STRANGE THINGS DOGS DO Sometimes dogs pick up an unusual behaviour that is peculiar to that dog and that they repeat often. This habit can become a little tedious, but the dogs are very hard to dissuade from doing it. It seems that one must be careful not to encourage the behaviour when it first appears, or be prepared to 'wear' it over the years. Contribute your dogs strange habits! Send us Email Little Max the Blue Heeler (Australian Cattle dog) always tooka a big run at a certain tree, running incredibly high up the trunk, before falling back to the ground. He teamed up with another dog to put on another show. The other dog loved to dig in the dirt, sending showers of earth behind him. Max thought this was wonderful and leapt and snapped at the flying earth. Needless to say , Max was quite a sight, his pointy little face covered in dirt with two dark eyes showing through. * * * * * * * * * * Minder the ACD responded to the words "snap snap" by running furiously and toughly for 20 or 30 metres and barking ferociosly at an imaginary foe. He also spent the whole time he was in the back of the ute running to and fro from one side of the ute to the other. The problem was, that if he ever had to travel on the back seat of a car, he repeated this mad backaand forth movement. Minder was a lovely friendly dog to visitors normally. However, if he happened to be on the chain, and a visitor stepped in to the area Minder could reach, the poor visitor would recieve a sharp "heeling" or bite to the ankle when their back was turned. This is a protective territorial behaviuor characteristic of the breed. I would never try to pat a strange heeler left in the back of a ute, he will protect his master's car for sure. * * * * * * * * * * Sahib, the Pointer was a highly strung, extremely keen hunting dog, who loved to work and had been known to run so far his pads bled and he had to be made to stop. He was not used to being left alone and had the bad habit of barking if left in the car. It was embarrasing to be able to hear him barking still as you returned from the shopping. He was a strong dog who foiled many attempts at restraint when left at home. He was provided with bones for amusement while on his chain which was attached to a long wire along the ground, so that he had plenty of room to move. Upon returning home I was always dismayed by the thought of what he had been through in my absence. The bones would be flung far away in protest, or the stake holding the wire would be ripped from the earth and the back door would have tooth marks in it. So, often he got to come in the car, only to bark his protest at being left alone for a while. I guess he was a bit spoiled, but he was a very strong willed dog, and very intelligent.. * * * * * * * * * * Butch, the Kelpie-Coolie cross,loved to go for drives in the car, especially around dusk. You see, this is the time a lot of dogs get walked in the suburbs. Upon sighting another dog, Butch would turn into a rabid, snarling, barking ,unstoppable and very tough dog. The novelty soon wears off when you are trying to drive.....it has also been known to frighten a few dog owners, who are not sure where this potential threat is coming from. If you happened to park next to a car that had a dog in it, all was fine until you drove away. Butch would then let fly with his "tough dog" display. Funny how people and dogs can be so tough when they are in their cars..... Butch would not act this way to other dogs he met in the street. Member of LinkAustralia - Click Here to Join Another Wolf Web Solution