Digging dog

 The small neurotic dog has a lot to communicate. Because she has no tail, and doesn't even wiggle her butt like most self-respecting dogs, she has to do much of her talking with digging. I think we've lived together long enough that I can discern her digging code.

Fast frantic digging= like a frantic tail wag. She'll do this on our legs (ow ow ow) when we walk in. Or, if she's in a playful mood, she'll dig on rugs.

wait, let me switch to first person...

Slow dab of the paw, one paw=Yo, hey, move the stuff off your lap. I require a place to lie down.

Faster poke of the paw=I'm cold and you're a clueless pain the ass, human. Let me under my blanket. Now.

Leaning over on her side and digging under the counters=I'm bored and have no idea what that is under there, but I'll eat it anyway. Care to give me a snack instead?

Reaching up and patting our face=You're kinda cute. Want to scratch behind my ears? Sure ya do.

Digging at Soozee's face=We're siblings and here's the proof: I'll annoy you until you go rawr and then everyone will say "HEY, LEAVE that POOR LIL DOG ALONE" I excel in sister torture.

She's much less crazed when strangers come over, although she still dislikes teenaged girls. And if a stranger tries to pat her she growls, moves away, and then when they straighten up, rears up on her hind legs and rests her front paws on their legs. Until they lean over again to pat her and she growls. Sounds obnoxious, but, really .... okay, it is obnoxious.

Comments

  1. Kathryn Barrett10:39 AM

    There is definitely a problem for dogs without tails. I remember Bailey once resisted going down a path in the woods, and I noticed the dogs coming toward us, a pair of English Sheep Dogs, one with no tail. They are perceived as unfriendly by other dogs, and will undoubtedly get a complex. Kudos to you for recognizing her alternative ways of communicating.

    Shame about the tail. Was it an accident? Poor girl.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kate10:49 AM

    The vet can find no sign of her ever having a tail, so she might have been born that way. She hunches a bit and often looks like she's going to take a dump. She is exactly the sort of dog I would sneer at and dislike in the past.

    Her past and breeding is a big mystery although there is definitely chihuahua in there and probably terrier which means big attitude issues.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kate10:52 AM

    To be clear: she has me wrapped around her little digging paw.

    So not only is she the sort of dog I used to disdain, I am now the sort of owner of small yappy dog about whom I also felt scornful.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

more fun and hi-jinks at RWA.

To the Board of Directors of the Romance Writers of America: It has been brought to our attention, by several of our romance authors, that your organization no longer considers Medallion Press, Inc. a legitimate publisher according to your guidelines. We were surprised we did not receive official notification directly, but instead discovered it was posted on several RWA internet loops. Accordingly, we request this letter be published in its entirety in the RWR Report so all members may understand the nature of the process that eliminated Medallion as an RWA approved publisher. We will also send copies of this letter to all our own RWA member authors. We are dismayed you declared Medallion Press no longer a legitimate publisher. In July of 2004 we met all of your qualifications without incident by showing sales of 5000+ copies of USA Today Bestselling author Nan Ryan's The Last Dance. Several months prior to Book Expo America 2005, we received a call from your office alerting us to ...
Read more

No snark. Bad puppy. No. (Review stuff.)

A two star Amazon review on His American Detective: "Bodice ripper about gay men by a woman." and I'm longing to comment "don't you mean a waistcoat ripper?" God, no. Stop me. The reviews rarely rattle me any longer -- except when I spot a truth in a bad one. When that happens, I actually lose sleep. This means I still care about writing.  Speaking of reviewers and writers: A couple of days ago, a writer said she was tired of getting white ladies writing reviews of her books. She had an excellent point in the long run: her stories are meant for a particular audience and she wants them to resonate with those people and get more reviews from them.  But that first line was just....horribly obnoxious. I say this from my POV of course. Not a white lady who writes reviews -- but as a review grubber.   Anyone who disses any reader (especially ones that give honest reviews) deserves to be cast into the pit of being ignored.   ...
Read more