A Guest Post From My Dog Heather

The following is a guest post from my dog Heather about running with her pack. 


So as I posted on my Facebook page awhile back, Dad and I were out for a run when these two poorly trained dogs came after us. 

There we were minding our own business running back home from the airport with a scant two miles left to go. We turned a corner and saw a guy with two loose dogs up on the corner. 

At first, they didn’t look like trouble but Dad crossed us to the other side of the street anyway. (I have learned that Dad does not trust loose dogs). I kept an eye on them as we jogged up the street. I saw exactly when the big German Shepard saw us. She instantly went into confrontation mode. I saw her lock her focus and she started barreling across the street. Her sister followed her (like any good pack member should). I felt Dad drop my leash which is the signal to prepare for action.  

You should have seen Dad! He fought pretty good for a human. He ran toward the head dog. He kicked and punched at the German Shepard and barked his head off! It seemed he was barking more at the owner than the dog. But you could tell he was barking him some hell!

Dad never used his teeth to send warning bites to the Shepard. But I noticed humans rarely do. I wonder why they never use that effective tool. Maybe it’s because they have such small mouths. Humans’ teeth don’t stick out. So it’s harder to get a good hold with them.  

Anyway, I was fighting right along side Dad. We were really going at it. The Shepard was the main fighter of the pack. Her sister didn’t do much more than show fight. So she wasn’t too much of an issue. 

Their owner ambled his way over to us. I noticed he didn’t bark at all or take charge of his pack either. I’m glad he’s not my pack leader. He got around to pulling the German Shepard away and when he did, her sister instantly backed off. 

Since they weren’t fighting us anymore, I just stepped back and chilled. But I kept an eye on that Shepard. I kept my ears pointed forward and positioned my tail so she’d know I was ready to jump in again if she started anything. 

Dad was still barking his head off at the owner. The owner was pretty quiet. Didn’t bark at all. He put his dogs in his car and came back to talk to Dad. Dad was barking less now. Really he was just huffing a bit. Still angry. 

Dad checked me out all over. But I was fine. I just had a bunch of dog spit all over my fur but no bites. I move pretty quick and the dogs weren’t actively biting they were just vying for dominance. But Dad must have got too close to a mouth because his hand was bleeding. I could see a surface bite. He’d be ok but he was pissed!

I NEVER start fights because dogs of good breeding just don’t do that. But I never let any dog bully me either. A girl’s always got to stand up for herself and her pack. Always. Besides, it keeps your fighting skills sharp. Which was a good thing too as barely a week later we had another run in. 

This time I was with Mom. We were running one of our regular routes at night. We came around a corner and saw some guys leaving a building across the street. A big doberman followed one of the guys out of the building and ran right to the curb to smell a tree. 

Mom saw him before he saw us. She stopped immediately and he looked up and spotted us. He instantly started growling. He was so dark he looked like a shadow. And he was growling LOUD. 

I looked at Mom to see if we were going to throw down or what. Mom had the leash pulled straight up which means “Freeze until I tell you different.”

The doberman’s owner called to him twice but he didn’t listen. He was still growling and when he lowered his head I felt Mom loosen the grip on the leash. I knew she was about to drop it and you already know what that means. 

I got ready to rumble!

(Now I’ve never seen Mom fight, but I bet you anything she’s a biter!)

The doberman’s owner called him again, real sharp. And finally, he ran to his owner and left. Smart move. 

Mom and I continued our run like nothing happened. I know she was ready to fight for me and I’m sure she knows I was going to fight for her. Our pack’s tight like that.