Ok, after reading another thread about always wanting to ask a certain question, I thought I would post mine to see if anyone has an answer.

When having to pull-start a motor (several times) like one on a lawn mower or a weed whacker or a rototiller, my dogs will get excited. They will stand at attention, bark (even those that are usually quiet) and lunge at the implement. Why? Once the motor is started they go away.

Do your dogs do this?

Yes, my dogs do this. I do not know why! Maybe they know what is coming and they are trying to warn us???

Even funnier is once the mower starts, they follow me or DH up and down, up and down....it's like a parade! And they are so proud!

One word of caution. I used to leave my dogs loose in the yard while I mowed. Not any more. One day the mower hit a dental kong buried in the grass. It propelled that kong at an astounding rate. It shattered a window on my porch that was a good 10 feet away and landed another 10 feet onto the porch.

Caution about mowing and dogs loose, I have launched dog toys into the next field with the mower and they are dangerous!

Pulling a rope to start a mower etc. plus using a fly swatter is like an aggressive motion and my theory is that they feel that someone is going to get hurt since it is such an aggressive motion. Most dogs will do this especially if there is more than one dog and they are a pack. My dogs will all look up when they hear someone pealing the wheel and skidding the car tires. Just some aggressive noises and motions. E