On the Scale of Dog Loyalty
By now, you’ve likely heard news reports about the German Shepherd who stayed with her owner’s body for 6 weeks, after the man committed suicide in a rural part of my home state, Colorado. It’s very sad. At the same time, it got me wondering — On the loyalty scale, where would my dogs rank?
If summer 2008 is any indication, Lilly scores higher than Ginko. Here’s why.
A few weeks ago, for the first time in my life, I was stung by a wasp. I was tying up some pea pod vines in the greenhouse. I had no idea I was at risk, so the bite caught me entirely off guard. It hurt, so I hollered, and Lilly (not Ginko) came running.
Since then, I’ve noticed that Lilly always comes immediately to my side when I express any kind of concern. Pinch my finger in a drawer. There’s Lilly. Trip in the pasture. There’s Lilly. Stub my toe. There’s Lilly. (Gee … that makes me sound clumsy.)
Granted, she’s usually reacting in a panicked, please-comfort-me kind of way, but she does come to my side.
Still, Ginko has far more “protective” responses to real danger than Lilly. He certainly uses his Big Boy Voice if he senses something, but he’s so mellow in general that he doesn’t pop up every time I say, “Ouch!”
Jennie (our behaviorist) tells me that it’s better for Lilly to want me than to need me. That’s how she tries to make me feel better about how much time Lilly and I spend apart now that I ignore her attention seeking behaviors. Since bugging me no longer works, she often hangs out in other parts of the house during the day. We’re home together nearly all day every day, but we’re no longer in the same room all the time. Clearly, I need her as much as she needed me because I’m having a hard time adjusting (even though it’s nice to get work done and not get interrupted 20+ times a day).
And, yet, a bonded dog, a responsive dog, a dog that truly wants/needs you … it seems to me, is more likely to show heroic loyalty.
So, should I get really hurt, I’m guessing Lilly would stay by my side. Ginko, on the other hand, would bark so much that he’d annoy people which might help them figure out something was wrong and summon help.
How about your dogs? Where do they rank?