When I was growing up, my neighbor had a Doberman Pinscher. Since I had no previous experience with such a breed, I was naturally afraid of the dog. However, I soon came to realize that the Doberman was truly a great breed, and had a personality that was hard to resist.
As I became an adult, I had always wanted a Doberman of my own. I remembered all of the fun we had with the one in our neighborhood, and how intelligent the dog was. It was a breed that I had come to admire, and wanted as part of my family.
A few years ago, I got my wish. My wife and I bought a female Doberman puppy for our family, and grew attached to her, in just a short time. She had a great personality, and would do things that would just amaze us. She was easy to train, or perhaps it was her training us. We loved her so much, we decided we wanted a second Doberman, and so we bought a young male to be her companion.
Kyota and Dante, as we named them, are part of our family now. They each have their own personality, and each seem to be comedians. They have a dinner time ritual that we look forward to every evening. It is always initiated by Kyota, the female, and usually ends in total embarrassment for the male Dante.
Each evening we serve their food in separate dishes, and in separate parts of the house. For Dante, dinner is not a time when a moment is wasted. He gobbles up his food in such a hurry, that we hardly have time to get ready for the show between them. Kyota is the clever one of the two, she has a little trick that I have never seen before, and it is something that has amazed all who have witnessed it.
Kyota is what you might consider a slow eater. However, the real reason is clear to us that live with her. Her dinner gives her the perfect chance to show her dominance over the male. She has a definite “Type A” personality, and she takes pride in showing it off.
When Kyota begins her dinner, she will only eat about half of her bowl of food. By that time, Dante is finished with his, and is now waiting for the opportunity to finish Kyota’s. He will linger in the shadows someplace, and wait on the perfect opportunity to rush in and grab Kyota’s leftovers. However, Kyota has become smart to his tactic, so she has developed one of her own.
When she is finished with the first half of her food, she will walk away and save the rest for later. However, she keeps a close eye on the bowl, because she knows that Dante is just waiting for her to turn away. Having played this game a million times, Kyota now uses her strategy against him.
She begins by placing one or two pieces of food between Dante and her food bowl. Knowing that Dante cannot resist the chance for a couple of freebies, she then sits back and waits for him to make a move. When Dante goes for the free pieces, Kyota makes a mad dash to her bowl. Her little diversion for Dante gives her just enough time to beat him to the remaining food. Although she doesn’t eat the food right way, she will stand over it, until Dante lurks back to the shadows. Then, the game begins again.
To watch the show happen is something to see. Dante eats his food as fast as he can in order to get to Kyota’s food before she is done. Kyota takes her time, just to set a trap and outsmart Dante. It is all something like an old black and white slapstick comedy show.
In the end, one of them gets to gloat over her dominance, while the other is embarrassed by getting caught by his own greed.
we had a little dog.. Lucy, and she had the cutest/ strangest habit.. she would smell your feet, to see if she knew you and then, if she did, would flop over on her back for a belly rub.. but it looked like she smelled your feet.. and died.. it was adorable..