(185) I Toad You So...

Houston we have a problem. I don’t know if it is with Maxie or with the toads but somebody is obsessed with somebody. Maxie has become proficient with finding the toads that come into the dog run and he has decided that they are his occupation and for his enjoyment. To be honest we haven’t figured out if the toads are coming or going but that doesn’t really matter since when we open the door Max usually has one between his front paws and is jostling it back and forth like a ping pong ball. If you remember a previous blog or if you have known any dogs that try to catch toads you may remember they excrete a mild poison that makes dog’s mouths froth. We are now on Toad catch number 7. Most dogs (the smart ones) only need to try this one time before they get the lesson that toads are good to leave alone. Well, Max not only doesn’t leave these toads alone, he seeks them out each time we open the back door. The last time Brad took one away from Maxie, he put it outside the gate. Now, if Max cannot find one in the dog run, he sits by the gate and fixates on the place he last saw Brad out the toad. What’s with that? He started to claw a little trench between the gate and the fence just so the little toad can get inside easier. Is that considered baiting? I would love to know what it is that Maxie loves so much about these toads. Is it a mild form of hunting? Does he get excited to catch something? Why does he keep putting it inside his mouth and getting all foamy? Has he acquired a “taste” for toad? Is he addicted? We actually discussed this morning if the toad issue might be significant to his output issues. I guess it could happen that the slime from the toad is affecting him.


Beeker doesn’t seem to be as interested in the hunt as Maxie. Max looks like he is playing with the toads.

I remember my family pet, Gretel. Gretel was a runner dog. We lived outside Carbondale at the time and our house had a large yard that then bordered a cornfield. One day Gretel came home with a soaking wet duckling. Gretsie kept that soaking wet duckling between her paws and would let it wander out just so far and then she would go and get it ever so gentle and bring it back to keep it again between her paws. My mom still can recall the details of Gretel’s playful obsession with the duckling. Maybe this is just like that. Maybe the toads are like playmates to Maxie. A playmate that doesn’t nip at his tail or heels.

Now the next question is how to stop this madness. The toads refuse to get smart and keep out of the dog run. Maybe they are instinctually heading for the window covering, like the salmon that swim up steam or the geese that fly north every winter. Maybe they are trying to “go home”? We can’t keep Maxie out of the dog run. He needs some place to go out. Although we have other places to leash Max, he is just as likely to find “critters’ and eat more grass in those places. It will be interesting to see how this plays out as we go from Fall and into Winter. I wonder if Toads hibernate or if they just go deeper underground. I bet Maxie will like toadcicles!