Nothing Beats Finding a Dog Friend to Rumble With

Rainy days are especially challenging for dog owners whose pets aren’t particularly fond of getting their fur wet.  To keep our pooches entertained indoors, we pull out the Kong, the Nylabone — maybe even fill a marrow bone or two with peanut butter — and hope they will stay occupied chewing appropriate stuff  ‘til the sun comes back out.  When the rain persists for days, we pull out more treats and the clicker and brush up on training.  Some of us even invest in expensive interactive toys — those puzzles that encourage dogs to think, and use their sense of smell. (see, for example, Nina Ottosson’s website)

Here at our house our “bully boy” (he’s an American Bulldog)] has a limited interest in chewing and we haven’t yet tried the interactive toys. (I suspect his way of dealing with one of these costly puzzles would be to simply drop it in my lap, and expect me to figure it out for him.  Bullies aren’t really known for their nose work.)  What Dozer truly wants is to get physical.  He wants to feel the power and elegance of his body. He wants to wrestle.

I do grapple a lot with Dozer, but my ability to match his strength and speed just isn’t enough.  He needs to engage with another dog who has real canine skills – preferably, bully skills.  Although there are plenty of dogs in our neighborhood, it is hard to find one who plays like Dozer.  He wants full-on body contact, complete with doggie sweat and drool … the more, the better!

On one recent rainy day, during a lull in the downpour, my partner and I headed outside for a bit.  When I tried running with Dozer, he was so focused on tackling me, and playing so roughly, that I couldn’t keep up – there was no way I could match his enthusiasm, and help him ground his wild energy …

Suddenly, though, the Universe answered Dozer’s prayers.  A young couple was passing right by our house, walking their Olde English Bulldog.  Feeling uncontainably excited — as if I was on the verge of experiencing a miracle — I eagerly gestured for them to come into our yard.  (Actually, I probably looked quite desperate … kind of like a starving cast-away on a deserted island, waving frantically to an overhead plane.  If there had been a bubble caption over my head it would simply have said, “Please, please, PLEASE, let my dog play with yours!”) Fortunatetly, it didn’t take much pleading, and the threesome approached .

Within seconds Dozer and “Stella” were engaged in a lyrical dance of leaps and tumbles.  We didn’t have to make formal introductions, encourage them to interact, or tell them how to behave with one another … they were simply acting on an ancient, instinctual drive to play.  With the very first sniff, they “recognized” each other, and commenced to do what bulldogs do. They romped, they wrestled, they body-slammed, they good-naturedly growled and bared their teeth … all with joyful abandon.

The following day, I was watching Dozer as he slept in.  I gazed at him resting on our living room couch, and listened to his relaxed breathing, feeling deeply content in my heart. I knew I had done something to support his wholeness, to help him feel happy and grounded.  And the real beauty of the previous day’s experience? “It came without boxes, it came without bows …” (as Dr. Seuss’s narrator says in The Grinch Who Stole Christmas). To completely satisfy my boy’s needs, I didn’t need to buy a new toy or invent a spectacular game.  All I had to do was create an opportunity for him to be a dog … with another dog … a dog who gets him.

I don’t think it gets any simpler, or better, than that.