The Sounds of Spring

What a great weekend it’s been so far. We’ve been spending all of our time out in the yard just enjoying the warm sun and the sounds of spring. Yes, the chickadees chirping, the hummingbirds humming, the woodpeckers pecking, and the dog barking and charging. Oh the sounds of spring.

Every year we have to remind Chili that the sounds of spring are different than the sounds of winter. She always forgets and spends the first few times in the yard sniffing the air, standing on alert, barking, and charging when anyone goes by. It’s so enjoyable for everyone. Yes, that’s sarcasm. It’s not exactly fun, but we spend the time retraining her so we can enjoy the rest of the season. We could leave her in the house but we like having her with us and I’m pretty sure she likes being with us too so we all endure.

There she lies, all pretty and cute soaking up the sun. She looks so content when suddenly she springs up like a breaching shark and starts growling and sprinting across the yard. Luckily a sharp, “Chili, Here!”, stops the charge and brings her to my side whining, protesting and moaning like I just kept her from saving the world. Half the time we look around and can’t even figure out what she’s charging at. So, I keep her at my side and stay ¼ focused on what I’m doing and ¾ focused on Chili and every sound and movement around me. I’m good at knowing what will set her off so I quietly ask her to look at me when I hear different noises and when she looks away, I tell her, “No, no...look at me.” Even when I’m successful for half the day I can’t let my guard down. If she jumps up and charges just once, it takes a while to settle her down.

Then there’s the sound of children playing. Chili loves people of all ages but there’s something about the sound of children playing when she can’t see them that she simply can’t take. There are no issues when she sees them, she just glances and goes about her business. She’s been like this from the day we adopted her so I figure there’s something in that first 6 months of her life that she experienced that triggered this reaction. The mysteries of Chili.

Of all the things that set her off, the one thing that rarely gets her going, that I would fully expect would send her into a fit, is the sound of the neighbourhood dogs barking. There are a few barkers in the neighbourhood but for the most part, she ignores them. I always watch her when they start barking and the odd time when I can see she’s priming herself to bark too, I stop her before she gets going. I don’t need her to be the neighbourhood barking dog, I have enough to deal with.

So the first few outdoor days of spring aren’t exactly relaxing but we make the most of it and do what we can to acclimatize the Chill to relax and just enjoy the sun, and ignore the sounds. She’s committed to her cause but so are we and she may be one stubborn girl, but that one stubborn girl is up against her mom and dad who are just as stubborn, ask anyone. Two against one, you’d think that would give us the advantage....you’d think.

What I find interesting about it all is she doesn’t react to anything that is happening if it’s on our property. A car can pull into the driveway, someone can walk into the yard, kids can play, and all she thinks is, “Hey look, someone is here to visit me and play.” Then she gets all wiggly and her tail starts thumping. I don’t know....the mysteries of Chili.