I could see huge clouds overhead that first July morning in Inwood Iowa appearing grey against a light blue sky, but they took subtle colors of silver to dusky orange as they were gradually touched with rays from the rising sun. While we were out the sun rose to just above the horizon, giving its first touches to nearby treetops and houses before we started back in.
The breeze felt cool and refreshing to me and I just threw the rubber Frisbee to Reggie and ran to see whether he would keep up with me. Running to the top of the little rise just before the road, I looked back to find him still there, his dark form just visible to me against the grass, waiting for me to play tug.
I called him and he seemed to just toss his head as if to say “you come and get it!” I called him again and stooped down to slap my knee, both teasing him to come and also following my instinct to have him obey my call.
He then ran up the sloping lawn toward me but instead of stopping he ran ahead and then circled back, passing me by and inviting a chase I accepted. We then played tug and throw until the sun touched the land.
The incident made me conscious of the growing communication between Reggie and me. It’s not a mind reading game as some describe it, its more a learning to intuit meaning behind certain stances and movements - and the two of us are getting really good at it as we come to know each better and develop patterns together. It also takes trust, especially for the dog, to know that you can depend on communicating this way.
I’ve learned for instance that Reggie will refuse a come command at times when he needs to relieve himself before getting into a car or entering the house. He’ll stand sideways to me, indicating that he wants to go another direction. He then moves off with gathering intention as I move towards him. He’ll then quickly do what he needs to do as soon as he finds a suitable place.
He’ll also station himself in front of an outside door when he wants to be taken out. He doesn’t talk, but he adopts the same determined stance. Fully sighted companions seem to read his expression, but I have to go by the big things – the way he stands and the way he moves in harness. If he needs relieving while in harness he’ll hold off as long as he can, but then he’ll start moving jerkily and pulling longingly toward the curb of a suitable spot whenever he can.
Communication about relieving when I’m writing or otherwise occupied is less defined but I’m becoming more tuned to the signals. The difference between this and Reggie just wanting attention is that following scratching on the head and shoulders he will start to roll over and loll about rather than settling on the floor beside me. Continuous lolling on his back is usually, though not absolutely always, an indication that Reggie needs a piss. I can usually be sure by knowing where he is on his schedule.
Reggie also has special communication while on harness, and he even told us yesterday that he wanted to work rather than walk on lead while Ruth was walking with us. His special communication is a nose tap on my left shin whenever he feels I need to pay a little attention to something or when he wants to know whether or not I am aware of something coming up. At times this movement is a definite statement about a change ahead and at others the tap is more a means of checking in. Slowing the pace with a tap definitely means there’s a change ahead, usually an irregular pavement or approaching curb.
Reggie will either stop or slow down and look sideways up at me to announce overhangs as if pointing out what his concern is about. I can feel the sideways move of his head more than see it. By paying attention I am becoming more conscious of subtle changes in harness pressure, and Reggie becomes more confident in giving them as he senses my new responsiveness. I am concentrating now on allowing the harness to pull against my fingers, curled as though playing a piano, not so much holding the harness as allowing its pressure to hold it in place against my fingers. If my thumb touches the handle from behind I cue myself that I may be pushing Reggie rather than allowing him to set the pace.
I’m also correcting myself for “choking” the handle especially when we start off after a pause. This is either when you directly push the dog with the handle or you allow it to swing up to the point where your hand is nearly over the dog’s shoulders with your arm bent, more like pulling him into a faster pace. The leash is the correct method for commanding a faster pace when you’re sure you want it and it isn’t given. First of all though I try to understand why Reggie doesn’t want to move at the pace I want to go; he usually has very good reasons for wanting to take a slower pace. It’s then my job to decide whether I should observe those concerns, but only after appreciation for his pointing them out.
Reggie doesn’t seem to forget routes and locations once he’s learned them and learning them takes only one or two exposures. He remembers locations in Inwood now after two previous visits, one in deep winter snow. He knew this house right away on the second visit following a four month interval. He knows the route from here to Bettie’s house. He knows the way downtown and to the familiar café. He knew all his favorite spots on the extensive lawns around here when we returned for the third visit following six weeks away. I’m sure he can take me to specific locations without further direction when requested, but I haven’t asked him for that as yet.
Reggie is also sensitive to his environment and settles down with patience whenever I have a long visit with a client. Sniffing at carpets in homes inhabited by a cat or another dog is especially tempting, but he is disciplined once told there’s no time for newspaper reading. I don’t tell him this way, but Ruth compares a dog’s sniffing to a human’s newspaper reading – you know who’s been here last and what they did.
The other thing I was aware of that morning with the quickly shifting cloud colors and the first appearance of sunlight on the landscape was how transient this all is. There is only now to know Reggie as a young dog. He grows more mature every day and will be more settled in his habits before much longer. There is still time now to develop trust and intuition between us and to fine tune it to the best of our combined ability.
Relationship between dog and human is no different from a purely human one in that it is never fixed if it is alive and it depends upon shared trust and confidence in each other. It also depends upon genuine interaction between the two involved. Relationship is never a one-way street. If you want relationship you’re going to have to participate with all the honesty and openness you have and accept the challenge of growth.
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