Every morning, Gus and I go out to feed the birds, refilling the various bird feeders and topping up the suet balls.
Most mornings I hear rustling in the bushes. Out of the left hand bushes pops my friendly blackbird and from the right hand side my brave robin appears. Both of them wait for me to throw them a couple of suet pellets each which they gobble down gratefully. Given a chance, the blackbird hops over and chases off the robin to get his pellets too, so I’m always careful to throw them at the same time.
The blackbird and robin both keep a wary eye out for Gus prowling round, but they don’t seem too scared of him and he’s never shown any sign of wanting to chase them.
I worried about the blackbird in the autumn as I didn’t see her for several weeks. She’d been coming to get her pellets from a very young age, and she was losing her downy first feathers to grow her adult plumage. For nearly four weeks I didn’t see her at all, and I worried that next door’s cat had got her. I was so relieved when one day she just appeared once more.
Seeing “my” blackbird always reminds me of my grandad. His chair was by a window and every Sunday when we went for lunch he would open the window, place his hand palm up on the sill and make chirping, tweeting noises. A blackbird would fly down, perch on his fingers and peck crumbs from his palm.
We always had to be quiet as mice and still as statues because if we spoke or moved the blackbird would fly off. I don’t have many memories of my grandad – he died when I was ten – but that is one of the strongest ones.
Sometimes the things your current dog does might remind you of a previous dog you’ve known. Perhaps there’s a particular look I their eyes, or they tilt their head in a certain way, or they perform a particular behaviour that brings to mind past memories.
It’s good to remember past dogs, but it’s important to remember that your current dog is different and to celebrate their own special foibles and mannerisms.
Those are the memories you’ll smile about in future years. And if their behaviour irritates you and you want it to change, ask me for help.
Keep training,
Carol