big ole bear of a dog

Of course, I'll  bet it's a different story if cubs are involved...

Rocio.... that's the beauty of a gravel driveway and a hose   And living in an area with abundant rainfall.

LOL Amy!

I think we worry about our "big ole bear" of a dog because they're so unbelievably stubborn! It's like they don't know when to quit! Like with Mishka, if she is after a snake, I don't see her quitting til she has it and that is scary!

Artic_Wind wrote:

LOL Amy!

I think we worry about our "big ole bear" of a dog because they're so unbelievably stubborn! It's like they don't know when to quit! Like with Mishka, if she is after a snake, I don't see her quitting til she has it and that is scary!

Ugh...snakes My only problem with snakes is the garter snakes along the back of the house - where my asiatic lilies and daylilies are - the dogs know the snake is there and they are always pouncing in there.

Score to date: Dogs 2, lilies 0