I think my dog is bilingual

Introducing Bones to his new life in Hungry Horse

Bones rode shotgun all the way back from Seattle to Hungry Horse. He was a good travel companion. If Gypsy and Veronica had a problem finding a new dog in the truck when I picked them up, they didn’t show it. Bones took one look at Veronica and his ears went limp. He looked smitten with her. It was his body language. Veronica, ever aloof, appeared not to notice as she stared out the side window. Once home, Bones followed Veronica everywhere, wearing that same goofy look he had when he first saw her. She did her best to ignore him. After a few days of this, Veronica had enough. She picked up his favorite chew toy, one that he guarded fiercely, and walked to the door. I opened it and Veronica, followed by Bones, walked onto the deck. Veronica dropped the chew toy, gave Bones a hard look, then marched back into the house. The message was clear. After that he quit following her.

Supplies were getting short and I needed some things I could only find in Kalispell. I would be gone a couple of hours and, as I left, I told Bones to watch the girls. Later that afternoon I returned to an eerily quiet house. I found Bones standing at the bathroom door. He had taken my parting comment literally, rounded up Veronica and Gypsy, herded them into the bathroom and stood guard at the door until I returned. I had read that Rottweilers were smart, but it never occurred to me they understood English. It was time to learn more about the breed and their history. I realized that I had adopted a powerful and intelligent animal and I needed to learn how to make him understand that I was the leader of the pack. I wanted to know what Rottweilers were bred for, so I could better understand their nature and focus on Bones’ strengths. I found three good books at the library.

I read that most people think that Rottweilers were originally bred in Germany, but they are descendants of the Roman Empire, bred from mastiffs over 2,000 years ago. As Roman legions set out to invade Switzerland, soldiers needed a dog that could herd livestock needed for food. They needed to be strong enough to battle predators and thieves and smart enough to handle things while the soldiers were away. Rottweil, Germany was a frequent stop, known as Arae Flaviae in Roman times, where they sold cattle and traded for goods. The money purse was placed around the dog’s neck for safekeeping. Rottweilers were used by butchers to haul heavy carts to market. Over time Rottweilers have been crossed with other breeds such as the Bernese Mountain Dog and Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, among others. They have been used as police dogs and to protect property. They also make great service dogs.

Rotties are very protective of children, but gentle with them. As an example, Bones and I were walking in the forest on a path along the South Fork of the Flathead. We rarely saw anyone on that walk, but one day I saw a woman with a small boy coming toward us. They were several yards away when the little boy, about three, spotted Bones. Grinning, he bounded toward us, yelling “Is that a Rottwilder?” Bones stopped, and gently put his head down low enough so the boy could pet him.

One of the books had some great stories about this breed. I read about a man who walked his Rottweiler daily on a trail a few miles away from his home. Normally the dog was eager to go, but one day he stood in front of the door, keeping his owner from opening it. It was a standoff for a while, but the owner asserted his position and the Rottweiler reluctantly got into the car for their trip to the hiking trail. Once on the trail, every few feet the dog would turn around and try to return to the car. It became such a problem that the man decided his dog might not be feeling well and decided to give up and return home. He barely made it in the front door when he had a heart attack. His dog grabbed the phone in his mouth and took it to the man so he could call 911.

Later that evening Bones lifted his nose high into the air and started to howl, his mouth forming a perfect “O”. The other two dogs joined in, like a chorus singing to the night. We lived eight miles from Glacier National Park and wolves had been introduced into the park to roam freely. Dogs have incredible noses and hearing and I could only guess what had set them off, perhaps a wolf pack.