On Saturday afternoon when I was at the pasture feeding my two old sweeties, I watched as two persistent terriers offered up an amazing lesson on focus.
These two little characters had wandered away from the barn, to the pasture where rabbits were known to hang out.
And let me tell you, they were on a hunt.
They were convinced that a rabbit was hiding in a piece of PVC pipe that was lying on the ground.
They barked.
They yipped.
They squealed.
And they worked as a team.
One scruffy little terrier took up his post at one end of the pipe and the other slightly larger fluff ball sat at the other end.
They tried mightily to get into the pipe. They poked their little heads in the opening, squirming and writhing, as if it would help them inch further into the pipe.
To no avail.
If indeed they had trapped a rabbit, he seemed safe.
But this dynamic duo wasn’t finished just yet.
They managed to turn the pipe, moving it along the dirt until it had shifted orientation by at least 90 degrees.
Then again with the yipping. The barking. The squealing.
They dug around the opening of the pipe, dust flying.
They switched ends.
And then started all over again.
I watched for at least twenty minutes, and they never gave up. They didn’t even slow down.
Oh, except when they ran to greet me and allow me to give them a quick pet. They seemed quite proud of their efforts. Then as quickly as they ran to me, they were back to the PVC pipe and their hunt.
I drove away wondering what I could achieve in a day, if I approached my tasks with even half of this terrier focus and persistence.
I might get a few complaints about the yipping and squealing, but who knows? Hmm. I wonder….
5 comments
Comments feed for this article
October 4, 2010 at 9:29 am
Laurel
What a fun encounter! I would have loved to watch them, too. Our two chessies used to team up to “hunt”, too, and they were a sight to behold. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, would break their focus. It was almost frightening to witness…like wild animals.
October 4, 2010 at 9:53 am
Jean McBride
How often do we humans have that kind of focus? I honestly think we have something to learn here. Of course I don’t want any rabbits killed in the process of my enlightenment. Thanks Laurel! And a belated birthday nod to you.
October 4, 2010 at 4:43 pm
Patricia Stoltey
Good post, Jean. I’m adding this link to my own blog post for tomorrow.
October 4, 2010 at 5:22 pm
Jean McBride
Thank you Pat. What could we get written with these two little task masters barking us on? The mind boggles!
April 9, 2015 at 11:07 am
Don’t Go Away, No Matter What the Award Says
[…] A Lesson on Focus at Two Old Horses and Me, Jean McBride gives us an example from the workday of her two Scotties and […]