Axel Munthe - San Michele

Noone has ever written more beautifully or wisely about dogs than the Swedish doctor and writer Axel Munthe in his book The Story of San Michele:

To become a good dog-doctor it is necessary to love dogs, but it is also necessary to understand them — the same as with us, with the difference that it is easier to understand a dog than a man and easier to love him. Never forget that the mentality of one dog is totally different from that of another. The sharp wit that sparkles in the quick eye of a fox-terrier, for instance, reflects a mental activity totally different from the serene wisdom which shines in the calm eye of a St. Bernard or an old sheep-dog. The intelligence of dogs is proverbial, but there is a great difference of degree, already apparent in the puppies as soon as they open their eyes. There are even stupid dogs, though the percentage is much smaller than in man. On the whole it is easy to understand the dog and to learn to read his thoughts. The dog cannot dissimulate, cannot deceive, cannot lie because he cannot speak. The dog is a saint. He is straightforward and honest by nature. If in exceptional cases there appear in a dog some stigmas of hereditary sin traceable to his wild ancestors, who had to rely on cunning in their fight for existence, these stigmas will disappear when his experience has taught him that he can rely upon straight and just dealings from us. If these stigmas should remain in a dog who is well treated, these cases are extremely rare, this dog is not normal, he is suffering from moral insanity and should be given a painless death. A dog gladly admits the superiority of his master over himself, accepts his judgment as final, but, contrary to what many dog-lovers believe, he does not consider himself as a slave. His submission is voluntary and he expects his own small rights to be respected. He looks upon his master as his king, almost as his god, he expects his god to be severe if need be, but he expects him to be just. He knows that his god can read his thoughts and he knows it is no good to try to conceal them. Can he read the thoughts of his god? Most certainly he can. The Society for Psychical Research may say what they like, but telepathy between man and man has so far not been proved. But telepathy between dog and man has been proved over and over again. The dog can read his master's thoughts, can understand his varying moods, and foretell his decisions. He knows by instinct when he is not wanted, lies quite still for hours when his king is hard at work as kings often are, or at least ought to be. But when his king is sad and worried he knows that his time has come and he creeps- up and lays his head on his lap. Don't worry! Never mind if they all abandon you, I am here to replace all your friends and to fight all your enemies! Come along and let us go for a walk and forget all about it!

A dog can be taught to do almost anything with friendly encouragement, patience and a biscuit
when he has learned his lesson with right good will. Never lose your temper or use violence of any sort. Corporal punishment inflicted on an intelligent dog is an indignity which reflects upon his master. It is besides a psychological error. This being said, let me add that naughty puppies as well as very small children before the age of reason, but not after, are quite welcome to a little spanking now and then when too recalcitrant to learn the fundamental rules of good manners. Personally, I have never taught my dogs any sort of tricks, although I admit that many dogs, their lesson once learned, take great pleasure in showing off their tricks. To perform in a circus is quite another matter and a degradation to an intelligent dog. Anyhow these performing dogs are as a rule well looked after on account of the money they bring in and are infinitely better off than their wretched wild comrades in the menagerie.


When a dog is ill, he will submit to almost anything, even a painful operation, if it is explained to him in a kind but firm voice that it must be done and why it must be done. Never coax a sick dog to eat, he often does so only to oblige you, even if his instinct warns him to abstain from food, which is as often as not his salvation. Don't worry, dogs like very small children can be without food for several days without further inconvenience. A dog can stand pain with great courage, but of course he likes you to tell him how sorry you are for him. Maybe it will be a comfort to some dog-lovers to be told that I do believe that on the whole their sensitiveness to pain is less acute than we think. Never
disturb a sick dog when not absolutely necessary. As often as not your untimely interference only distracts nature in her effort to assist him to get well. All animals wish to be left alone when they are ill and also when they are about to die.


Alas! the life of a dog is so short and there are none of us who have not been in mourning for a lost friend. Your first impulse and your first words after you have laid him to rest under a tree in the park, are that you never, never wish to have another dog; no other dog could ever replace him, no other dog could ever be to you what he has been. You are mistaken. It is not a dog we love, it is the dog. They are all more or less the same, they are all ready to love you and be loved by you. They are all representatives of the most lovable and, morally speaking, most perfect creation of God. 

The big dog

Two times these last days I have heard how huuuge Stella is. It is funny, because when you think about it, she is not much higher - maybe just a couple of centimeters - than Maja, and just a couple of kilos heavier, and Maja seems like such a ballerina dog. But it is something about the size of her bones, the blocky head, the ox-like character, and the kadump-kadump-kadump-kadump-kadump way that she moves :)

Welcome home

I just came home after being away for a little while, and when I walked up the driveway, I saw Maja and Stella on the other side of the lawn, maybe 60-70 meters away from me. Just a tiny, tiny, tiny little whistle, and then Maja turned immediately and came running as fast as she could to me.. Is there any better way of being welcomed home? :)

DAYS IN THE SUN

The absolute nightmare

This summer I experienced one of my absolute nightmares with the dogs, something that in the back of my mind thought could happen, but I was not prepared for it there and then...

We were having a nice walk close to the river not so far away from us.. This is a really bushy area, but it is just across the river for an inhabited area. Both Maja and Stella had taking a small dip, we were all full of joy, it was a nice day, and with no people around, Maja and Stella was walking free. Stelle was quite far up ahead and really not listening to me at all, while Maja was about 30 meters to my left, running through high grass, wag wag wag wag wag, and really not very much paying attention to anything. That's our Maja, happily and easily distracted... Luckily, I was watching her right then.. Running along, wag wag wag wag..

Now there is a dog tail wagging...

Now there is nothing...

No tail, no dog.. Nothing. And all in a matter of a split second. There wasn't even much of a sound, no barking or whining or yelping, just some muffled THUD.
And after half a second of thinking "Maja, always doing something strange," two seconds of thinking nothing at all, one second of denying it, I knew:  water pipe.....

So I ran, closer and closer, and no dog, and I saw the round concrete hole, tube, about one and a half meter in diameter only when I was half a meter away from it. Good lord: how deep is it? What is down at the bottom? Water? Sewage? Rubbish? Good lord, I was scared.

Looking over the edge. Fearing the worst. And down there was Maja. What luck. No water, no sewage. Two thin steel pipes sticking up, that Maja SOMEHOW had missed. If not, it could have been lights out. And not too deep, maybe two and a half - three meters.

Oh, brave little Maja. No barking or crying until I threw myself on the ground and stretched as far as I could down into the whole. As far as I could without tipping over and going head first down myself. Off.. Then Maja started crying and climbed as high up on the concrete wall  with her front legs as she could. I just managed to get hold of the skin on her shoulders and hauled her up, dirty and shaking (both of us) but unharmed. Weird, she is 30 kilos, and I didn't think about it for a second. Dirty, but unharmed :)

And then suddenly there was another dog there. Stella had been far ahead, and right before Maja fell, I tried to call for her. Neh, no reaction. Now suddenly - maybe because Maja had been crying - she was right by my side and gave Maja a really good sniffing examination. Oh, nothing is better than a sister to support you :) Checked and reported O.K, and at once two dog tails were wagging high, as if nothing had happened, and off they went, side by side.. :)

Fun

"Well, one of you must have told, 'cause now half the barn demands to sleep in my bed.

Fear

During this summer, we discovered one more of Stella's fears, and this time a bit more serious: Hot Air Balloons! We see them quite often from where we live - four, five, six balloons that take off close to where we live, and quite often they pass right over our house. Sometimes we wonder if Stella's eyes are totally well, but she can spot a hot air balloon at any distance. And she HATES them!

At first we found it a little bit cute - our dog was defending our yard, but slowly we understood that she is genuinely afraid of them. She ran away two time while walking with Jurgita, luckily in places where the chance of getting hit by a car was pretty small.

One of our lessons coincided with a balloon "take off", so our dog teacher took us there. Stella knew immediately that she was in for trouble, the first thing she reacts to is the sound of the fans and the burners, and she so! wanted to get away from there. We sat down 50 meters away, tried to pay no attention to the balloons. Maja - as usual - really did not pay ANY attention to the ballons :)

Stella was definitely scared and was really shaking all over, but she kept her pose; she was lying down, watching the balloons fill and take off. She didn't growl, didn't bark, didn't try to run away. If I have ever seen a dog facing it's fears, it was then. Even the dog trainer found it impressive - she was scared, but she is so mentally strong.

Did it help? No. Probably - for some reason - she will always be afraid of balloons, but maybe it will be easier for her to face them, and hopefully we can make her not run from us if a balloon flies over us.

It is funny, though, to see the difference between Maja and Stella. Stella is not afraid of any dog, but some other things might make her a bit nervous. Maja can sometimes be a bit scared by charging dogs, but things?? Balloons? Which balloons? :)

Stella: The compulsive bather

We don't know very much about Stella's background, so we don't know how much she was swimming, or if she ever did it at all before she came to us, but her relationship with water is a really funny one :)

Nida is really the right place to start swimming practice. It is usually quite warm when we are there in the summer and the water is really shallow, so you can walk quite far out. Last year it was Maja who had her big breakthrough, and Stella had her first swims this summer. But, while Maja has become quite fond of swimming - and definitely if you throw a stick - Stella hasn't really become a swimmer. She has become a BATHER :D

Whenever there is a river or a lake, Stella has to run in, at least once.She goes exactly deep enough for the  the water to cover her, but if the water is not deep enough, she'll crouch to get all the way in. 10 seconds like that, and she is finished. Totally happy and satisfied. Maybe one more dip before we come home, and a new dip tomorrow. Never a single day without a proper bath :)