"Go see!"

I'm trying to teach Emma to be a "responsive" watch-dog. It's not going very well.

But fortunately it's mostly just a game, and not of any real significance since she's already an excellent, alert watch-dog that lets almost nothing get by her here on the place.

But even though she's a good warner, she hasn't the instinct for the whole job that my Rotties did. Murphy, my last one, is a good example. Wherever I happened to be in the house, if I told Murph to "Go see!" he would go briskly to the front door, or the front window if the door was closed. If all was well and nothing in sight he would come back and let me know.

"Who is it?" was also a phrase that jolted him into action, inspiring a similar response wherever we were. If we were outside, it got a slow and careful 360° scan before he would stand down. I never taught any of the Rotties these phrases. They just seemed to know what was expected, especially Murphy who was the smartest critter I have ever known.

None of my Rottweilers (I've owned three males) were really what would be termed aggressive, but they all took the profession seriously. Their profession, as they saw it, was to oversee and protect their domain and, more specifically, me. They were good at their work, too. Yes, yes, I know all the media baloney about these vicious, ravening beasts. And baloney it is. None of the three ever bit anybody or ate any children, but all three were into their "work" 24/7. I may tell stories about that at some later point.

Emma, on the other hand is more of a generalist when it comes to being security director. Her drives and her specific intelligence just don't go in that direction. I'm not complaining. If we're afield and I say "Where's the bird?" she's off in search and there's no mistaking what she's after. When she looks at me at fifty yards, as if awaiting instructions, all I have to do is point at where she should go and she is there and working almost instantly. Despite the "Go see!" game, I am more than happy with that.

Like people, dogs have their mind-sets and their foibles. Mags, for instance, believes that security is somebody else's job. If Emma barks she will jump up on the couch and look out the front window, but she herself never barks. Unless Emma steps on her or otherwise transgresses.

I guess these differences are part of why I find dogs so satisfyingly interesting. And why I don't really care if Emma never gets "Go see!"