Kate's jumping trick

This photo, published in Your Home & Garden, shows Kate relaxing - or she could be plotting to jump through the window of the ute....

Luckily Kate wasn’t hurt when she collided with the driver’s window of the truck in much the same fashion as a bug hitting a vehicle windscreen. Nor was her self esteem dented.  Kate is a heading dog whose inflated sense of self worth was evident from the moment we got her.

As a pup she travelled in the cab of the ute but, unlike the other dogs, she has never adjusted to the degrading business of being relegated to the ute’s tray.

She’s so fond of being a front-seat passenger that if the farmer won’t let her travel first class and there’s a load on the back of the ute, she’ll sometimes stay at home.

But as Kate loves going places, urgent action is called for and she jumps through the driver’s window. It’s startling, but her judgment’s impeccable. 

The first time she did this when I was at the wheel, I’d just nosed the truck up a grassy slope when Kate flew through the driver’s window. She brushed my left shoulder as she passed in front of me, then she landed on a pinhead on the passenger’s seat.   

As she finds it fun to chase the farmer on the tractor, seconds later she bounded out the window, only to fly back in again a few minutes later. She even does this when both Rex and I are in the cab, ending up on my lap. Her landings are always elegant.

As Kate is a muddy and unpleasant passenger in winter, the farmer tried to train her out of the habit. Each time she looked poised to jump, he’d wind up the window. But on one occasion Kate was airborne. Too late! She went splat against the window with a thump and scrabble of paws.

As she’s lean, super fit and hard as a world-class athlete, she promplty bounced onto the back of the ute where she possibly muttered, “Bugger!”

Kate’s other downfall, besides nicking the cats’ food, is that she’s overly affectionate. Pay her the slightest attention and she’s all over you - except when she’s a front seat passenger.

Then she sits bolt upright and stares ahead, barely deigning to give you a passing glance. You feel like a chauffeur for a haughty aristocrat and, what’s more, your short-term contract is under review.

Now the ground has dried out, Kate’s back to her tricks. She can regularly be found in the cab and when the ute’s parked at home, she hops in and out of the driver’s window as she pleases.

And when she’s out on the farm, the farmer will be fencing, fixing troughs or whatever and Kate will loll in the truck listening to Sports Radio at full volume. 

While she’s clearly pleased to see the end of winter’s muck and mud, we’re already hoping for rain.