Not Poetry

Note: These events are a bit old - I've been waiting to see how things fall out before posting.

So The Girls settled in togther in a satisfactory manner - Not quite closest of friends, but tollerant of each other, and somewhat social, with occasional bursts of play. Life was good!

Then the wheels come off...
Dakota went counter-surfing, and got caught (I knew she was doing this, it was just a question of catching her in the act), and so was corrected. This seems to have set of a social reaction of disturbing proportions. At least, I believe this is the proximate cause. About an hour after being corrected, Dakota jumped Suka from behind, right at my feet. OK, Rule #1 for breaking up a dog fight: DO NOT GET BETWEEN THE COMBATANTS! Fortunately, I was immediately behind the combatants, and in place to use my favorite (and maybe only safe) tool for breaking up fights: Grab one of the dogs by the hind legs, and back up - fast. Turn as you do, to force the dog to side-step to keep on her feet - this keeps her too off-balance to turn and try to bite you, if she's so inclined.

Ideally, you should have two or more people - one for each combatant - to prevent one dog from following and continuing the fight. If you don't have enough people, isolate the dogs in seperate rooms, behind fences, or if not that, then take a lead, hook it to a collar, loop it once around the dogs waist, and tie it off to something solid. Then you go after the other dog... Ideally, you want to get the dogs out of sight and sound of each other.

Within a second, Dakota had Suka pressed to the floor, still upright. Suka had twisted her magnificently flexible neck around to engage, but was still at a terrible disadvantage. When I grabbed Dakota's legs and jerked her backwards, Suka was off like a shot - headed for her crate. One combatant I needn't worry about following up! Dakota whipped her head up to look at me - I daresay she'd forgotten I was present at all, and I literally hiked her like a football back between my legs, grabbing her scruff on either side of her head, just behind her jaws. That's 100 pounds of dog, all four paws on the ground, going backwards like a pigskin at the snap... Adrenalin is potent stuff! With her head immobilized, and her attention suddenly and totally focused on me, it was clear the fight had completely gone out her. I must've roared, too, at some point, as people came running from all corners of the house. (My wife says I'm scary when I roar. Go figure.)

Dakota's head still immobilized, I frog-marched her to her crate and shut her in. Suka, I had to literally haul from her crate, so I could inspect her for injuries... And there were some. A pressure cut to her lower right eyelid, and a minor puncture about an inch below that. Messy, but minor. She allowed me to give her a complete and thorough checking, though it was clear she wanted back to the safety of her crate. Put her back to her crate, then hauled Dakota out to inspect her, too. Again, I had to haul her out - She was clearly reluctant to face me, but put up with her inspection with proper manners. No blood, but a LOT of saliva on her throat - Suka hadn't been screwing around in defense - Any better angle, and Dakota'd have taken a serious injury.

A couple stitches, and everything is well, health-wise. I became the Fun Nazi - Only one dog out of their crate at a time except when I'm immediately present, and extremely close supervision even then.

Two days later, came a near-exact repeat, dispite the close supervision, only this time with Suka getting a solid piece of Dakota in return - A seriously bloody lip - with Dakota actually doing no damage to speak of. I was now the Fun Gestapo. No more than one dog out of their crate at a time, period, no matter who is present. Both dogs sleeping in their latched crates at night. Both dogs on-lead in the house.


Since that time, some time back, Dakota has been much more obedient. She apparently had some reservations about who was in charge. Not any more - Getting man-handled like she was a puppy seems to have made an impression. Since that time, she and Suka are both at once more snarky with each other, and more tollerant of each other, if that makes any sense - They express their opinions, but also seem to get along better. Certainly the 'play' aspect of their lives has improved. I suspect that the clashes, and my immediate and very dominant response, have sorted out the relative relationships.

In retrospect, I should've gone all 'Fun Gestapo' right out the gate. Lesson learned - they're both good dogs, but dog society and people society do not correspond exactly. I need to think like a dog, and I still watch them closely. People wonder why I don't let the dogs oiut into the back yard unsupervised. I don't, because I'm thinking like a dog - I'm The Boss, and I want to make damn sure that The Girls know The Boss is watching. Dakota is huge, powerful, and fast. Suka is if anything, even faster, and has very sharp teeth. They don't get the chance to get at each other without someone responsible and capable to stop them if they forget their places again. They can play, and run and pace, and bark, and all the rest, but they also know that if they step out of line, The Boss is right there to put them back in their place. It means less screwing-off time for me, but if I wanted my time all to myself, I would've never married, much less brought dogs into the house... :-p

Strange ways...

Recent observations have me increasingly bemused. Adding Dakota to the family has pried open aspects of Suka's personality* that I'd never expected, and some that frankly, I'd just as soon not experience.

Some very knowledgeable people have called Suka a 'weenie.' It's not that they dislike her; it's that they've noticed she's an innate stress puppy. She doesn't like strange situations, and even familiar situations that she cannot control cause her a very strong stress and avoidance reaction. So when she suddenly showed up as dominant over Dakota, there were a few "Huh?" reactions. Including, frankly, from me. OK, Dakota is not a 'hard' dog. In fact, she's quite 'soft,' but Suka is also a soft dog, and a mere one-third Dakota's size. Dakota can literally fit Suka's entire head in her mouth. This didn't even cause Suka to hestitate a second. My 'stress pup' literally charged straight into the teeth of the lumbering giant, and made her submit.

We've all seen Chihuahuas make a big dog back down, but most Chi's I know aren't exactly 'soft.' What makes a 'soft' dog suddenly act like queen bitch of the world? There are dominance signals and cues that dogs share that are NOT part of their commonly-observed personalities. It's subtle - maybe too subtle for me to discern. Certainly the overt signals are clear enough - Tail upright, rigid 'at attention' stance, boldly upright ears and direct stare. 'Teeing Off,' snatching precidence of action, snapping, growling, gatekeeping, resource guarding... Those area all obvious to any observer. But what signal tells one when to challenge for position? What signal tells a dog when the pecking order has been established, and it's OK to ease off? It's clear when dominace is being established, and when it has been established, but the transitions between states, most especially the 'backing off' stage, are a bit of a mystery to me.

Anyway, Suka is clearly in 'maintenance mode' with Dakota - She's not nearly as bitchy as she was, and maybe some of that is due to me putting her back 'in school' herself, and (re)establishing my place as boss. When did I know it was time to ease off? Frankly, I'm not sure I know that, either! I missed that transition, too - Just one day, I looked back and noticed that I wasn't bearing down as hard as I had previously, and didn't need to, either.

One thing Suka doesn't do much of any more is 'fence run.' Fence running is an aggressive activity. Most trainers will not permit it - I certainly don't. But in my daughter's presence, Suka would try it - Until I stuck my head out a window and called her off. Now, Dakota fence runs, and Suka stands back and supervises. And Dakota is an enthusiastic fence runner! I have to physically go to the fence and block her. She gets the message quickly enough, but until I get there, she's baying away in that deep thunderous voice of hers. Suka, meanwhile, goes quickly about her business, and returns to guard the garage door.

Dakota has, as mentioned previously, taught Suka to play. She's not good at it yet, but she's learning. Play has brought with it excitement barking. Suka used to be a remarkably quiet dog. Not so any longer... She now sounds like pretty much every other Border Collie or BC-cross you've ever met: Out of her furry little mind when there's something exciting about to happen. This is a development I could've done without... She's not bark-screaming yet, but I will no longer rule that possibility out.
<.<

'Something Exciting,' unfortunately, now includes being fed. I've put Dakota and Suka on similar diets, mostly out of convenience. It meets both their nutritional needs, with a slight tweak for Dakota (Joint supplements - She's a BIG girl!), and Suka has found the new taste to be very much to her liking. Before, she ate pretty much when she felt like it. Now, she's in her crate, squeaking, barking, and yammering in anticipation... Ready to stuff her face into her bowl. One bonus to her new eagerness to eat; she and Dakota finish at about the same instant. This means no fights over food.

I had made the mistake of believing her personality largely exposed to me. Now, I see there are whole new depths. I think I'm going to try her on 'fetch' again. I may be taking another stab at Monster Creation, but what the heck... If nothing else, the new behaviors are diverting and interesting.
;-)


* Yes, dogs have personalities. I know, I know - Most readers here aren't going to dispute that. Yet I do occasionally get accused of anthropomorphism when discussing animals' personalities. It's empirically obvious that different animals for the same specied and even sam breed behave differently from their fellows, in ways subtle and not-so-subtle-at-all. Further, science has observed and confirmed these differences. So there, doubters! Nyah!
:-P

Meanwhile, back at The Farm...

Spent a bit of time down at The Farm, this AM. Didn't take Suka, as she's been exposed to Dakota, and whilst Dakota has a clean bill of health, you never know what mild, sub-clinical illness she might be harboring. It'd be some kind of serious rude to expose the rescuees at The Farm to some bug they'd never seen before. So - Suka stays away for a few more weeks longer.

Not as many dogs at The Farm as there sometimes are, and maybe that's a good thing - The economy has been having obvious impact on volunteer hours, and whilst the core work is getting done, it's a bit of strain. Some projects that need doing have been hanging-fire. Some key projects have been done, but more could be done, if there were hours available. Recently, there was a massive work day, and the bathing room was given a major face-lift. Some used, but still very serviceable medical holding kennels were added, and it's made a major imrovement on the quality of care for the dogs staging through the bathing room. Not to mention making things much easier to keep clean!

Well, today, I was put to the task of clearing out some blown appliances from the kennel house. A fairly straight-forward task, save that rats have been tearing at the infrastructure, so there was a bit of cleaning up to be done. Also, the dogs have been digging at the foundation again, and had created a completely undermined tunnel-like structure right at the cargo door - One that wouldn't hold my weight for a second, much less my weight plus a dolly holding a washing machine.

So... Find a hunk of heavy-duty plywood, bridge the gap, and work the appliances out to where I can get the dolly under them, then haul them out and into the play yard. Next, haul the equipment across the play yard, avoiding all the ankle breakers the dogs have thoughtfully dug for us there... Oh, and dodge the dogs, too... Including the pinheaded booger who has been so severely under-socialized and left so free of discipline that his idea of a friendly greeting is to bite you. >:-(

Finally, out through the dog-lock and then across the yard, over to the dumpster area. One washer, one dryer, both elderly and quite heavy. Then clean the mess left behind, and replace the washer - A reverse pilgrimage from above - whilst breaking up scuffles between Pinhead and the other dogs, and fending him off, too.

Also, moved some spare stainless kennels, to make space for a freezer, then moved the freezer.

That's all - About two and half hours, all told. Not my usual stay, but time was a bit pressurized; My hours are subject to squeezing by the economy too, and I've not spent near as much time down at The Farm this summer as I'd have liked to have done.

A word on the Pinhead; He's a young dog - Well under a year, and possibly a pure-bred. He's a classic black-n-white rough coat, and has fabulous teeth. Which I experienced quite closely. I daresay he's never experienced real discipline in his life. Certainly, once I lowered the boom on him, he shaped-up quite a ways... For me. I do NOT appreciate being greeted by a dog that tries to get my attention by pinching my legs right through my heavy jeans. Nor do I appreciate being punched by a dog that uses his front paws to practice kick-turns off my groin. So I had to drop a hammer on Pinhead, and he eased off - Though he kept almost forgetting, and spent a lot of time directly under my feet when I needed to be walking. He's in rescue, and there's NO DAMN REASON for it. Had the parents of the kids handling him paid some attention, and applied some basic discipline, there'd be no reason for him to be a pain in the ass like he was this AM. He could be a damned good dog for someone. Instead, he's an annoyance and nuisance to everyone whom meets him, and he's going to need a fair bit of detailed work to get back on the straight and narrow. No doubt, the HBIC will manage to fix his little red wagon, or will find a willing foster to sort him out, but he should have never needed to come to us in the first place.

Peace... And miscellaneous

Suka and Dakota have made peace. Suka is boss, but doesn't get to abuse her status - And both of the girls seem quite happy to relax and let go of the tension.

Dakota is off-lead in the house full time now, and out of the crate most of the time. She's responding very well to command and instruction - She's actually a bit more crisp than Suka is, on some commands. Suka, meanwhile, has benefitted from a trip back to school - She's also doing very well, though is a bit more vocal than she'd previously been. She's also sporting a small scar above her right eye, courtesy of one her sets-to with Dakota. Well, when you push a big dog back into a corner, you can expect to pay a bit. This is, I suspect, one of the reasons Suka doesn't abuse her status as top bitch - Dakota could clean her clock in a heartbeat, if pressed. So Suka doesn't press. No more gatekeeping, chokepoint sniping, cheap-shotting, or resource guarding. Not by either of them.

There's a bit of thunder and lightning to accompany the storm overhead - Nothing loud or close, but Dakota is anxious - And crowding up under my chair. Right in Suka's face. And Suka is just sitting there, watching the big sissy, bemused. Suka could care less about lightning, thunder, or fireworks - She's remarkably calm, for a BC/X, in the face of noises.

Food issues have been resolved - Both are on the same diet now - and Dakota's putting back on the mass she lost whilst getting settled. Dakota's stools are a bit soft, but nothing serious. They're otherwise normal. Suka's had some small digestive upset with the shift in diet, but she's adjusting well. I've got to tweak Suka's intake, though, as she's put on a couple pounds she doesn't really need. Still within normal weight, but showing a slightly less svelt figure then previously. I will NOT have a fat BC like you so often see in conformation shows! So - A bit of tweaking, some longer walks, and we'll see her back to the nicely slender tucked-up waist. Not that she's far from that now, but I make a point of watching the dogs closely as they walk, and I can see a touch of thickening in the waist. Running my hands over her ribs tells the rest of the story - I can still feel her ribs, but they're a little deeper under the flesh than before. Not, mind you, that she'll object to the extra walks!

Not, mind you, that the extra walks will hurt me, either. :-p

Stranger in the house

Suka has a new housemate, at least for the near term.

Dakota, an ISSR Shiloh Shepherd, has moved in with us.

The "ISSR" part is critical - There have been multiple schisms in the breed club. Even the factions have split still further. ISSR is the parent group, still led by the breed founder, and still adhering to the original breed development plan. This is important to note, because there've been some bad words floating about about the general breed - The ISSR dogs are to a standard, and are very well documented. And no, despite scandalous slurs, there is no wolf in the breed. None, unless you're going to go about 120 thousand years ago, when wolves and dogs split.

Dakota is a five year-old plush-coat spayed female, qualified by St. John Ambulance as a therapy dog. St. John Ambulance doesn't do much, if any, work in the US, but readers from elsewhere will recognize the name - Descended from the Knights Hospitaller, they do good medical and charitable works world-wide.

Some weeks ago, Dakota's owner, a licensed breeder, woke up with a bad case of death. Cause unknown. Sometimes, quite fit and healthy people, even fairly young people, simply die, and medicine has no asnwer. Dakota and her kennel mate, Cain, have been drains on the estate ever since; Her late owner's daughter is not able to continue to run a kennel, and the dogs needed new homes, ASAP. Cain is breed-quality, so he went to a home within easy reach of a licensed breeder, for occasional stud services - The breed's genetic baseline is too narrow to casually neuter a good stud. Because of my rescue work, I was picked to take Dakota in, and get her settled down. I have first right of refusal, if I can get her settled. If not, we'll find another home for her, once she's got her head back on straight.

Make no bones about it; this is a rescue situation. Dakota's entire world has been turfed - Her 'mother' gone, her kennel mate moved off, the kennel closed, and now she's been moved to an alien environment.

The introduction plan has been pretty straight forward:
Introduce the dogs at a neutral ground ( a nearby poark - Y'all've seen images of it), walk them together about the neighborhood, then walk them around the yard, then introduce them into the house. Dakota is spending most of her time crated, to give her a chance to settle into the household by observing, with no pressure on her to make any decisions. She doesn't much care for this, and is very vocal about it. *shrug* Not a big thing - The crated dog is invisible, and she's learning.

She's been off her feed, but that's not surprising. It's very common for grieving dogs, and rescued dogs, to have some dietary issues. She *is* eating, though not as much as would make me happy. Her stools remain regular, firm, and normal, save that they're just a touch mucousy. I'm watching that, and have both the vet and her original breeder on speed dial.

Walking with Suka, or in the yard, there is no issue, but in the house, Dakota has pushed boundaries a few times, and gotten a sharp rebuke from Suka for it - Suka is a bit intimidated by Dakota's great size and noise, but has drawn some obvious boundaries, and is holding to them. Meanwhile, I've instituted NILIF with Dakota - She's an orphan, but that doesn't mean she gets to play the chuklehead! Meanwhile, crating for Dakota remains the normal course of events until such time as I feel confident letting her slowly into the full life of the family.

When Dakota is out and about, she's on the other end of a ten foot lead, tied off to my waist - She's got to follow the routine, and can't go off and just do things on her own - Not just yet. On the other hand, she's quite content to be led about. She's also an absolute slut for brushing and belly rubs. ;-)

Suka has generally taken the intrusion as well as can be expected - There's a big, loud stranger in the house! Another bitch, to boot! :-o God bless her lovely little head, Suka is behaving herself well, and is declining to start any crap. She's got a limit, and holds to it, but she doesn't go looking for trouble. I have observed some mutual resource guarding behaviors from each - I've already got Suka's number, so that's not worrisome to me - I put a stop to it. Dakota, well, she's still rattled, and will be more work. Not that I'm going to let her get away with it, mind you!

The primary action between the two remains the fenced yard, and walking on leads. In both situations, they're social and well-behaved, even rubbing shoulders companionably as they trot along. There's been some marking/counter-marking games, but those, whilst also dominance games, are without teeth, and are a more gentle means of settling dominance questions.



I really didn't want to be settling these kinds of issues so soon after Shadow's death, but it does provide a good distraction. And not just for me, but for my daughter, whom was devestated by Shadow's death.

Suka remains the dog of my heart, and if Dakota doesn't settle in, well, there are others, highly qualified, nearby whom would love to have her, once I get her head back on as straight as is possible. But I do love also Shilohs, and would love it if Dakota and Suka can come to an agreement. In her basic nature, Dakota is as good a dog as Suka, if different in expression. I owe her an honest chance - The same chance I gave Suka - to see what we'll see. I'm not rushing this, and good things take time and effort.

A Year and a Day

That's how long Suka's been here with us. She sits under my desk as I write this, lying on my foot. She dropped into our family like she'd always been here. Indeed, it doesn't seem even remotely possible that she's only been here a year.

She's opened up from a mildly cautious dog, who refused to even see the cats, to a confident, funny, happy companion. She's utterly charmed Jenn, whom swore that she wasn't a 'dog person.' I'll find Jenn scrubbing Suka's ears and making baby talk to her, when she thinks I'm not around. Suka hears when Jenn is coming home, and whines at the door for her. She'll leap in ecstasy as Jen comes through. She's the same for me, only more so. She'll follow me about the house, or run ahead, attempting to anticipate where I'm headed. She's usually right, too. She'll stick her head in my lap, or climb up in my chair, or sit on my foot, eyes glowing, and eager for attention. She's taught us, too. My daughter has gone from at the very least a bit worried about dogs, to happily assisting me in training and care of Suka. Suka has taught my son, whom is far less impulsive and much more proper with dogs now. And of course, I've learned a loads from her too - An embarasingly large amount, perhaps. I didn't know how much I didn't know until she entered my life.

She listens well, and has excellent manners... Most of the time. The prospect of an excursion, though, is enough to fry her furry little mind, and she becomes an acrobatic dervish, barely able to contain herself inside her own skin for her excitement. Outside, her dog manners are very good, but that hardly matters, because largely, she couldn't care less about other dogs. She'll greet them, then they become irrelevent - It's the scents that hold her attention. She has to smell them! In the air, or on the ground, she simply must stick her nose into them. I'd try her on tracking, but she's really not got any good handles for training - She's praise driven, and if I make the right mix, stinkykibble(tm) will do for a training treat, but not in the presence of any distraction. Once the distractions start, I've got no real training handles on her. Fortunately, she retains what she's learned. Mostly anyway.

One behavior that has defied modification is her reaction to overload. Once she's had enough fun, she has to retreat. Her crate is her shelter, or, if I'm sitting someplace where she can get there, under my legs. So - The kneehole at my desk is a favored den, as is the underside of my recliner, when I kick back. Which means, of course, that I can never move my chair carelessly! I carry a travel crate in my car when I take her places, and that's her refuge when out in public. When she's had enough fun out away from the house, that's where she'll head, given a chance. It's actually a pretty comforting default behavior - She always knows where the car is, and if she gets loose, that's exactly where I'll find her.

I mentioned that she used to pretend the cats didn't exist? Well, she's since relaxed a lot around them. In fact, she'd like to herd them, if only they'd respond. In fact, the cats are the only thing she wants to herd. The cats, of course, are less than impressed. And my cats hold their ground. So daily, I'm treated to the spectacle of Suka nose-to-nose with one of the cats, silently making horrible "I'm going to bite you soooo bad" faces whilst the cat looks back with calm equinamity. When the cat moves on, Suka will chase for a few feet, then suddenly pull up, as she remembers that when chased, these cats turn and attack. The cat will move on, leaving Suka standing there, tail wagging, neck arched, and ears pricked forward with an eager, frustrated gleam in her eyes. Suka knows all three cats by name, and when we shout at one, she'll charge up to the offender, ready to help chastize!

In short, and to sum-up, Suka fits into the family as if she were born here. So, here's to many more years with Suka in our lives - May they all be as happy as this last one has been.

Summer's here...

The grass is thick, and growing too fast. Rain, rain, more rain, then sun... Muddy paws on my trousers, wet dog to greet me, chores, gardening, and maintenance to distract me... My days are full.

Soon, the children will be out of school - Lin isn't old enough, quite, to leave home all day. I actually trust her, and she's certainly mature enough, but Qestions Would Be Asked, and I really don't want to deal with that drama. So, I'm pawning her off on my music-teaching psuedo-sister. Whom also happens to be Lin's voice and piano coach. Pricy, but more than worth it! The girl needs a bit of social polish anyway, and my sister is just the one to gently help her down that path. :-) That leaves Ian, and he'll be easy - The Child Development Center here at work runs a full-day summer camp.

OK, kids handled. What about Suka? I'm changing my hours to stagger my wife's schedule a bit with mine, that'll keep Suka from being alone too long. I've found that she's no fear whatsoever of the lawn equipment, though she's not terribly fond of the noise. So, I let her supervise my yard work, which she's content to do at a distance. The front yard not being fenced, she watches from the porch on a 30' lead, and is happy, though she does on occasion rearrange the slate border of the center island with the lead. In the back yard, she normally hangs out in the garage, and observes from the shade of the doorway. I'll need a child's wading pool for later, when things get hot - Some place in which for her to lay down, get wet, and cool off.

We're continuing our trips downtown, and she's really shaping up - her winter or more-or-less isolation is sloughing off, and her 'public' face is coming out to shine.

I've plugged the gaps in the fences where Suka has managed to slip through, and no longer need to watch her quite so closely. Likewise, I've sealed off the undersides of the shed, so the skunks are less likely to camp in our yard, though there's always the off chance of one wandering through. Now, if I could only stop the squirrels from chewing up the roof of the shed...

Gonna be a busy summer. I'll try and get some more photos, when I've got the initial rush of tasks handled.

Highland Games

Took Suka & Lin to the Fair Hill Highland Games this weekend past - It was fine spring weather, and I've missed the games the last few years.

Didn't have a whole lot of time to spend - Lin was due for a chorale performance later in the afternoon - but I wanted to give Suka some more social time, and she did us proud! She doesn't mind bagpipes, but LOUD is not her friend, and Highland Gatherings are pretty much, by definition, loud! That not withstanding, she was quite the little lady, and I'm very pleased with her.

She actually barked a couple times as we were getting close - unusual for her; highly excited! Once parked, she was charmingly well-behaved, excepting that she was prone to forgetting the tension on the lead, and had to be corrected a couple of times to remind her not to pull. Other than that, she was perfect - Good dog manners with the other dogs, good people manners, and most especially, good 'strange child' manners!

It helps that the vast majority of people at the gathering had good manners themselves, and behaved well. Only once did I have to instruct a kid on the proper approach in an unfamiliar dog, and she got the lesson right away, and happily complied. I think, because this is a dog-friendly event, that we had a crowd more clued-in to the proper and expected behaviors.

Whilst there, she again stuck her nose into every interesting scent she could find, and showed the most signs of stress when the wind shifted, and a new wave of scent would waft over us. When that happened, she was all over impatient to get moving along and investigate the news scents. As soon as we started moving again, the pressure came off, and she was happy again.

Going back and forth through the venue, Suka made many new friends, canine and human both. I gathered up a large quantity of buinsess contacts in regards to merchandise for my wife whom couldn't be there, and generally enjoyed the walk. After about an hour and a half, Suka began to burn out, and made "looking for shelter" motions, so we went ahead and departed. As usual, she was just as happy to bounce into the car on leaving as she was to bounce out on arrival... I think she simply likes getting in and out of cars. :p

Lin was also spot-on for behavior. This was the first time I've turned her loose at a gathering to investigate on her own, and she was perfect - Didn't give me a single new grey hair! She was also very popular with the kids that wanted to pet Suka, and one particularly charming little girl latched on to Lin and was ready to take her home! Yeah, I'm exceedingly proud of my child, but ya know? She makes it easy. :-)


No, no pictures - I was too busy and torn too many different ways to take snaps.

Department of the Obvious; Dogs have personalities

OK, so, most of us already knew this; Dogs have personalities. But try to tell that to a scientist, and you're like as not to get a disdainful sniff and an upturned nose, along with a charge of 'anthropomorphism.' That is to say, applying human characteristics to that which is not human.

Well, sure enough, dogs ain't human. Never-the-less, at least one researcher from Texas has proof that dogs do indeed posses personalities, and that those personalities map pretty close to those of humans. Four out of five key traits map (extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism and openness to new experience), and frankly, I'm not at all sure there isn't at least a partial map for the fifth, conscientiousness, too. Further, the dogs were proven to have predictable and repeatable behaviors based upon their observed personalities.
Can we have a resounding "Duh!" please..? Thank you.

Says Dr. Gosling (and how amusing is that name, for an animal researcher, eh?) :

"There’s a strong view that animal personality is preposterous anthropomorphism: when I suggested applying measures of human personality to animals, I had people yelling that I was bringing the field into disrepute.”

Well, I've been accused of anthro-whatever-the-hell-it-is more than a time or two. Now I can thumb my nose right back at the nay-sayers with the full confidence of science at my back. At least until the next study comes along to ruin things again. :-p

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article517435.ece