I have always been a dog person. I think I was drawn to the canine species because of both their innate trait of loyalty, and my perception of dogs enjoying the interaction between them and their owners. Today I am the proud owner of the largest beagle in the nation, if not the world. Bruiser is a pure bred beagle who came from a litter of normal sized dogs. All of his siblings are in normal average weight range of 20 to 25 pounds, but Bruiser clocks in at an impressive 68 pounds. He could not be considered a fat dog by any stretch of the imagination, and he could not be the result of cross breeding because of the use of a sturdy kennel lock. Bruiser is just the bruiser of the litter in a big way.
In addition to his robust size, Bruiser has a king size personality to go along with his impressive bulk. Bruiser is in every way a people pup. He can not be in a room full of people without making the rounds, and when he passes through the entire guest list he starts back at the top of the list for a second round of socializing. I think his fondness for verbal interaction is a direct result of his love of people.
From a very early age our dog enjoyed responding to verbal cues, as well as giving a few of his own. Initially we thought his understanding of verbal commands was taught to him by his surrogate mother, an 85 pound chocolate lab; golden retriever mix by the name of Chelsea, but Bruisers grasp of our commands increased significantly after her untimely passing. Once Bruiser was on his own we found he was much more attuned to our conversations. We immediately recognized an increase in his response to our direction, but at the same time it seemed that Bruiser was apparently ease dropping in our conversations. When we would be talking about a subject that was near and dear to his heart such as food we find Bruiser in close proximity. He would not only listen, but he would also react depending on the nature of the conversation. If the menu was moving in the direction of a salad or California rolls Bruiser would retreat to his hiding place behind the couch. If on the other hand we were planning on pizza or steak on the grill, he would become much more animated. These changes would occur long before the grill was lit or the pizza delivery number was called. His response was purely a reaction to a spoken word. Bruiser’s responses to human cues are not limited to the spoken word, within a relatively short period of time our dog has become an accomplished singer.
His singing skills were recognized completely by accident, one day we were sitting in the den with the TV on when all of the sudden he started to howl. We looked around the room, the house, and the yard but noticed nothing out of place. Suddenly we recognized that he was howling along with the tune to “Happy Birthday” on a TV show. After a few days of practice our dog was an accomplished singer who would fit in at any child’s birthday party. Within a few months we helped Bruiser expand his repertoire to include “Who let the Dogs Out”, “Put Another Log on the Fire”, and his rendition of “Oh Christmas Tree”. My families influence on Bruisers ability to obey voice commands and sing were coincidental at best. In reality I think he learned how to follow directions because it pleased him to do so.
I am by no means an expert on dog psychology, but in my observations of our dog I have found that he does the things that make him happy. It is purely coincidental that those things also make us happy, or at least amuse us, but based on his reaction I think he does what he enjoys doing. When he sings he gets attention, he likes attention, and so he sings. When you really think about it the life of a well kept dog is not all that bad. They have a warm bed, a roof over their head and all of the treats they want. To me, that sounds like something to sing about.
