Dogs

Lately, I have noticed a lot of “Beware of the Dog” signs. Almost every house in the neighbourhood has one.

I walk the neighbourhood every day, four times a day and I bring my dog along the walks. I’m not sure that if it’s me or my dog that needs his walks so I have to go. After doing these four walks per day for a few years, I know every single dog in the neighbourhood. I know all the dogs that we get along with. I also know all the dogs we do not get along with. I also know where all the dogs live. I don’t know the people’s names, but I know their dog’s names.

Don’t mess around with Lisa, the Greyhound. She doesn’t look like one, but she can be fierce and extremely selfish. Greyhounds are supposed to be racers. Normally, they live in pens just across the Greyhound racing track.

Lisa, the Greyhound, was born in Tijuana, Mexico, just across from San Diego, California. She was a racing Greyhound until she injured her paw.

I was walking with my dog along the sea walk in Vancouver, and there it was: what looked like a Husky with this huge red reflector on his leash. This means that he has this huge reflector in his face for every walk.

This is Baxter, a very nice Lab. He likes to play and chase his ball, but he’s abnormal once he moves.

Normal dogs keep their right front leg and their rear left leg on the ground and lift the other two to go forward. When they need to run, dogs switch to the two rear legs push and the two front legs lift. Basically, they propel themselves with two legs and use the other two legs to advance. It’s the same for all dogs, for all cats and horses. BUT, not for Baxter. Baxter is a ‘weirdo’! He always keeps three legs on the ground.

Toby is a black Labradooddle and he’s having a bad hair day. Not just people, but dogs can also have bad hair days. For him, it’s mostly on windy days. His hair flies everywhere and he looks scruffy. It’s not his best look, but he doesn’t care. But as a dog, wow, what a nice and very polite dog with excellent doggy manners.

This is Harley, she is not staring, she is assessing the situation. Harley is trying to figure out if I’m a potential friend or … She’s never seen that before. I was kneeling, with my right knee on the ground, just in front of her. Head tilted, ears pricked but still keeping a respectful and safe distance. It’s a doggy social skill they don’t teach in obedience classes. We, humans, always talk about body language, but dogs are the experts. It’s their primary way of communicating, and they’re incredibly observant.

This Weimaraner is attacking me. May be five metres/fifteen feet. He’s focused on me. He’s not attacking my dog, which is just behind me. He’s coming for me.

He came from the bushes at the back. No bark. Just a silent attack. I raised my camera, took a couple of shots, and then braced myself. I was ready. At the last possible second, a whistle from his owner, I guess, and he went back with his owner.

It’s quite rare to have dog’s direct gaze. He wasn’t just looking at me, it was “What do you want?”

She walked right up to me. Not to sniff my dog – who was busy sniffing around but to me. She completely ignored my dog and was totally focused on me. Me, as usual, I was kneeling, to be at her level. Dogs are the most observant animal, much better than humans. They read our body language, they pick up on any subtle move, almost like a psychic. I wonder what she was gazing at. The camera? My unusual posture – my knee on the ground? Or may be it was simple curiosity.

Doesn’t he look cute? I took this photo of Henry when he was just nine weeks old. Look at that face, so serious! You’d think that he was contemplating the mysteries of the universe. Nooo! In fact, he was observing and sizing up all the people around him. He’s planning his next pounce demanding that somebody plays with him.

French Bulldogs, aka Frenchies, have this incredible ability to look both comical and regal, often within the same five seconds. They’re little clowns, but with a definite air of self-importance. Henry, even then, had it in spades.

“Very, very quiet,” she said, mimicking Elmer Fudd when he’s chasing Bugs Bunny in the Loony Tunes. And honestly, after watching Trombone, the Corgi, I understood.

Trombone never barks. Sometimes a little whimper especially when get his biscuit. But mostly? Silence. His owner, Sarah, plays the trombone. Sometimes, when he’s stretching or yawning, he makes noises that almost sound like a trombone.