A Waste of Time
Our dog Stella is an urban animal. She's lived her whole life in a downtown apartment. Nearly every walk she's ever taken has been on pavement. Tree squirrels, crows, and rats are her idea of wildlife. Of course, she's been to the country, the forest, and the beach, but she still has a lot she doesn't know about the world outside the city.
Lately, she's spent time in a less urban environment, a place with lots of active ant hills. At first she ignored them, not "seeing" them amidst the onslaught of new sensations that comes from being in a new place, but one day she stopped to make a study. It was a cautious one, her nose up close, her body tense. I think it was the ants themselves that got her attention as they queued in and out of the little hole on top. She was on the leash. In the interest of going on a "walk," I don't always give her all the time she wants as she sniffs every square centimeter of the things that draw her attention, but I had time and could clearly see that this was something new for her, something that in her mind necessitated study. Was she learning something? Of course. What was she learning? Who knows. None of my business. Could I put the kibosh on this learning? Yes, with the tug of the leash like I've done thousands of times when she slows CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: A Waste of Time
