Fading summer
has delightful days
By Jan Penton Miller
Columnist
This gorgeous cool end of summer morning makes for a pleasant morning walk with my
canine companion. Winnie loves her strolls around the neighborhood, but she does not
have a very discerning palate.
I have to be on the lookout for any form of road kill before she can notice it and try to
gobble it up. Last evening Mike had to pry a crispy frog from her mouth, while she hung
onto it as if it was a delicacy!
My sweet little dachshund puppy seems to be turning into a full-fledged dog. It was
bound to happen sometime, but now she has found that it’s amazingly enjoyable to roll
around in anything stinky. I never have quite understood that desire in an animal, but I
think I’ll look it up.
According to my research the tendency to want to roll around in strong smelling stuff can
be traced back to our pet’s wild ancestors. Pack animals rolled in things that had strong
odors to mask their scents during hunts. This made it easier for them to sneak up on
their prey for a nice tasty lunch. It also made it more difficult for their predators to have
them for a snack.
Dogs have a highly developed sense of smell, and they are naturally curious so this also
plays into the equation. Pack animals roll in strong smelling stuff when they are out on a
hunt or exploring. When they return to their pack the other animals use their sense of
smell to discern where their buddy may have been hunting. This is one of the ways
wolves can share information with their pack.
So my precious little Winnie rolls in the yuckiest things imaginable because her
ancestors did? I guess so. Another thing I understand more fully from my research is just
how tough the original dachshunds were bred to be. In the late 17 th century these
German bred shorties tunneled underground to retrieve badgers for their pelts, and
badgers fought back ferociously with sharp teeth and claws.
Winnie loves to chase squirrels and birds in the backyard. She almost caught a squirrel
just yesterday, and I’m wondering if she would turn tail and run if she actually caught
one. Her favorite game is to play-fight.
She barks and lunges at me every night before bedtime in a game of cat and mouse.
This goes on for several minutes before she settles down for the evening. When she
whimpers in her sleep I wonder if she is dreaming of chasing and capturing some
creature in the wild or if she is simply chasing butterflies, which she also loves to do.
The first official day of fall begins on Sunday, Sept. 22 this year, and it is quickly
approaching. Butterflies seem to have brought their friends to my front flower beds. Their
numerous colorful bodies flit along from plant to plant dancing to the music of fading
summer.