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style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'>Two of the most</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:windowtext'> </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'>overlooked qualities in life are patience and wisdom:</span><span style='font-size:8.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></div><div id="yiv7911269745m_5838140354577597788m_-4877481743455877958m_-4673807458627401294m_1595422330860316893yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1506954167169_122268"><div id="yiv7911269745m_5838140354577597788m_-4877481743455877958m_-4673807458627401294m_1595422330860316893yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1506954167169_122267"><div id="yiv7911269745m_5838140354577597788m_-4877481743455877958m_-4673807458627401294m_1595422330860316893yiv8526968545gmail-m_-2054157935269772503m_-3349144099143463093ydp3e4c95a8yiv6994188623m_4749291739786982405aolmail_m_-5483401887938052923yiv0709899554yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1506191758964_5641"><div id="yiv7911269745m_5838140354577597788m_-4877481743455877958m_-4673807458627401294m_1595422330860316893yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1506954167169_122266"><div id="yiv7911269745m_5838140354577597788m_-4877481743455877958m_-4673807458627401294m_1595422330860316893yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1506954167169_122265"><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1507456172097_45308"><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><img width=258 height=303 style='width:2.6875in;height:3.1562in' id="yiv7911269745m_5838140354577597788m_-4877481743455877958m_-4673807458627401294m_1595422330860316893_x005f_x0000_i1025" src="cid:image001.png@01D34019.D80B5DE0"></span><o:p></o:p></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></blockquote></div></div></div></div></blockquote></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></blockquote></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:windowtext'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:windowtext'>This is something I have wondered about for a long time. Most dogs seem to have an intuition that a skunk is something you just jump at every opportunity to not mess with. A squirrel is pretty similar in size and shape. Dogs go nuts when they see those guys, even black ones. Now I hafta wonder if visuals have anything to do with it. If we caught a big black squirrel and dyed a big white stripe on him, would the dogs back off? Regarding instinct, the skunk also seems to know he has nothing to worry about from the dogs. Every time I see a skunk in the neighborhood, he tends to carry himself like he owns the place.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:windowtext'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:windowtext'>Alternative suggestion: the skunk scent is undetectable if he doesn’t spray. You can be within about three paces of it and not smell a thing. Perhaps the dog can?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:windowtext'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:windowtext'>Another puzzle: how would the instinct to not mess with the skunk get encoded into the genes? The skunk’s non-lethal defense would not seriously impact the unwise dog’s reproductive capacity (temporary delay only.) We can easily imagine a learned behavior of don’t mess with the skunk, but most dogs have never been sprayed, and still know better.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:windowtext'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:windowtext'>I had Dobermans in my misspent youth. They would take on anything, including rattlesnakes (very carefully and always successfully.) Clearly they had instinct with regard to those guys, the kind which is explainable. But there were plenty of skunks out there, and never once did any of them get sprayed or even bark at a skunk. Very puzzling.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:windowtext'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:windowtext'>Ideas?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:windowtext'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:windowtext'>spike<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:windowtext'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>