Oh, the Dogs!
I guess if anyone is really stupid enough to have seven dogs in a household they deserve all the pleasure they can get out of that decision. And pleasures there are aplenty. They've all got their own personalities, their predilections, dislikes, habits and irritating manoeuvres to try one's patience while laughing at their antics.
If the dogs represent breeds like Chihuahua, Sheltie, Pomeranian, Malamute, German Shepherd, Australian Shepherd among them, so that the largest weighs over a hundred pounds, while the smallest weighs a mere 3-1/2 pounds, that further compounds and enhances the opportunities for complex situations and predicaments.
Personally, we've got enough with two dogs, a small female and a smaller male. The female's intelligence and independence far outstrips that of her smaller companion, whose slighter intelligence matches his smaller size, alas. She is patient and forebearing, and she is also connivingly clever. He is uber-dependent on his emotional needs, begging constantly to be carried about, bundled up, hugged and treasured; yet belligerent beyond belief when encountering another dog. The bigger it is the snarlier he gets.
And, too bad, many-to-most dogs have the unfortunate habit of enjoying a good roll. Well, you might ask innocently what could possibly be wrong with that? After all, dogs roll about happily in the grass, and so do kids, right? An expression of their joy in life. Yes, and much more.
I've read an explanation for the reason that dogs simply adore rolling in smelly patches of "things". Those "things" can be a dead worm, a decomposed animal, well rotted turds. The explanation I read somewhere revealed that the compulsion to roll in smelly objects is an ancient one, long before dogs were domesticated from their primal wolf forbears. When a wolf or a coyote sought an appropriate object to roll in it was with the intention of covering up its own scent, throwing off predators.
Well, you get the picture: use your imagination and you can come up with some fairly disgusting objects with which to express one's joy in life. How do you know when your dog indulges? Hard not to know. They reek. From the largest to the smallest they indulge, and they reek.
Last news from our daughter this morning was that two of her dogs, the big-big German Shepherd rescue from Iqaluit and the super-smart Sheltie both rolled during their walk in the woods. What was it this time? Bear scat. Don't ask.
posted by Pieface @ Sunday, May 28, 2006
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