The dog never chases sticks.
He does not do sticks, or balls, or haring off obediently, or doing anything very much at all on command. He’s a terrier. He just doesn’t.
You don’t get a terrier to have a yes man in the family. You get a terrier to incorporate another complex, self-contained personality to add to all the others. Terriers are not exactly no-men, but they’re not far off. Their typical agenda includes sitting on forbidden sofas, staring reproachfully and collecting dead things.
So imagine my surprise when the dog did what he was told.
Kate Shrewsday 
I don’t like the sound of it. It’s an omen:)
Something is nigh, that’s for sure, Roger…
eeeeeu!!!! well done to you. but how did you dispose of that leg?
I didn’t. I walked away.
Is that wrong? š
it sounds most sensible
Poor Master Mac, forced to heel under the shrieks of the Overlords…..
āNo beast so fierce but knows some touch of pity. But I know none, and therefore am no beast.ā Shakespeare.
Excellent reasoning from the Bard there, Lou. Yes, life is tough when you’re a terrier with a holy grail.
Oh the memories. One of my dogs (Jasper, shephard and who knows what else) loves to run off, and calling him back is useless. Chasing him is even more useless, because that’s a fun game. However, one day in Colorado after he escaped he ran by carrying a giant stick, which was unusual as he isn’t a stick dog. I called him and he came, extra proud that he was listening and carrying his stick. He go into the front mudroom of our house and I realized the gruesome reality . . . the whole deer leg.
Fun times with canine family.
Wow, Lisa. The whole shebang! I have yet to be presented with such a prize š Good to know I’m not alone in the deers leg stakes.
I had to play it again to see that it wans’t an optical illusion.
Thinking about it, though, I wonder if that wasn’t simply a gesture of disgust that you would think for even one minute that he would mistake a leg for a stick when he doesn’t DO sticks?
That could be the explanation, Col. Something’s got to account for it. We”re all baffled here.
One should not “yuck” another man’s (er, dog’s) “wow!” Methinks he was simply just hugely disappointed that you were not as enthused as he about his treasure! š
Karen, I think you are probably right. I am a terrier-style philistine.
I love your accent! If you told me to drop something I would although it’s unlikely you would find a deer leg in my mouth.
Kate, I am pleased to hear you do not customarily gnaw on deer legs. I promise never to tell you to drop anything, though I might enquire politely if you would like a cup of tea should you ever find yourself in this neck if the woods.
As a cat person I prefer a decapitated mouse over a deer leg!!!!
Ah, I have taken the last step on the stairwell many a time to meet one of those at the bottom, RMW. One of those squelches you really don’t want to hear.
It may be a case that Macaulay decided that the deer leg did not taste so good after all. He looked somewhat relieve as he dropped it.
He did, didn’t he? A little too gamey for his tastes, perhaps š
I see he LEGGED it afterwards!
Yes. An attempt to disown his find. I still can’t work out why.
He dropped his prize on command. Such a good dog!
You could have knocked me down with a feather, PT. I was so surprised.
You certainly do sound surprised! I was half expecting that to end with you just clean dropping the camera.
I almost did, B….
Good boy, your Macauley (but, glad I didn’t have to dispose of this piece of deer).
Good dog. š
That was great! Maybe knowing that he was being filmed inspired Macaulay to drop the dead deer leg? I hope that on your next walk he won’t be inspired to pick it up again, but then you could film a sequel for us.
MacCaulay, I feel your pain. One of our cats was admonished for bringing a field mole to our door. She promptly left – at my bidding – and took her prize elsewhere. (Congrats, Kate, for getting your terrier to mind.)
I would have run away shrieking!
Our Silky Terrier is as described, ” another complex, self-contained personality to add to all the others.” She would never surprise us with doing as she was told. Much to our delight. This was a fun post.
Thankfully, Buffy (Patterdale terrier) does not like to chase or bring sticks, she prefers rolling in stinky smelly stuff! Yuk!
I could learn a lesson from you Kate. I have two Terriers and a lab puppy and it is mayhem. I can’t get the terriers housebroken! tips?
Well done you! Well done, Mac! And eeew….
This is hilarious! The bottom half of a deer leg! OMG!
Perhaps he wanted to see your reaction to his unprecedented obedience.
How darling. Terriers can be a handful. He looks so free with his ears blowing in the wind. Thanks for such a great smile first thing in my morning … Puppy happiness! š
Haha. Classic!
Kate,
I saw this news article today and thought back to this post…which could have been much worse:
http://www.ksl.com/?sid=27588235&nid=1070&fm=most_popular&s_cid=article-popular-3
Patrick
Ah, Kate, it was your surprise at his obeying your sincere command that made this one of the best ever!