Bouncer,  babysitter, playmate, punching bag . . . Dax fills all these rolls as older brother and mentor to the newest member of our family, Muggsy.   In his young life, Muggsy has never encountered foxes and wild animals like his older, more  worldly canine brother.

This morning I was enjoying my morning [...]]]>

Bouncer,  babysitter, playmate, punching bag . . . Dax fills all these rolls as older brother and mentor to the newest member of our family, Muggsy.   In his young life, Muggsy has never encountered foxes and wild animals like his older, more  worldly canine brother.

This morning I was enjoying my morning coffee when I heard Muggsy frantically barking outside.  With a mother’s intuition, I flew out of the house, knowing it was a bark that said “There’s something out there and it’s scary”.

I saw him racing back and forth across a patch of ground cover at the fence line, with Dax locked on an object like a heat seeking missile and emitting a low, menacing growl.  We live in a desert environment and there is an aroya (a dry gully in desert terms) on the other side of our back fence.  Standing there was a large coyote, licking his chops and looking at Muggsy like he was a piece of danish in a  Starbucks bakery case.  He probably didn’t see that there was a manager on duty (Dax!) and it was just dawning on him that this would not be his lucky day.  As I scooped Muggsy up, he was barking and shaking at the same time.  Dax’s eyes never left the coyote, who was now beating a hasty retreat.  Coyotes can jump a fence so he might have been considering this option before the stealthy Dax made his appearance. 

Coyotes are actually members of the dog family and their scientific name, Canis latrans, means ‘barking dog’.   Barking Dog .. meet Growling Dog!  Small dogs are often preyed on by these carnivorous creatures, as we all know from the sad fate of Jessica Simpson’s poor little pup, but he was smart enough to back off from the canine equivalant of  ‘Jaws’.

So sometimes it IS good to be a Rottweiller and to have one at your back.  Never mind that he is now sound asleep with several stuffed animals clutched in his paws, he can be a tough guy when needed.  Coyotes beware . . . .