BUCK JR.



Buck Jr. is a Fine Pup

 

 

I have heard people say, “I wonder what that dog is thinking.”

 

I being a dog would give you an example of what dogs think about.  You have to realize this is just a sample but it is a true event of what goes on between us canines.

 

My name is Buck and the story begins right after Buck Jr. was weaned.  I’m not much into pups when they depend on their Ma for sustenance, but when they declare their independence then I take up with them.

 

Buck Jr. was a pup that needed a lot of discipline and at first I saw to it that he got it. By the time he was six months old he could keep up with me and it was after that we were always together.

 

I taught him that his nose was for something besides looking for food.  It wasn’t long before he could do a respectable job of tracking.  It was a little more difficult to teach him what to track and what to leave alone.

 

I had warned him to stay away from big cats and bears.  Like all young ones they have to learn some things the hard way.  He managed to make a bear mad and the next thing he learned was bears can run as fast as dogs.

 

If I hadn’t attracted his attention that bear would have himself a young pup.

 

Jr. was scared enough to avoid all the big stuff from then on.  He thought I was the toughest dog around and even more so after we went to the Badger in the barrel event.

 

I told Jr. to stay away from that badger for he was tough and mean.  After that badger had run several malicious looking dogs out of the barrel Jr. was convinced.

 

He made another mistake by saying that I could go in and bring that Badger out and kill him.  All the other dogs were laughing at him and saying I was afraid and couldn’t cope with that miserable critter.

 

The man that claimed to be my owner took me over and asked me if I wanted to give it a try, and I said, “I didn’t’ think so.”  After a coupled  more dogs got whipped I thought I might as well show these weaklings how it was done.

 

I went over and looked in while the badger rose up and was snarling.  As quick as lighting I hit the bottom of the barrel and grabbed him by the back and out of the barrel I came.  Real fast like, I dropped him in the middle of the crowd and watched them scatter dogs and all.

 

Jr. led the way of running in fact he out run most of the dogs as well as the hunters.

 

After the badger had run off all those brave souls they finally came back laughing with an embarrassed look on their face.

 

Jr. came back after a while and I congratulated him on how fast he could run.  He was proud of his old dad for he thought, “My pa is the toughest of them all.”

 

 He said, “How did you do that pa?”

 

 I said, “I just went and got him.”

 

“But all the other dogs tried and they couldn’t get him.”

 

“Okay I will tell you the secret or rather why they failed.  It wasn’t because they were not strong enough - - it was because they hesitated.  

 

Once you make up your mind whether you can whip the opponent or not then you go after them as fast as you can.  The humans have a saying ‘He who hesitates is lost,’ and that means dogs also.  If you can’t whip him like a big bear then you run but if you can handle him then do it fast and get it over.”

 

Jr. said, “Pa you are tough and smart too.”

 

“That’s alright Jr. but the thing is, are you learning anything?”

 

“Yea Pa, but when it comes to badgers for the time being it is time for me to run.”

 

I had to laugh at that for he was right, he didn’t have enough grit yet to try some things.

 

Our master wanted to go hunting one night and he gave a ‘let’s go’ whistle.

 

I told Jr. to wake up and get ready to go.  We loaded up in the pickup truck and were off to the woods.  There were four other hounds going with us and they made fun of Jr. until I let them know I would whip the bunch of them if they didn’t leave him alone for he was my boy.

 

That shut them up and now Jr. wanted to show them he was all hunting dog.

 

 It didn’t take long for us to hit a scent.  Jr. with his sharp nose was leading when he caught up with the varmint.  The rest of the pack including myself backed off and I told Jr. to do the same but he was so hyped up he didn’t hear me.

 

He lit into the skunk and it lay dead a moment later.  Jr. was looking proud but the other dogs wouldn’t come near him.

 

About ten days later Jr. smelled some better but on the ride home he got the smell on all of us.  I told Jr. that was the way to lose friends and disgust people at the same time.

 

He said his skunk hunting was over and for now on it would be coons and muskrats. There were a few other things Jr. had to be cured of; like chasing the chickens and eating with the pigs.

 

As he grew older he began to take on more and more of my traits and the master began to take to him as much as me which was alright.

 

The big change came when Jr. became the stud dog and replaced me.  That was the final step in becoming top dog in the camp and surprisingly I am taking my retirement rather well.

 

Jr. doesn’t come to me for advice anymore but if you ever see him just staring at you, just know he is trying to figure out, “What you are thinking.”