Entlebucher Frequently Asked Questions – Part 2 – Wednesday 16th December 2020

Entlebucher Frequently Asked Questions – Part 2

Here it is, Entlebucher Frequently Asked Questions – Part 2. Life is a bit on the quiet side so it gives me chance to answer some more of the questions we commonly get asked.

How intelligent are we?

If you’ve been reading our diary for a while you will have realised we are about as intelligent as a dog can get. Of course, we vary as much as humans and Mum describes Shadow as her little bimbo, but that can’t be helped. Aristotle and I more than make up for it. Aristotle must get it from his father. On my side I have the good fortune of both my parents being very bright dogs and I have benefitted. One of the best examples I can give you was the time Mum was going out and had put me and Ari in crates in the same room. She had to come back in for something five minutes later. I was already out of my crate and was in the process of opening the door to Aristotle’s crate. That pretty much sums it up.

Mum jokes that Aristotle has to go in a crate if she goes out. If he weren’t he’d sell the house and move the money offshore before she got back.

You look like a Bernese are you related?

I much prefer being asked that than the old ‘are you a Beagle cross’. To be honest, I find the latter quite insulting. Do I even look like a Beagle? Oh don’t get me wrong, I like Beagles as much as the next person, but I don’t want to be one. We even have a Club sweatshirt which says ‘I am not a Beagle’ because we get asked so much. The funniest was once when Mum was with Shadow near Calais. A man, with a Beagle asked if Shadow was a Beagle. Mum suspected the man probably needed a stronger prescription for his glasses.

Back to the Bernese question. Yes, I’m proud to say the Bernese is a close cousin. There are four Swiss Mountain Dogs in the series. There is the Great Swiss, which is the biggest. The Bernese, which is the only one with long hair. The Appenzeller which is a little bigger than we are and is not yet recognised as a breed by the Kennel Club in the UK. Then there is the Entlebucher and we’re the smallest in the series.

Are you good with other animals?

On the whole the answer to that is yes. However, it really does depend on our socialisation when we are young. You do need to remember that we originally helped to keep the farm free from vermin, so unless we are taught that small animals are our friends we may have the overwhelming urge to catch them but not in an acceptable fashion. Ask Mum about the time they tried to get a rabbit for one of the small humans of the family and how the otherwise gentle Alfie behaved!

When brought up together we can be friends with almost anything. I’ve got close friends who help bring the chickens in (in a good way) and others who live with cats and rabbits. Here, Shadow used to try to catch birds while at the other end of the scale Ari is a threat to no one but himself.

That’s enough for today. I’ll do some more another time.

Love

Wilma