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Brutus: A Belizean Black Lab -- by Sr. ric
Back in an earlier life, I founded a company called "CASELab" and we published a journal on Software Teamwork called LABNotes. My friend Larry Constantine suggested that it sounded more like a magazine about dogs! Well, you might call this page a LabNote!
Not a Rottweiler. "Chino" Kuylen and his dad raise Rottweilers. Chino is my butane deliveryman and I told him that I needed a dog "with feet as big as snowshoes." I don't think he's ever seen a pair of snowshoes, but he knew what I was talking about. Charlotte won't let me get a Rottweiler, but Chino told me that he sometimes had mixes. He came to me in February and said he had a new litter that was mostly Labrador Retriever; mother Lab, father was half Rottweiler. We negotiated a price (he wanted to give me one, and I wanted to pay) and then I didn't hear anything for a long time. Finally, he asked me if I wanted male or female, I said "Female" and he said that he would bring one over the next day. Next
day, he showed up with a little black male puppy that looked like it was about to die! I paid him (a deal is a deal) and we rushed the dog down to Doctor Sheila, our feisty Vet on the other end of town. She said he had tick fever, was covered with fleas and full of worms, so she wormed him, "fleed him" and gave us antibiotics to give him for a fortnight. That night, he was very lonesome, very listless, but the next day he was feeling frisky and has been irrepressibly energetic ever since.
What's in a Name? I hoped for a big dog, so I named him Brutus. Mr. Ed thinks I should have named him after some black politician instead of a Roman Senator, but the name sounded right to me, and he is working hard to live up to it. Any time I give him a bowl of food, he acts like he could eat two. (That's a little joke. Think about it.) Mr. Ed calls him "Rufus" and when Brutus gets bigger, he will probably bite him for it. Ed's dog --
Belikin -- thought he owned our house and back yard, and he doesn't, anymore, so he growls at Brutus and even snapped at him once back when Brutus was a little puppy. He doesn't do that any more because Brutus is already a lot bigger than Belikin.
Cats & Dogs. Like most Labs, Brutus is very friendly and tries to please. His considerable tail wags constantly. When he was the size of the cats, he was afraid of them, and they even stalked him a little. Now he wants to play with them, and they are (justifiably) afraid of him. He runs around them and barks and lunges at them until they go and hide.
A Retriever. I am a member of a use group called "Selfish Genes" and I have been reluctant to put all my stock in the ability of genes to control all behavior. (A constant argument among psychologists.) Brutus has changed my thinking a lot, because ever since the first time I threw something to him -- a little plastic orange juice bottle with a couple of rocks in it to make it rattle -- he has been retrieving. Of course, I say "Fetch, Brutus" but he just naturally wants to retrieve things. Of course, like all puppies, he doesn't necessarily want to lay it at my feet, so we play with it a little and he has learned to understand that if he doesn't let go of it, I can't throw it again. (It actually only took him a couple of days to learn
that.)
Frisbee Dog. I took a five-foot piece of black polypropylene rope and and back-spliced both ends to make him a toy, and we play with that. (You can see him playing with it in the Pix on the next page.) When we played, I noticed that Brutus was a great jumper, and suggested to Brad that he might be a potential Frisbee Dog. Brad said that they have special padded Frisbees for learning and I wondered where in the world (in Belize) I would find one of those. Then a friendly missionary lady gave me a padded Frisbee for Brutus. (I consider this a sign from God that Brutus is supposed to become a Frisbee Dog.) We practice with the Frisbee every day. Since he's a retriever, getting the Frisbee and bringing it back
is no challenge. We will start on the airborne work soon and then I will show you some more pictures.
A Vicious Attack Dog. My friend Stephanie was here and met Brutus and she asked me if I was going to tie him up to make him mean. (That's what the Belizeans do.) I explained that we would train him to be a guard dog (if not a vicious attack dog.) It's hard right now to see him as vicious, but I have some excellent training materials from Ed Frawley on dog training -- from puppy to defense dog to attack dog. Actually, most Belizeans don't think of dogs as pets, and they are a little (or maybe a lot) afraid of them. Especially black ones. <grin>
A Belizean Black Dog. To some people of some racial descent, "black is beautiful," and, of course, Brutus and I agree. But, in Belize, black is HOT. When the sun is out, and I have to walk someplace, I don't choose a black shirt to wear. Brutus doesn't have this option so I've noticed that, wherever he walks or sits, he finds the shade, just like a Belizean would. What a smart little dog he is. (Soon to be a smart BIG dog!)
Best,
Sr. ric (May 2002)
Click here for some pictures of Brutus. (They will take a little while to load.)
News: I took Brutus down to the Bay today, and he was afraid of the water. Who ever heard of a Labrador Retriever that was afraid of the water? I will put on a bathing suit and take him in with me, I guess. It worked for my kids.
Newer:
I have been taking Brutus down to the other end of town, to
Rainbow Beach, where some gringo friends of mine take their
dogs in the water. Brutus still isn't crazy about the
water, but he loves to play with other dogs, and he is
learning to swim and "fight" in the water.
He is getting a lot bigger so he can hold his own with
anyone, including Duke, a full-grown Golden Retriever who
loves the water.
New:
Other Labradors in Belize.
"Bubba" is a famous Lab that lives on Ambergris
Caye. You can read about him here
and here.
New:
(July 2003) Brutus has grown up and you can see him here,
along with my bald spot!
Newest
(November 2005) Brutus is back in the States with me, getting used to the
cold in Arkansas, and learning to be a lake swimmer.
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