Separating the fact from fiction

Nature is full of examples of species defying human teachings.

It seems the more outlandish the statement, the more it will be repeated, until eventually it is credited as fact.

A common one is the well-known “fact” that you are never any more than five metres from a rat.”

What baloney!

As someone who uses rodent sniffer dogs as part of my business, I can tell you my dogs would be on permanent rigid point if that was the case.

I recall once carrying one of my terriers underarm through a house as there was no other way to the back garden where the rat had been seen.

As I walked through the kitchen I felt the dog go on point while still underarm.

Putting her down she quickly showed me where a rat was under the floor of a kitchen cupboard.

Until then the client had no inkling the rats had found their way indoors.

With noses like that, it would be impossible taking my dogs anywhere if the five-metre rule was true.

Talking of rodents, there is also the rule that mice and rats are never found together.

I can think of many a farmer who wishes that one was true.

It seems in Nature, if you can think of a rule or fact, it is probably tosh!

Oops! Why is my dog gazeing at the skirting?